Guaranteed Way to Extend Your Life | Adam Hicks | TEDxRegina
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qOUG66Z1UY Video ID: 4qOUG66Z1UY ============================================================ Transcriber: Stephanie Brown Reviewer: Dana Sarhan All the time. I'm gonna tell. Death. Death is a strong word that triggers emotion. What about the words dying, passing away? Demise. Final exit. Departure from life. No matter how you slice it. Those words are triggers of emotion. I want you to think back of a funeral you attended over ten years ago. How often do you remember that individual? You might remember when you drive past a certain spot, or you get a hint of a distinct scent, or you hear a song and it triggers your memory. But what does that memory look like 20 years from now? What about 30, 40, 50 years from now? Extend that thought process. What about two generations from now? How many people are going to remember that individual's legacy, their life well lived? I would argue that in approximately three generations, very few, if not anyone, will remember a specific individual's life. A quote by Banksy brings my point across. They say you die twice. Once when you stop breathing, and a second time a bit later on when somebody says your name for the last time. Even those who made a difference for millions can often be forgotten. Have you ever heard of Hedy Lamarr? She worked on a secret communication system, and she passed away only 25 years ago. The frequency hopping invention was designed to help guide radio controlled missiles in an undetectable way. It wasn't until the 1990s that Lamarr's invention became more widely known, as it now forms the basis for Wi-Fi Yes, Wi-Fi (laughing) Something we use everyday. But how many of you had heard of one of the women responsible for having the world at your fingertips? Now, what if you knew of a group of charities across this world that could prevent this second type of death for all of you? For over 100 years these groups of dedicated professionals have had one primary goal and that true northern star that has directed their work historically has been to protect legacies forever. These groups are called Community Foundations. These non-profit charitable organizations build, protect and honor legacies and lives well lived forever. Now, did you hear that the model is such that a life can be honored for generations to come? Now we each have stories, each of you has a story, and I hope it's filled with some romance, passion for a hobby. There might be a failure to mixed in, but perhaps and hopefully some happy milestones graduation, a wedding, perhaps the birth of a child. We all have stories and we all have struggles, and I believe through that, we all want to make a difference by making this world a better place for not only us to live in, but for our children, their children, and for generations to come after. Now you might think this is an insurmountable task but I'm here to tell you that each of you has the ability to create your own legacy. Your own personal legacy could start with donations for as little as the cost of five lattes a week, or perhaps built into your will to give back 5% , 10% , or more. It's an option that exists for you today. Now a community foundation is built through what's called legacy funds. These are otherwise known as endowment funds. And it's relatively simple. Basically, what happens is donations can be contributed from an individual, family, business and estate. Basically, donations can come in any form. Those donations are secured and protected. Are what form your Legacy Fund held in trust at the Community Foundation. The foundation then takes those donations, invests it with a larger investment pool, and earns really great returns to then use those returns to give back to the charities and the causes that you want to honor through that legacy fund. The concept, then, is simple a charitable gift goes out of that fund from the investment earnings and goes out to honor your legacy and your life well lived. Community foundations can communicate, celebrate, and honor lives well lived, well past your memory from when your memory might be forgotten by friends and family. You can be at peace in knowing that the seeds you plant for the charities and the communities that you love will continue receiving support long after you've left your physical body. Now I want to tell you a story of somebody I knew 15 years ago. And this individual was building a successful, successful business. And through it, though, you could see that he was dedicating every waking moment of his life to this He didn't take vacations, worked over Christmas, struggled to keep up with with relationships. It was a life full of sacrifice. At the peak, he had 40 employees, had done a couple million dollars in sales and was building something pretty successful. And during this time he also started a nonprofit organization. It was based on the once popular TV show Extreme Home Makeover. And those 15 years ago, he had gathered over 80 local companies and successfully they built two homes for families in need in our community. But through that nonprofit work, there were struggles. His inexperience shone through like a floodlight at a late night football game, and those struggles did occur. But that effort, those donations and the the dedication by those hundreds of volunteers that try to make a difference those 15 years ago have largely been forgotten. He suffered significant personal financial losses through the work of that nonprofit. He drifted focus from his business and in the end, lost it all. He went bankrupt. Now, years later, after the nonprofit, it no longer exists and the news cameras have moved on. Only those closest to him will remember what took place. But if just a seedling of those donations had been planted into a legacy fund, the dedication of those hundreds of volunteers would still be remembered to this day. And I believe we all want to make an impact. And it's the power of a community foundation that can have your legacies and your impacts remembered far past. When your business, when your family, or even when you are gone. Now we ask, how many of you will make it into the history books? Our efforts and our sacrifices in trying to make this world a better place may not be remembered by future generations. A story of Rosa Parks is, you might remember, is widely celebrated as it's a reminder of her pivotal act of defiance in refusing to relinquish her bus seat to a white passenger. But the story of Elizabeth Graham is far less known. More than a century before parks parks historic stance in 1854, Elizabeth firmly insisted on her right on on being able to ride a New York City streetcar and following her forceful ejection from that streetcar, which challenged the prevailing norms that only allowed black individuals to do so only when unopposed by white riders. Elizabeth took legal action, resulting in a victorious lawsuit which eventually led to the desegregation of New York public transit. How many of you had heard of Elizabeth before? Every day. People do not need to rely on make it into the history books. Every day people can have their legacies remembered forever, and it is the power of a community foundation that can do so. As a personal example. Over a year ago, my family and I saved up and we started our own personal legacy fund, and we plan over our lifetimes to keep contributing to it as we are able. Right now, that means $50 comes off my paycheck. I get a charitable receipt, get a portion back at tax time. But we can be rest assured that our legacy will be documented, protected, and continue to grow, all while supporting a passion of ours youth and education. Our legacy fund that's going to support inner city youth will do so long past our physical lives. Now if you haven’t guessed it yet I work at one of the couple thousand community foundations there are and I'm proud to say that our foundation in 55 years has never had to take a donor dollar from a legacy fund, and how that works is those donations are pooled with other legacy funds, allowing community foundations to earn great returns with low fees, and to have enough from the investment earnings to pay out to the community in honor of those legacy funds each and every year. Now I'm often told I say yes way too often and believe that comes from some passion, some fire burning in me that that needs, that wants to and needs to make a difference in this world beyond my full time job that I work at the Community Foundation, I started a nonprofit eight years ago. We delivered 30 free community events every year. I serve on multiple boards, do renovations, and love spending time with my family, including two amazing children. But all of these things will eventually be forgotten without the power of a legacy fund. Now, a quote from Hunter Thompson summarizes my personal motto. Life is not a journey to the grave, with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but to rather skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming wow, what a ride! I love that song. As a professional accountant it would be out of character If I didn’t talk about a few of the nuts and bolts Specifically how unique donations can power a legacy fund and unique donations specifically around assets, real estate, land, private company shares can form your legacy fund as a local example, our foundation has managed over $2 million of mineral rights in honor of the three families that donated them over a decade ago. Even more amazing is that those funds have now grown into a $23 million legacy fund that, from investment earnings, sustainably, pays almost $1 million to about 50 charities every single year. And the even better part is, is every grant that goes out is done so in honor and memory of those families that originally made those donations. Now the second one is really unique. A charitable remainder trust is where anybody can put something into it So a house, a cottage, RSP, vehicles, whatever is in there, you get a tax receipt at the time it goes into the trust, and the donor can actually utilize those assets during the remainder of their life Once they pass, that trust goes automatically to the community foundation, which then goes to honor and carry on your legacy, your life well lived. Now. The third one is really unique It can have everyone in this room to create a powerful legacy. As an example, I pay monthly about $60 a month to have a $1.4 million life insurance policy. So while I don't have a cool million dollars in the bank account through life insurance, I can leave behind a powerful million dollar donation that would truly kick start our family's legacy fund. All of these unique donations, once secured in a legacy fund, can be protected and honored and celebrate your legacy and life well lived for generations to come. As a local example, our community foundation in just the past five years has granted out over $30 million to charities in our community, and most of that is from investment earnings that never existed before and would not have existed without the power of a community foundation. Now let me share with you the story of John Ziegler, a man whose laughter was infectious, yet who struggles remained hidden beneath a veil of humor. John's spirit for life is John's spirit was larger than life, and his laughter would honestly echo through every room that he entered. But behind those smiles, John struggled silently with inner turmoil. And on October 8th, 2020, at the age of 56, John's battle with his mind became too heavy to bear and he tragically took his own life. In memory and honor of John's son. His commitment to his family and friends and the life that he left. His family started a legacy fund with the mission to break the silence surrounding mental illness, to provide support and resources for those in need, and to spread laughter and light in the face of darkness. And the most amazing thing is that this work will continue forever, though John's battle may have ended. His spirit lives on through the work of that legacy fund. Now, how many of you will have your stories told on a stage like this, or your your memories remembered three generations from now? A founder of our Community Foundation, started a fund over 40 years ago with a one time only donation of $10,000, and every grant that goes out for the past few decades has gone out in memory and honor of William England. But the extra earnings have gone back into that fund to allow it to continue to grow. And it now sits with a fund balance of over $60,000. But even more amazing is that it has paid out much more than the original donation of only $10,000. And in the past five years, his fund has granted out $9,329 in honor of this wonderful man. Legacy donations are the most economical and sustainable way of donating, and can truly change the charitable landscape forever by providing predictable and sustainable funding for generations to come. Now, you heard earlier of the story of the young, naive man who started that business and that non profit 15 years ago who struggled to keep it afloat, but in the end lost it all. Hundreds of volunteers sacrificed their time and their talents in the efforts to and the dream and the efforts to make a difference in this community here. That young, naive man. Was myself. I have failed heart in my life. But when you know better, you do better. And as somebody who truly was trying to make a difference in this community, it it hurts it it truly hurts to know that I failed in having a lasting positive difference through that nonprofit work that 15 years ago. But I believe that failure is plant a seed for future success. And now, years later, after discovering the power of a community foundation, everything I do, I strive to set aside some amount of money as a small seed in the efforts to leaving this world a better place than I found it. Now you heard the title of this speech was A Guaranteed Way to Extend Your Life, and I'd like to draw your attention to the life cycle of a tree and how it guarantees its generational survival. A tree whose seeds fall gracefully from its leaves each year, planting seedlings to produce a new generation of forests. I hope that a seed has been planted here today about how your legacy, your life well lived, can be protected and celebrated for generations to come through the power of a community foundation. One life. Well lived can create a forest of possibilities. I ask you today? How long will your legacy last?