A LEGACY OF PASSION & PLANNING

I really wanted to give something back to our community.

-Max Doering

A planned gift is one way to ensure your passion for our community lives on. Like Max Doering, who passed away in 2019, donor partners who support our unrestricted funds make it possible for Grand Rapids Community Foundation to adapt to our community’s changing needs.

Max Doering played in multiple bands, enjoyed the symphony and theater, and, with his wife, Lois, was an avid patron of the arts. Max even considered a career in music, but joked to the Community Foundation in 2014, “I knew there were a lot of starving musicians around, so I eased up on the music and decided it would just be fun for me.”

After serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II, graduating from Western Michigan University and working for a few years in the pharmaceutical industry, Max changed careers. He went to work at a brokerage firm, Roney & Co. (now Raymond James) and stayed for 42 years until his retirement.Besides the arts, Max loved traveling, fishing and skiing. He and Lois were committed philanthropists who prioritized giving throughout their lives and in their estate plan.

The Impact of a Planned Gift

Max and Lois made their first gift to the Community Foundation in 1991, when we prioritized grantmaking for downtown Grand Rapids revitalization, housing and neighborhoods, among other issues. The gift started a relationship that spanned decades. In the mid-1990s, the Doerings created a charitable remainder trust, a type of irrevocable trust that generates a potential income stream for the donor or donor’s beneficiaries. When the donor passes away, the remaining assets are distributed to charitable organizations like the Community Foundation. “I really wanted to give something back to our community” Max said later. “That’s why it was especially meaningful to establish our charitable remainder unitrust to benefit Grand Rapids Community Foundation.”

By establishing a charitable remainder trust, Max and Lois became members of the Metz Legacy Society, which recognizes donor partners who have included the Community Foundation in their will or estate plans or have created a life income gift to benefit the Community Foundation. Together they attended events and engaged with the community. Lois passed away in 2005.

After Max’s passing in 2019, a distribution from their charitable remainder trust was made to establish the Max H. and Lois Doering Unrestricted Fund. Because the fund is unrestricted, their gift will be used to meet community needs for decades to come.

PLANNING IS IMPORTANT, LET US HELP

Planning what will happen to your assets after your lifetime is important. Getting started is often the hardest part. We’re here to help you understand all your options and explore creative ways to leave your mark on the community you love. Let’s talk! Reach a member of our development team at 616.454.1751.