How a Bequest in Your Will Can Impact CFCC Students for Generations to Come

This transfers all or a share of the amount remaining in your estate after debts and taxes have been paid. (“I bequeath twenty-five percent [25%] of the residue of my estate to the Cape Fear Community College Foundation, a North Carolina non-profit organization located in Wilmington, NC.”)  Many donors find that a residual request gives them more flexibility in their long-term planning than a specific bequest because they are not tied to maintaining particular assets, securities, or sums of money in their portfolios.

Contingent Bequest
A very flexible arrangement, this directs a gift to us only if certain life events do not occur. (“If my daughter does not survive me, I bequeath the residue of my estate to Cape Fear Community College Foundation, a North Carolina non-profit organization located in Wilmington, NC.”)

Planning note: Please discuss your intentions with us before bequeathing assets such as real estate, business interests, intellectual property or a specific tangible asset such as a car, boat, a collection, a piece of equipment or artwork. We’ll want to talk to you about how we can use, store and/or sell the asset.

Tell Us How to Use Your Bequest

Unrestricted Bequest
This is a gift for our general purposes. It will give us resources to meet any of the challenges and opportunities that the future will bring.

Restricted Bequest
This format specifies how we are to use your gift, such as a one-time scholarship or program funding for a specific department, or placement in a permanent endowment with the annual income applied to the scholarship or project of your choosing.

Planning Note:
Sometimes academic programs or projects evolve and change over time. To make sure that your restricted bequest is as useful as possible when we receive it, please discuss your intentions with us before you or your attorney write your will.

You May Be Asking…

What if I’ve already written my will?
There’s no need to write an entirely new will to add a bequest to us. You may have your attorney prepare a codicil, which makes the changes you want while reaffirming the remaining provisions of your existing will.

If you’ve already included CFCC in your existing will, please let us know! We will prepare a fund authority, or a document that outlines your wishes, to keep on file in our office and ensure we administer your gift according to your wishes. If you wish to be recognized, we will also induct you in the W. Mercer Rowe Planned Giving Society and include you in publications regarding the society. Or your planned gift can also remain anonymous if you wish.

Can you write a will for me?
Unfortunately, no. The role of the CFCC Foundation staff is to explain how your gift can be used to impact students for generations to come, such as providing endowed or non-endowed scholarships. We cannot provide legal advice. To find out more about bequests or other planned giving options, please contact your personal financial advisor.

If you are ready to discuss a bequest or other planned gift (such as the gift of appreciated stocks, bonds, mutual fund shares, a paid life insurance policy, real estate, or including CFCC as the beneficiary of a retirement plan) please contact us at 910.362.7207.

And remember, a bequest in your will is the easiest major gift you can ever make, it costs you nothing during your lifetime, and it can change the lives of students for generations to come.

Content adapted from PlannedGiving.Com, LLC, 2009.