Each legacy gift reflects an individual's circumstance and passion. For Benjamin A. G. Fuller of Cushing, Maine, a family inheritance led him to establish a charitable gift annuity (CGA) at the Maine Community Foundation. The CGA will provide income to Fuller and his wife, Leslie, during their lifetime, and then become a charitable endowment for cultural programs in Maine. He considers this endowment a way of giving back to his family's home state.
As curator at the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Fuller knows how difficult it can be to find permanent support for a cultural institution. "It's supporting something that does not necessarily have immediate measurable payback like human services," he notes. Setting up a bequest, he explains, represents a decision "to do something the results of which you won't see."
You might say it takes a special faith to invest in the future.
Learn more about the community foundation's Legacies for Maine program.