You may have heard the phrase “Transfer of Wealth” over the last few months, and maybe have even heard me mention it. Last year, county-by-county data became available for all of Minnesota outlining amounts of wealth that will transfer from one generation to another in coming years.
The expected Transfer of wealth for the 18 counties of southwest Minnesota through 2030 is $4.5 billion—and this is conservative. This presents an incredible opportunity in the region. If just 5 percent of this wealth was gifted to charity—still leaving 95 percent going to family or others—think of the difference it could make!
This transfer is really important because the vitality of our rural communities depends on it. It’s easy to recognize the economic loss when a local business closes or relocates. But what about when personal wealth leaves your community?
Through SWIF or our fund partners, that 5 percent could be added to or used to create a named fund, donor-advised fund (for heirs), community foundation or designated fund endowment, an agency fund for a school or nonprofit or SWIF’s General Endowment. It could happen different ways, including through SWIF’s Farmland Retention Program, appreciated securities and/or property, cash, retirement plan assets and more.
In the end, it means dollars will continue to be available for grantmaking to support new playgrounds, summer festivals, unique classes, ball parks, libraries, scholarships, city beautification projects—and the many other things that charitable dollars make possible in our communities. And, this is not about SWIF; this is about keeping important assets in our rural area benefiting our rural area.
Please contact me if you’d like more information. We want to connect with southwest Minnesota attorneys, accountants, bankers and financial planners to discuss what this means for our region and communities and how we can partner to make a difference. It’s so important for us to talk about this transfer. Once this wealth leaves our region, we’ll never get it back.
Start talking today about what you want for your community well into the future.
