Host Mary Ann LeRay welcomes back Kristen Mihaljevic, Director of Development at the North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF), for a follow-up conversation that picks up right where the last episode left off. This time, the focus turns to estate planning and legacy giving — and why these "difficult conversations" are so much easier to have before a crisis than in the middle of one.
The timing matters. Baby boomers hold more wealth than any generation before them, and as Mary Ann notes, they value choices, options, and creative ways to fuel what matters most to their communities. Kristen explains how NCCF helps donors weave community impact into their estate plans — as she puts it, people "don't give to us, they give through us." The conversation covers charitable gift annuities, which provide guaranteed income for life with the remainder going to charity, and beneficiary designations — perhaps the simplest legacy tool of all. Kristen's practical advice: never leave beneficiary fields blank, review them regularly, and don't forget contingent beneficiaries. She even shares a personal story about catching that gap in her own family's accounts.
The conversation feels especially close to home in Jones County, where families have farmed the same land for three to five generations. Mary Ann reflects on The Filling Station's own experience receiving grants from an endowment established in a donor's memory — a powerful reminder of how a legacy gift keeps a person's values at work in the community long after they're gone. Listeners also learn the origin story of NCCF itself, which grew from a dream to serve rural North Carolina and now includes 53 affiliates across 60 counties, including our own Jones County affiliate.
As The Filling Station approaches its 10th anniversary, this episode echoes a truth both women share: relationships come before resources. Whether you're thinking about your own legacy or simply want to understand your options, this conversation is a wise place to start.