At SignatureFD, we are committed to helping our clients discover and pursue their Net Worthwhile™. As part of that commitment, we partner with clients and their families to explore ways to align their values and passions with their unique resources to connect and give back to the causes they care about. Since joining the firm in 2019, our Director of Giving, Elizabeth Burdette, has worked with dozens of clients to create their own personalized Generosity Blueprints and create meaningful impact in their communities. One family, in particular, has engaged in an especially inspiring journey of generosity.
Linda and Gordon Potter have always tried to make the world a better place by volunteering their time and donating to various organizations over the years. As their investments grew, they wanted to be more intentional in allocating their charitable dollars. Together with Elizabeth, they created their Generosity Purpose Statement. From this concise statement, a list of potential organizations was developed and reviewed. One of the organizations on the list was the North Georgia Community Foundation, where Elizabeth made an introduction as part of the review process. The long list of potential organizations was pared down to a manageable list of five whose goals, budget, and size matched the Potter’s criteria.
Elizabeth also worked closely with their SignatureFD advisors Todd Sheets and Catie Hochstetler to explore the most effective and efficient giving vehicles that would allow them to reach their charitable and financial goals. The Potters replaced the charitable beneficiaries of their Revocable Trust with their newly created donor-advised fund, making the donor-advised fund the sole beneficiary. This streamlines their estate planning and allows for more flexibility as their relationships with non-profit organizations evolve. Additionally, Linda and Gordon are optimizing giving during their lifetime using Qualified Charitable Distributions.
As the Potters reflected on their generosity journey, “It is not easy to give money away in a meaningful way, but our SignatureFD team helped us sort through the noise to find the organizations that aligned with our values and would benefit from our donations to their mission. We now have a charitable giving plan to execute. It is such a relief to have a clear path to support the organizations we care about. One of the reasons we chose SignatureFD was because the firm goes beyond the numbers to create value and support what we want to accomplish in life.”
