There’s a particular kind of quiet that settles over Central Wisconsin in July. The gardens are lush, the lakes are warm, and this is often the season our lives slow down enough to think about what really matters. Maybe it’s during a walk at sunset, or a conversation on the porch with someone you love. Whatever it looks like to you, summer has a way of bringing to the surface the quiet question: what do I want to leave behind?
That question is exactly why we’ll be spending August thinking together about will and estate planning, one more way to express love for the people and places you care about most.
Here’s something that might surprise you. Right here in Portage and Waushara counties, households hold a combined net worth of over $39 billion. Over the next ten years, roughly $1.5 billion of that wealth will pass from one generation to the next. And when we zoom in on what that means, one family at a time, a remarkable picture emerges. On average, a well-lived life here in Central Wisconsin leaves behind nearly $132,000, most of it as a gift to the people closest to them, but some of it, if we plan well together, could also shape our community’s future.
Inside that number, lies a call to action. If just 5% of that transfer were to be directed toward community endowments, it would create more than $74 million in new charitable resources immediately and in 20 years’ time, will grow into nearly $89 million in local grantmaking. Scholarships. Nonprofits. Parks. Mental health services. The organizations are already out there doing quiet, faithful work in our towns.
This is not someone else’s opportunity. This is ours; yours and mine together.
A will isn’t just a legal document; it’s a love letter to the future, a way of saying, this cause matters to me, and I want it to thrive even if I am not there to see it. The beautiful thing about legacy giving is that it’s available to everyone, not just those with significant wealth. A gift of any size, thoughtfully planned, becomes part of something lasting.
So, here’s our invitation to you.
Join us for an Open House on Monday, August 10, from 11 AM to 1 PM at our office. Come meet representatives from some of the incredible organizations that hold endowments with the Community Foundation. Learn how a charitable gift, through a will, trust, or a beneficiary designation, can become part of your story and make an impact on theirs. Ask questions. Bring ideas. Share your dreams for what Central Wisconsin could look like for generations to come.
And know this: however you choose to plan your legacy, the Community Foundation is here to protect your wishes. This is not just a service we offer; it’s a gift of trust that we hold sacred.
We only get to do this work because you choose to partner with us. So, this August, we’re inviting you to think intentionally about what you see for the future, because a lifetime of work and love deserves to be carried forward and shared with a community that loves you back.
We hope to see you on August 10th. Stop by, stay as long as you’d like, and let’s talk about the legacy you want to leave behind.
With gratitude,
Jenny Riggenbach
Chief Executive Officer, Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin
A Trusted Philanthropic Partner