McLaren Northern Michigan Planned Giving Newsletter Spring 2019

Friends

Our Mission: To receive and administer funds to support the mission of McLaren Northern Michigan and support programs that enhance the well-being of the community.

O F T H E F O U N D AT I O N PLANNED GIVING EDITION

Inside 2 Welcome 3

An Enduring Commitment to Nursing Education

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The Power of Endowment

4 The Appeal of Giving Through Your Will or Estate Plan

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Your Gifts Can Create a Lasting Impact

Many of your friends and neighbors have chosen to create a permanent and lasting commitment to health care in northern Michigan. These contributors are recognized as members of our Legacy Society.

This newsletter showcases an inspiring example of one woman’s commitment to nursing education and the Nurse Residency Program (pictured here), and provides options to explore as you think about how you might create your personal legacy.

Protect What’s Important to You If you are one of the 64% of Americans without a will or estate plan, we have some tools to help you protect what’s important to you. Professionals suggest getting started by taking an inventory of your assets, collecting all of your important documents, and deciding what you hope to accomplish through your plan. We have prepared two documents to help you through the estate planning process.

• “What to Take to Your First Estate Planning Meeting” provides you with a list of items to consider when you set an appointment with an estate planning professional.

• Our “Personal Record of Financial Information” will help you to collect and organize all of your financial information in one spot.

Complete and return the interest card to request your copy, or email foundation@northernhealth.org to request an electronic version.

Your support makes us better today and healthier tomorrow For over a century, northern Michigan families have supported health and healing in the region. Philanthropy established our hospital, and, over the years, generations of donors have made transformational gifts in a number of ways. Each has played a role in helping us deliver the high-quality care that McLaren Northern Michigan is known for.

Many of our contributors have taken their commitment one step further, allowing us to plan for our future. Legacy gifts and endowment funds provide a solid foundation to meet the needs of tomorrow. Included are a few examples of how thoughtful planning and a commitment to the future can make an impact.

With generous support today, we can set the bar higher, invest in education, secure new equipment and technology, and build new facilities. I invite you to take the next step and make the legacy of McLaren Northern Michigan your own, ensuring that future generations have access to high-quality care, delivered by the very best clinical staff.

We are so very grateful for your support.

Sincerely,

Patrick Schulte, CFRE Vice President and Chief Development Officer

Members of our Legacy Society Provide for our Future Our Legacy Society recognizes those who have invested in the future of health care by creating an endowment fund or including a provision for a future gift in their will or trust.

360 Connable Avenue Petoskey, MI 49770 231-487-3500 Friends of the Foundation Newsletter: Planned Giving Edition is a publication of the McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation and is produced for contributors to McLaren Northern Michigan and its affiliated programs. Find out more about our work by visiting mclaren.org/NorthernMichiganFoundation.

Legacy Society gifts are acknowledged with: • Invitations to special events, tours, and groundbreaking celebrations • Recognition in newsletters, publications, and on the Wall of Honor • Enrollment in our Friend of the Hospital program with amenities that include assistance navigating McLaren Northern Michigan services Legacy Society members may choose to remain anonymous for recognition purposes while still participating as a Friend of the Hospital.

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mclaren.org/NorthernMichiganFoundation | 231-487-3500

The Power of an Enduring

Commitment to Nursing

PROFILE: Betty Benson Betty Benson, a retired nurse and dedicated McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation donor, has created a lasting legacy for nursing education at the hospital.

After years of supporting nursing education at McLaren Northern Michigan, Betty Benson wanted to do even more. She remembered from her 40 years of nursing experience just how challenging it can be for nurses who are starting out in their careers or who are trying to gain additional education.

“Nursing can be amazingly rewarding, but it can also be incredibly consuming and stressful. As a nurse, you are handling countless decisions every day, and juggling a million details,” said Betty. “I wanted to provide

nurses with support to help them succeed in their careers.”

Betty also wanted a way to ensure that her support would continue for years after her lifetime. She recently established an endowed fund at McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation, which will do just that. The fund is invested and only the earnings from the principal are used to support nursing education efforts at McLaren Northern Michigan. As the principal grows over time, the earnings will continue to be a source of financial support for the cause Betty cares about.

Earnings from The Robert and Elizabeth Benson Endowment Fund for Nursing will help support the McLaren Northern Michigan Nurse Residency Program.

Betty, a retired nurse, has created The Robert and Elizabeth Benson Endowment Fund for Nursing to support the McLaren Northern Michigan Nurse Residency Program.

One of only a few such programs statewide, this year-long program for new nurses guides participants through monthly instruction, laboratory simulations, and mentor meetings. Facilitators focus on professionalism, leadership, and patient care. Throughout the year, participants complete an evidence-based practice project and present their findings to their peers, nursing administration, and guests at a graduation ceremony.

With generous support and future planning, Betty has been instrumental in helping to adopt new initiatives that support nursing education.

The Power of Endowment What if your gift could provide support for our patients and our community not just in your lifetime, but forever? Endowed funds can!

Endowments are permanent funds where the principal is invested and only the earnings are used to support the cause you care about. The initial gift is preserved in perpetuity with the funds invested for growth, thereby continuing your rich tradition of giving to McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation.

An endowed fund can be established today or can be arranged with a gift in your will. Call for more information and define your legacy today.

Nurse Residents gather monthly for training and support. mclaren.org/NorthernMichiganFoundation | 231-487-3500

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The Appeal of Giving Through Your Will or Estate Plan A member of our local community, Mr. Ronald Pawlak passed away last year. Today, gifts from his estate are helping nurses earn specialty certification, supporting hospice programs, and improving patient care through technology and innovation. Mr. Pawlak designated both McLaren Northern Michigan and McLaren Home Care & Hospice as beneficiaries to his retirement account.

The gifts from Mr. Pawlak’s estate are examples of how our dedicated donors plan ahead to make a difference for our patients and our northern Michigan communities.

Without question, the majority of the planned gifts that we receive are made through simple and thoughtful arrangements. While every situation is unique, many of our donors cite the following reasons for their decision to leave a future commitment through a will, trust, or beneficiary designation.

• It’s the right time – “I want to make a difference, but I don’t know what the future will bring.

With a gift in my will, I still have access to the finances that I’ll need throughout my life.”

• It’s the right thing to do – “I want to leave a legacy. It’s important to me to leave something behind.”

• It’s easy to do – “I named McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation as the beneficiary of my old life insurance policy. It was simple.”

• It’s economical – “I wanted to leave something to the hospital and to my children. It made sense to leave my retirement account since my kids would have to pay tax on it. McLaren Northern Michigan is tax exempt and will get the whole amount.”

Whatever your reason, leaving your legacy can be simple and straightforward, and your impact on the health of this community

EIN # 38-2445611 To ensure that your long-term goals will be fulfilled, please contact us for sample language if you wish to make a restricted bequest to a clinical area or program that you care about (ex. oncology, cardiac, scholarship) or create an endowment fund for a specific purpose.

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will continue well into the future.

Contributions to McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit corporation, are tax-deductible as allowable by law. The information contained within is intended to provide general guidance and is not a substitute for professional counsel.

Please be sure to consult your tax or legal advisor for professional guidance.

Every gift begins with a question:

Example of General Bequest Language “After fulfilling all other provisions, I hereby give, devise, and bequeath to McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation, a nonprofit organization located at 360 Connable, Petoskey, MI 49770, all or a percentage of the residue and remainder of my estate to be used for the area of greatest needs at the time the gift is received.”

Support from our donors impacts both patients and their loved ones during some of life’s most vulnerable moments.

“How can I make a difference in the lives of others?”

If you have asked yourself that question and are considering leaving a future gift in your will or estate plan, contact a member of the Foundation development team to discuss how to best structure a gift for the maximum impact.

Julie Jarema, Senior Director of Development 231-487-4811 Jennie Cope, Development Officer 231-487-3009 Jennifer Doumanian, Planned Giving Officer 231-487-5020 Maurika Reed, Development Officer 231-487-4805 Marci Singer, Development Officer 231-487-7202

mclaren.org/NorthernMichiganFoundation | 231-487-3500