Making a meaningful difference
Growing up, Lois Norris fondly remembers her parents — a teacher and a farmer — giving of themselves for their community, both in time and money. So it’s not surprising that Norris and her husband, Len VanWonderen, are also planning to leave behind a legacy through the Norris VanWonderen Family Fund.
The fund, which is designated in their Will, was set up through Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF). When the time comes, it will distribute support evenly to the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Shad Canada, Hamilton Health Sciences Acquired Brain Injury Program, and WRCF’s Community Fund.
Norris and her husband originally created a Will when their son was young. But over the years, they started to think about adding a legacy piece to it. They chose to partner with WRCF because the organization can continue to maintain the funds long after they are gone.
“It was my desire that whatever we do is preserved in perpetuity, and WRCF enables that. They have the governance to ensure that’s the case,” she says. “This also gave us the flexibility to decide where best to leave funds to.”
Norris, who has been actively involved on the boards of the KW Symphony and Shad Canada, and has a personal connection to Hamilton Health Sciences, said she knows that financial sustainability can be a challenge for non-profit organizations.
“So, if more people would choose to leave funds in perpetuity, that could stabilize non-profits so they aren’t living year to year.”
She said that they chose to include WRCF’s Community Fund, which has unrestricted funds that allow WRCF to grant to the most pressing needs of the community, because of that flexibility.
“There will be changing needs in the community and I don’t think I can predict what those needs will be,” said Norris. “So I trust WRCF because they do substantial work on where the greatest needs are, and where funds can be best allocated for the long term.”
In addition to this family legacy, Norris said that when the time is right, she would also like to set up a fund in their lifetime so that her son can also start to understand charitable causes in the community.
“I want him to see us do that while I’m alive so that he can carry that on.”
To others who might be thinking of leaving a legacy in their Will, Norris says it doesn’t have to be a large amount.
“You can quietly make a difference in your community to causes that matter to you, or to causes that you think or know will matter in the future. And if enough people do that, it will make a meaningful difference.”
How to set up a bequest
The process for setting up a bequest is very straightforward. WRCF works with you to set up the fund agreement, which references that the fund will become active via a gift from the Will. Then, in your Will, you list WRCF as receiving a bequest. Fundholders can choose from a variety of types of funds. When WRCF receives the money via the estate, the fund becomes operational.
It’s important to note that future Fundholders can update their fund agreements with WRCF as many times as they’d like in their lifetime (at no cost). Regardless of any changes to the fund agreement, there is no need to subsequently update their Wills, as the Will just indicates that the bequest will be sent to WRCF; it is the fund agreement with WRCF that dictates what happens when the donation from the estate is received.
For more information about setting up a bequest and to ensure that you have the proper wording for your Will, contact Dan Robert at dan@wrcf.ca or 519-725-1806 x 205.
Note: This story was written prior to Cambridge & North Dumfries Community Foundation and Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation unifying to become Waterloo Region Community Foundation. Although the story was created by KWCF, we have updated the organization name to WRCF throughout the story.