Planned or Legacy Giving

Over nearly five decades, JustDane has brought together people from all walks of life to partner with us. Our core values of inclusion, compassion, forgiveness and courage define our legacy.  Now you can make your legacy a part of our legacy.

Your estate plans can help sustain the people and causes that you hold dear. Whether your estate is modest or exceptional, the thoughtful and well-advised choices you make about your legacy can open the way for you to advance values that mean the most to you.

What is planned giving?

A planned gift is a way to meet your personal financial goals while you provide JustDane with vital, long-term support.

Tailoring a gift to fit your financial, estate and tax plans has a number of benefits. You can gain tax rewards, maintain your financial security and make a truly meaningful contribution to JustDane’s future.

As you contemplate your aspirations for planned giving, please be aware that you can direct a bequest toward JustDane’s areas of greatest need, or you can focus on one particular area of our work that has special meaning for you.

We recommend that you consult with a professional adviser – a lawyer or financial consultant – to explore options that best align with your own financial position. They will consider your personal financial circumstances to help you receive maximum benefits from existing tax laws.

If you have questions or another way you would like to leave a legacy gift to JustDane, please contact Kathy Eckenrod at (608) 807-9107 or kathy@justdane.org. And we would appreciate it if you would let Kathy know if you are making a planned legacy gift.

Planned Giving Options

You can make a provision in your will or living trust that directs a portion of your estate to a named beneficiary, such as JustDane. A bequest offers these benefits:

  • Make a major gift while preserving these assets during your life.
  • Reduce your federal estate taxes.
  • Leave a legacy of goodwill that will serve vulnerable people in our community.

Cash, securities, real estate and tangible personal property, such as works of art, can be willed to JustDane through your estate. There are several ways to gift bequests, and there is specific language that needs to accompany these different gifts in your will. You can download our suggested bequest language for details, or contact Kathy Eckenrod at (608) 807-9107 or kathy@justdane.org  if you have questions.

For legal purposes, please use JustDane Inc. Our Federal EIN is: 23-7298482

Naming JustDane as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, IRA or other retirement account is an easy way to support our mission and take advantage of tax benefits at the same time.

For legal purposes, please use JustDane Inc. Our Federal EIN is: 23-7298482

Please contact Kathy Eckenrod at at (608) 807-9107 or kathy@justdane.org if you have questions.

If you are considering a gift of appreciated property, such as stocks or bonds, to JustDane, note these financial benefits:

  • You receive a tax deduction for the full, current fair market value of the donated property.
  • You avoid the capital gains tax and other expenses that would be incurred if the property were sold by you.

Stock transfer information:
JustDane Federal Tax ID number: 23-7298482

Charles Schwab & Co.
Park Capital Management
Attn: Alyssa Thompson
740 Regent St., Suite 400
Milwaukee, WI 53201
(608) 535-3850
DTC# 0164
Account # 9689-8600

Please contact Kathy Eckenrod at (608) 807-9107 with your questions.

Document Your Wishes with FreeWill

JustDane partners with FreeWill, a secure tool that helps you easily create or update your will in just 20 minutes.

Having a will ensures your loved ones are cared for and protects your wishes after your death. It allows you to:

  • Designate guardians for minor children and pets.
  • Distribute your assets and belongings according to your wishes.
  • Create peace of mind for your family.

By using FreeWill, you’ll also have the chance to incorporate a gift to JustDane in your plans. This step is completely optional, but it would ensure our quality care is available to people facing life-limiting illnesses for generations to come.

As the JustDane Development Team, we have spent years talking to JustDane friends about their estate plans. While we are constantly inspired by those who have put great thought into their plans (and perhaps even included charity in those plans!), it is clear that not enough people have created a will (or trust) to provide for their family and causes they care about when they die.

FreeWill was created to help solve the crisis of estate planning in America. Despite the best efforts of many, studies reveal that the vast majority of Americans do not have an up-to-date estate plan. In fact, according to Gallup, the percentage of Americans with wills has decreased dramatically in the last 10 years.

As a Gift Planning team, we believe in this mission. While we would love to see every single American visit an attorney to discuss their wishes and execute the essential legal documents, we know from experience that not everyone will. Providing this easy, accessible tool is one way to help.

Not always! Although FreeWill’s self-help software can provide the legal documents needed to effectuate the common estate planning wishes of an average American user, there are many scenarios where the help of an experienced attorney will be more appropriate. Some common examples of circumstances that FreeWill should not be used for include:

(i) particularly large estates,

(ii) contentious family dynamics and blended family situations, and

(iii) families that need to provide for special needs children or relatives.

To alert users to these considerations, the FreeWill document-creation flows include numerous “Helper Text” bubbles, highlight the issue and encourage users to speak with a qualified attorney. When they do so, FreeWill users can save themselves time and money by using the “Documented Wishes” option to print out the personal details and wishes they’ve entered, and bring them to their chosen attorney.

It’s also worth noting that although an estate planning attorney can provide more extensive customization and personalized advice, roughly 70% of FreeWill users indicate that their FreeWill is their very first will. In other words, they have not yet spoken with an estate planning attorney, and very well might never do so. We submit that these users will be much better off having a FreeWill will than no will at all.

A bequest, which is a type of planned gift, is a percentage or amount of your estate that you can designate to support a charitable cause beyond your lifetime. Many visionary donors have chosen to include charitable bequests to JustDane in their will or trust.

Your planned gift doesn’t cost you a cent today, but it will have a major impact on JustDane’s future financial security, sustainability, and participants. Planned giving is thus a powerful and highly accessible form of donation: no matter your age or current circumstances, anyone can make this commitment today for tomorrow.

If you don’t have an estate plan in place, you’re not alone: 70% of Americans do not have an up-to-date will. However, creating your will is essential, and can be a highly impactful way to support the people and causes you love. It ensures that your wishes are known, saving your loved ones the stress and cost of probate proceedings, and letting you (and not the government) decide where your property goes. And creating a will doesn’t have to be costly or complicated — in fact, we have partnered with FreeWill to make it easy and completely free.

Yes, you can! To do so, simply create and execute a new will using FreeWill, and destroy the earlier version. If this is your first time using FreeWill, the site will not know your previous information, so you will create an entirely new will. If you have previously worked with a lawyer to create your will, you can put together your updated wishes on FreeWill and bring them to your lawyer to incorporate into your existing will.

FreeWill can still help — even if you’d prefer to finalize your will with an attorney! At the end of your will-making process, you’ll get a set of your documented wishes that may save you time and money with your lawyer.

No! A will is not valid until it is executed. Be sure to print your will and follow the directions given on how to execute the will. Directions will differ based on your state, but you will always need to sign, get witness signatures, and perhaps even get it notarized.

Questions? Contact Kathy Eckenrod at kathy@justdane.org or (608) 807-9107.

If you have already included a gift to JustDane in your estate plan, please fill out this brief form so we can ensure our records are up to date and say thank you.