Legacy Giving

Planning a Gift to Outlast a Lifetime

For more than 20 years, the Watertown Community Foundation has harnessed the power of community giving to strengthen and uplift the place we all call home. Through your legacy gift, you can help ensure a vibrant, thriving Watertown—for today and for generations to come.

What Is a Legacy Gift?

A legacy (or planned) gift is a future donation you have arranged as part of your financial or estate plans. It allows you to make a meaningful impact while preserving your financial flexibility today.

With a legacy gift, you help ensure the Foundation can:

  • Address unmet community needs

  • Invest in the success of our youth

  • Support and sustain the people and programs that define Watertown

Why Consider a Legacy Gift?

A legacy gift offers both personal and community benefits. It can:

  • Provide lasting support for causes that matter most to you

  • Offer potential tax advantages for you and your family

  • Adapt to changes in your financial priorities over time

  • Create lifetime income for you through certain giving options

Ways to give

Planned giving offers a range of flexible options to match your goals, assets, and stage of life. We are here to work with you—and your financial advisor—to find the best fit.

  • One of the simplest and most popular options, a charitable bequest to the Watertown Community Foundation allows you to leave a meaningful gift without affecting your current finances.

    With a bequest gift, you can:

    • Include the Foundation in your will, trust, or estate plans

    • Name the Foundation as a beneficiary of a retirement account (IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or pension)

    • Designate the Foundation as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy

    • Leave all or part of a donor-advised fund to the Foundation

    • Direct a bank or brokerage account to the Foundation

  • These options can provide financial benefits during your lifetime while supporting the Foundation in the future:

    • Charitable Remainder Trusts: Provide income to you now, with remaining assets benefiting the Foundation

    • Charitable Lead Trusts: Support the Foundation first, then transfer assets to your heirs

    • Charitable Gift Annuities: Offer dependable lifetime income in exchange for your gift, with the remaining assets benefiting the Foundation

Leave a Lasting Impact

However you choose to give, your legacy gift will be a powerful investment in Watertown’s future—supporting the people, places, and opportunities that make this community strong.

We are deeply grateful for your commitment to creating lasting impact for generations to come.