Showing gratitude in McCook, today and tomorrow

Sean Wolfe finds much to be grateful for in McCook. The community, which at times appears like something out of a Norman Rockwell depiction, hosts dedicated citizens committed to seeing their hometown thrive.

Like other places in rural Nebraska, the community has challenges: an aging population, distance from amenities in larger urban areas, and lower than median incomes. But those challenges are nothing compared to McCook's strongest asset: its people.

"We are doing what we can to overcome those challenges and make McCook an even better place to live, work, and play," Wolfe said. "The community of McCook has rallied around that effort, and we have significant projects currently in the works. Ultimately that is my favorite thing about McCook, the overall willingness to make our community even better."

Decades ago, an article from an out-of-state writer declared that communities in the Great Plains were unsustainable and proposed a "Buffalo Commons" to turn vast portions of the region into a nature preserve. The proposal didn't land in McCook. Instead, residents claimed the Buffalo Commons moniker, most famously for the annual storytelling festival in the city.

"Our community adopted that slogan as a sign of defiance and to remember that we must work hard to maintain our community in this area, or we risk that researchers are correct and our region becomes one of ghost towns and open range," Wolfe said. "McCook has embraced this defiance to the very core of its culture, with strong leaders that want to ensure a vibrant community for generations to come."

Wolfe and his wife, Becky, participate in many community organizations, including the McCook Community Foundation Fund, an affiliated fund of Nebraska Community Foundation. To further cement their commitment to McCook, they created a planned gift for the community.

"By leaving a planned gift we are showing our gratitude to the organizations that are important in our lives and that we value in our community," Wolfe said. "These include our church, our hospital, and of course, our community's fund advisory committee (FAC) with the Nebraska Community Foundation. We can see first-hand how the FAC is bettering our community through unrestricted gifts and endowments. These funds help the community meet its greatest needs and support community leaders that can fully leverage community volunteers and talent."

The Wolfes still have young children at home, so they developed their estate with tools allowing them to plan for the future of their community while still ensuring their children are taken care of.

"We have incorporated one such tool, a charitable remainder trust, in addition to outright charitable gifts, in our estate plan," Wolfe said. "I would encourage anyone that interested in making a charitable impact to speak with a representative from Nebraska Community Foundation to discuss some options that may be appealing to you and help you meet your competing goals and obligations."

There are few better options to ensure your legacy benefits the places you value deeply.

"Creating a planned gift in our estate is another way to ensure that those values are honored through the end of our lives," Wolfe said. "While we won't be here to know the ultimate impact our gift may have, we trust the future citizens of our community to use it wisely."

Nebraska Community Foundation's Five to Thrive campaign asks you to consider leaving just five percent of your assets to your favorite hometown or to NCF to benefit all of our communities. If we all left five, that's well over $47 billion that could be reinvested in our communities over the next 10 years. When we all leave five, our hometowns thrive! Visit www.fivetothrivene.com to learn more!

For information on how you can give back to your hometown, contact Nebraska Community Foundation's Office of Planned Giving, 402.323.7330 or [email protected].