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 Silver & Gold Giving Society
Honors those who make planned gifts
Brenda Washington never intended to be a Girl Scout troop leader. When her daughter wanted to join Girl Scouts, “I came out as a parent; that’s all I thought I wanted to do.” But after a couple of years, the very persuasive troop organizer at Trinity United Church of Christ, Deborah Edmonds, convinced her to “just sign up as a volunteer.” Fifteen years later, with her daughter long gone off to college, Brenda Washington is still a Girl Scout leader.
“Once you sign up, once you volunteer, you become hooked on it,” says Brenda. “I was.” For the past three years, in addition to being a troop leader, she’s also been the Cookie Coordinator for Southside Service Unit 669, which has led the council in cookie sales for close to 15 years.
Given Brenda’s long relationship with Girl Scouts, and her love of the organization, it was only natural for her to think about the Girl Scouts when she was revising her will.
“My husband recently passed,“ she recounted, “and I was thinking about my own mortality. I wanted to make sure I had a trust and will in place when I passed. I wanted to think about where I’d like to give. I love the GS and also my church. I’d been looking at the Girl Scout envelope for years (encouraging Girl Scout friends and volunteers to remember Girl Scouts of Chicago in their will). I thought it was a great thing, but I’d never decided to do it.”
In conversations with her financial planner, Brenda learned there were at least a couple of ways to leave money to the Girl Scouts. She could do it through her will and trust or she could do it through a retirement account. Both the ease and the tax advantages convinced her to make Girl Scouts of Chicago a partial beneficiary of her IRA. (Funds in retirement accounts are subject to both income and estate taxes, so giving those funds to a charity potentially avoids both taxes, which can amount to 70 or 80 percent.) All she had to do was get the paperwork, and change the beneficiary designation.
With her planned gift to Girl Scouts of Chicago, Brenda became the newest member of the council’s Silver & Gold Giving Society. The society honors those who have remembered Girl Scouts of Chicago in their will or made some other type of planned gift. SGGS members enjoy an annual tea along with the satisfaction that they have made a lasting gift to Girl Scouts.
With all that Brenda is already doing for Girl Scouts of Chicago (she’s recently joined a council-level cookie task force), why take this extra step?
Says Brenda: “I know that it’s an excellent organization and I also know that you should be willing to give back to things that you enjoy. I think it’s important for any of us. All organizations need some funding, and if we’re in a position to help, I think it’s something we should do.”
If you want to help Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana grow strong, talk to your attorney, financial planner or accountant about including Girl Scouts of Chicago in your will. You can give a specific dollar amount, designate a specific asset, or specify that a percentage of the value of your estate goes to Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. If you'd like some simple language that can be included, or if you have other questions, contact Pat Broughton, Transition Vice President of Development, at 312-416-2500 ext 239 to have materials sent. You could also fill out our on-line form and someone will contact you directly.
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