California Plan Your Giving Day

Charities are feeling the pain, what with the distressed economy and the raised estate tax ceiling. But let’s not forget that it feels good to give.

Ed Goldman’s Blog on the Sacramento Bee website contains the following:

In her business as a financial services consultant, Elfrena Foord says she meets too many families “who end up fighting over money when the family member who actually has the money dies.”

Foord — a partner in Foord, Van Bruggen, Ebersole & Pajak — is co-chairing “California Plan Your Giving Day” on Oct. 1, a statewide effort proclaimed by the legislature (but which has merit, anyway). The message: to urge people to include charitable giving in their estates. By that day, Foord and co-chair Judee Daniels hope to gather the signatures of at least 500 people who’ve already decided to leave some of their money to good causes.

. . . .

“I’ve found that when families know that some of Mom’s or Dad’s estate is going to charity, everyone pulls together,” Foord says. “There’s a shared sense of values.”

I really like Ms. Foord’s statement about finding a shared sense of values through giving. The rest of the post can be read at Ed Goldman’s Blog.