A Year of Impact Ahead: How Reviewing Your Legacy Plans Today Shapes Tomorrow

February 12, 2026

By Sarah James, Director of Donor Funds and Gift Planning

The first quarter of a new year is an ideal time to revisit your plans for including charitable gifts in your wills, trusts or beneficiary designations. At Rose Community Foundation, we believe that everyone has a legacy to leave—regardless of income or status. Through thoughtful planning, you can support the organizations and communities that matter most to you by including a legacy gift in your estate plans. 

Our Philanthropic Services team helps individuals and families design meaningful gifts – during their lives or through their legacy – to benefit Rose Community Foundation and other nonprofits or causes they care about. Our team can help shape your legacy through planned giving strategies that are both purposeful and tax efficient. Your estate planning documents can name the Foundation as a charitable beneficiary, giving you the flexibility to change its focus as your charitable priorities evolve.   

Legacy gifts can be established using a variety of assets, including stock, real estate, life insurance or an IRA beneficiary designation. One of the most common and highly effective ways for donors to create a lasting legacy is by designating retirement assets to their favorite nonprofits. Because these assets are heavily taxed when passed to heirs, designating a charitable beneficiary such as Rose Community Foundation (of a percentage or specific amount) is often a tax-smart solution. This approach allows you to leave other types of assets to your heirs that are not as heavily taxed. Remember that after age 70 ½, you can annually gift retirement assets through your IRA qualified charitable distribution of up to $111,000, which is annually indexed for inflation. 

When you include gifts to or through Rose Community Foundation in your estate plan, you become part of the Rose Community Legacy Circle. As a Legacy Circle member, you’ll be invited to exclusive Foundation programs and events, and enjoy meaningful opportunities for connection and stewardship—all in recognition of your philanthropic leadership and lasting impact.  

Legacy, of course, is more than financial planning—it is also embedded in the stories and values that our loved ones carry forward. Last fall, Rose Community Foundation hosted a special event for Rose Community Legacy Circle (RCLC) members called Life Letters, inspired by the ancient tradition of ethical wills. Led by Nancy Sharp, award winning author and storytelling coach, RCLC members had the chance to reflect on their favorite stories, experiences, wisdom and values in the form of a Life Letter. 

“The Life Letter workshop led by Nancy Sharp was a deeply meaningful and emotionally fulfilling afternoon,” said Kathy Neustadt, an RCLC member who attended the event. “Although I’ve spent a great deal of time on family and estate planning, taking the space to write a letter to my family about my values, beliefs, and my hopes and dreams for them touched a place in me I hadn’t fully expected—or given myself permission—to express. I was profoundly moved knowing they will now have a document, in my own words, that reflects how I have tried to live my life, guided by integrity, honesty, and philanthropy. My hope is that it brings them comfort, pride, and inspiration as they find their own way in the world.” 

To learn more about Rose Community Legacy Circle, or to discuss charitable planning and legacy gifts, please contact Sarah James, director of donor funds and gift planning at sjames@rcfdenver.org