Leave a legacy!

With the passing of a great Hoosier philanthropist (Mr. Cook) this past week, it got me thinking about leaving a legacy.  What will the future generations remember about you?  Will they remember that you supported the baseball teams for 20 years or that you helped add on to the church building?  You don't have to be a billionaire to make an impact and leave a legacy that your grandchildren will be proud of, you just have to plan a little bit.

Let's say you love basketball and you want to build a basketball court in your hometown park ... you don't have enough money to build the park and it will take you 20 years to save it up. 

What happens if you die before the end of that 20 year period?  Will someone else continue to pay into your dream account that will someday get the park a new court?  Probably not ... and the money you were saving toward it will be lost in the estate once you are gone.

A better idea is to take out a life insurance policy on yourself that names the park (or a fund set up for the construction of basketball courts) as beneficiary.  When you die, no matter if it's next week or in 30 years, the charity, club or institution that you support will receive a gift in your name that will be a legacy your grand kids and the community will brag about for decades.