Greg and Libby Hahn on Why They Are Leaving an Unrestricted Gift to The Indianapolis Foundation
Not-for-profits tend to be very willing to allow donors to restrict their planned gifts as a commitment to respect the intentions, preferences, and relationship to the donor—and their occasional idiosyncrasies. Charitable gift planners and development officers want to ensure that donors are confident with their planned gift decision and how it will be spent in the future. Whether it’s designating a gift to a particular program, prohibiting funds from being directed toward operating expenses, or prescribing specifically what the funds will support.
Libby and Greg Hahn
CICF and its affiliates, The Indianapolis Foundation and Hamilton County Community Foundation, will always honor donor intent. Over the last few years, we have also realized how critical unrestricted gifts are to the not-for-profit landscape. While organizations with substantial administrative overhead can signal a red flag to donors—and sometimes rightfully so—not-for-profits must pay their staff, keep the lights on, market their services, and more, all while providing their services to the community. Acknowledging the realities of the not-for-profit business landscape, we no longer restrict grants to program expenses in our grantmaking from our endowments.
Like other not-for-profits, unrestricted gifts are an incredible and valuable resource for us. Greg and Libby Hahn, both longtime friends and donors to CICF and The Indianapolis Foundation, uniquely understand the value of unrestricted giving. What started as a request for angel investing dollars transformed into the Hahns’ desire to support the Indianapolis community in perpetuity with the knowledge that the most significant needs will likely change over time. Greg noted, “We learned through our experience with CICF and The Indianapolis Foundation that unrestricted giving is much more important and can be very impactful for the organization’s programs and other interests.” CICF’s long relationship with the Hahns is critical too, as Libby emphasized, “We have absolute faith in the foundations’ decision-making and know that our dollars are being used for the right purposes.”
After a lifetime spent devoted to the improvement of the Indianapolis community, the Hahns are sure to leave a legacy that their gift to the unrestricted fund for The Indianapolis Foundation will only enhance. “We have both been absolutely blessed in our lifetimes, and we are grateful that we came from giving families,” they said. “We both grew up understanding what giving back meant, and we witnessed what our family did in the community to set a good example. We truly hope that we are able to leave the same legacy of giving back.”
Our team can help you craft a legacy that meets your philanthropic goals while also allowing for some measure of flexibility. Contact us today to learn more about how you can incorporate unrestricted giving into your estate plan.
Contact us today to learn more about how you can talk about unrestricted giving with your clients:
Sarah Weaver, JD
Director of Charitable Gift Planning & Legal Counsel
SarahW@cicf.org
317.634.2423 x510
Leave A Comment