Susan Stearns Legacy Circle
Mount Evans Offers Many Opportunities for Charitable Giving and We Hope One Speaks to Your Heart
In November 2020 the Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice Board of Directors voted to name our legacy society after long-time supporter and community philanthropist Susan Stearns. The Legacy Circle honors those who have named Mount Evans as a beneficiary in their wills, IRAs and/or estate plans.
Susan truly believed that everyone has a role in investing in their community today and in the future. Financial gifts in the future circle back to take care of those in need and are a true way to pay it forward. It seemed fitting to call our society the Susan Stearns Legacy Circle not only to recognize philanthropy today, but also as a way that we can honor those who have invested in our future. If you have named Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice in your estate plans, please let us know. We would be honored to include you in the Susan Stearns Legacy Circle.
Susan Stearns Legacy Circle
The Susan Stearns Legacy Circle recognizes donors that have indicated that they have made a planned gift to Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice as part of their overall financial and estate planning. The Legacy Circle gives Mount Evans an opportunity to honor those who have chosen to invest in our future and leave part of their personal legacy to Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice. Members believe in the mission of Mount Evans, see the value Mount Evans provides to all residents in our mountain communities, and recognize the need for Mount Evans for years to come. Members will be invited to special meetings throughout the year on Mount Evans’ current activities and future plans.
What Do You Get?
- Quarterly educational webinar about estate planning and charitable gifts
- Monthly financial planning newsletter
- Commemorative brick on our outdoor legacy patio
Why Be a Part of the Circle?
- Show your commitment to and faith in Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice
- Pay it forward and be a leader and role model for others to consider being part of the Legacy Circle
- Give Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice an opportunity to honor you in advance of a gift
- Invest in the future of your mountain community
Susan Stearns: A Legacy of Giving
Susan Stearns, longtime community supporter, philanthropist, and Board Member of Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice for more than 25 years, was an absolute inspiration to all who met her.
“When it comes to Mount Evans there are those that come in and make the Angels. There are those who offer support to meet the daily needs of our community, like delivering groceries. There are those that serve on the board. Sue did it all, and she never asked for anything in return, she just wanted to make this a better community and make some people in need a little luckier than they would otherwise be,” extolls Greg Dobbs, long-time friend of Susan and former Mount Evans board member.
We were so incredibly fortunate to have had Susan’s giving spirit as part of Mount Evans for more than 25 years and honored to have taken care of her in her time of greatest need as she was fighting ovarian cancer. Susan lost her fight January 29, 2021. Her legacy lives on through everyone she touched with her kindness and generosity, and her story will live on to inspire even those who didn’t have the privilege of knowing her.
In recognition of her legacy and all that she gave to Mount Evans and our mountain community, we’ve created the Susan Stearns Legacy Circle as a way to say thank you to all of those members of our community leaving legacy gifts in support of Mount Evans. “It means a lot that you’re naming this legacy society for me,” Susan said. “I hope I’m providing an example. I hope I inspire not just people to include Mount Evans in their estate plans, but include other non-profits too. I hope that I can lead by example on that.”
Read the full Susan Stearns: A Legacy of Giving article.
I would like to leave a bequest to Mount Evans. What do I do?
Contact us, and we can talk to you about the various types of charitable giving vehicles you can you use to maximize your gift to Mount Evans. Then you should meet with your estate, financial, and tax planners to determine and set up what is best for your personal situation.
Do I have to tell you how much I am leaving Mount Evans in my will or bequest?
No. The size of the gift varies by individual and people should give to the best of their ability.
Can my gift go to a specific person at Mount Evans?
No. You can make a gift to the organization in honor of a specific person but it cannot be given to that person.
Does Mount Evans have an endowment fund?
Yes, we actually have two, one for general operations and one for Camp Comfort. We have a clearly defined endowment spending policy updated in 2021.
Does my gift automatically go into the endowment fund?
No. Your gift to Mount Evans will go where you indicate. The endowment funds are a restricted set of dollars that are spent on a restricted list of expenditures. A greatest needs bequest is preferred so it can be used where the CEO and Board of Directors determine it can make the most impact to the organization at the time we receive it.
Is Mount Evans an expert on charitable giving?
No. Mount Evans is an expert in the delivery of exceptional in-home health care for those in need. We work with you to explain how a future gift from you can benefit the services Mount Evans provides to our community. Your legal professionals are the experts on setting up charitable giving.
"Leaving a legacy of a life well-lived and well cared for is why I am honored to name Mount Evans as a beneficiary of my estate."
Susan Stearns, lifelong philanthropist
