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New Study Outlines Illinois Wealth
on a County-by-County Basis
November 15, 2007
- In 50 years, $1.35 trillion is expected to pass from
one generation to the next in Illinois. In just
10 years, $182.3 billion of it will have transferred.
This tremendous transfer of wealth
has the capacity to change the course of Illinois communities,
via personal bequests to community foundations. For
instance, if only 5 percent of this wealth was earmarked
for charitable endowment, the resulting $118.4 billion
fund would generate hundreds of millions of dollars
every year for local community projects and priorities
across the state – forever.
These scenarios are based on a comprehensive
study of the transfer of wealth in Illinois that was
commissioned by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and conducted
by the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship. The Donors
Forum, as the premier resource on philanthropy in Illinois,
served as the Illinois partner in the study.
Donors Forum shared detailed results
of the report on Friday, November 2, with 25 Illinois
community foundations that helped fund the study.
Those foundations also received tools to use to develop
a strategy specific to their community and to educate
potential contributors on the benefits of various kinds
of charitable gifts.
“This study helps us to understand
the size and timing of the transfer of wealth across
Illinois,” said Valerie S. Lies, President and
CEO of Donors Forum. “Much of this ‘hometown’
wealth is currently invested in family homes or farms,
retirement accounts and other appreciated assets and
may be heavily taxed if given to heirs, which many families
may not know. However, if just a small portion was donated
to a community foundation, a community would enjoy better
health and human services, arts and cultural programming,
recreation, economic development and more.”
County-by-county demographics include
estimates of net worth by income, education, race, age
of household, work and housing status. Additionally,
the report shows estimates of average per-household
data, including current net worth, for each of Illinois’
102 counties as well as the scenarios if 5 percent of
these amounts was captured and then paid out.
W.K. Kellogg Foundation sponsored the
report as part of its agenda to help community foundations
understand the potential for giving in their communities
and to attract bequests and other planned gifts that
will help their communities grow. With this information,
the foundations and the families’ trusted advisors
can equip asset holders to make a lasting contribution.
Those interested in finding out
more should contact their local community foundation,
which is a philanthropy made up of permanent funds established
by many separate donors for the long-term benefit of
residents in a defined community. A list of participating
community foundations in Illinois as well as an executive
summary of the study can be found at www.donorsforum.org/securingourfuture.html.
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