Planning Your Legacy - Piedmont Land Conservancy

Building for the Future

What will be your Legacy?

October 2022

“Legacy.” It’s about learning from the past, living in the present, and building for the future. It helps us decide the kind of life we want to live and the kind of world we want to live in. It’s about understanding that we are a part of a larger community, and learning from our history to build our future.

Creating a will and wealth plan gives you the opportunity to preserve parts of our beautiful planet. By naming your local land trust in your plans you make it possible for the places and pathways, the plants and wildlife you love to be a part of the lives of others – your family and friends, and those you don’t even know. They will have an opportunity to explore, learn from, and be in “conversation” with the land, water and air that sustains us. It’s not only a legacy of place, but a legacy of caring and stewardship.

Bandera Farms Park represents the first time that 3 municipalities and Guilford County have collaborated jointly on a preservation and recreation project. Plans for the park have been in the works since 2019, led by local land trust, Piedmont Land Conservancy, with representatives from Town of Summerfield, Town of Oak Ridge, City of Greensboro, and Guilford County all coming together with a joint vision.

Piedmont Land Conservancy members who have let us know they’ve included PLC in their estate plans are part of our

Forever These Lands Society.

Through bequest gifts, many game-changing projects in our nine-county region have been made possible:

The easement at Crossnore School & Children’s Home in Winston-Salem,
Bandera Farms Park in Guilford County,
and PLC’s upcoming Caraway Creek Nature Preserve in Randolph County.

We hope you will consider including Piedmont Land Conservancy in your legacy plans. By letting us know that you have put PLC in your will, you will join other members who have already done so in our Forever These Lands Society. The name says it all, and we would be honored and grateful to welcome you.

"Legacy is about life and living. It’s about learning from the past, living in the present, and building for the future. Where do you think it’s best to plant a young tree: a clearing in an old growth forest or an open field? Ecologists tell us that a young tree grows better when it’s planted in an area with older trees. The reason, it seems, is that the roots of the young tree are able to follow the pathways created by former trees and implant themselves more deeply. Over time, the roots of many trees may actually graft themselves to one another, creating an intricate, interdependent foundation hidden under the ground. In this way, stronger trees share resources with weaker ones so that the whole forest becomes healthier. That’s legacy: an interconnection across time, with a need for those who have come before us and a responsibility to those who come after us."

Susan V. Bosak

The Legacy Project

The Nuts and Bolts

Everyone needs a legal will to ensure their assets benefit the people and causes they value the most. By leaving a gift to PLC in your will, you can create a legacy that will help us protect wildlife and land, clean water and air, and ensure the survival of our organization both now and in the future.

Estate planning consists of at least 4 key documents:

Last Will and Testament and/or Trust
Durable Power of Attorney for Finances
Durable Power of Attorney for Healthy Care
Living Will or Advance Directive

Estate planning is flexible/revocable – you can change your mind at any time.
Estate planning is for everyone.
Estate planning starts with you.

Now is the perfect time to set up a meeting with an attorney to discuss your wishes. If you already have a plan, now is a great time to evaluate it and review your documents to determine if you need an update.

If you have any questions for us, please contact Karrie Jo Manson, Director of Development or Kevin Redding, Executive Director at info@piedmontland.org or 336.681.0088.

Here’s what some of our Forever These Lands Society members have said recently:

"We support PLC because we know how important their work is and we are impressed by how effectively they do it. Including PLC in our estate is simply a logical extension of our ongoing commitment."

Sheilah and Paul Lombardo

PLC Members

"Our gift to PLC every year is important to us. We want to be part of ensuring that our local land trust keeps on going. So, we made sure our gifts would continue after we're gone by including a gift to PLC from our IRA in our estate plan. It was an easy decision and easy to carry out."

Charlie and Lois Brummitt

PLC Members