Many individuals and families have entrusted the Community Foundation for Monterey (CFMC) to carry out their charitable wishes. Here you’ll find stories of people whose generosity will leave a lasting impact. Whether you have a specific charitable vision, would like to support a field of interest or leave an unrestricted gift, the Community Foundation will steward the philanthropic resources entrusted to us and make sure your unique wishes are fulfilled.
Carmel residents Steve and Barbara Brooks partnered with the CFMC for a very special planned gift. They’ve shared how creating a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) increased their income during their lifetimes and will leave a legacy in the future. We are both retired teachers with a modest estate, yet we can take part in doing good things in this world,” they said. Read their full story: cfmco.org/Brooks.
Charlie Snorf enjoyed a life of adventure, humor, love and giving before his passing in July 2020. A native of Chicago, Charlie attended Yale and received his medical degree from Northwestern University. A trip to Carmel in 1962 led him to move to California with his family. Charlie gave generously to scholarship funds and established the Snorf Scholarship Fund at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine in honor of his father, also a doctor.
He and his wife Leslie later added an Endowed Chair in Orthopedics. Charlie and Leslie partnered with CFMC as active donor advisors, making grants to arts and culture, education and health. He designated The Snorf Fund, their donor advised fund at the CFMC, as a beneficiary of his estate so grants will continue in his areas of interest.
Maxwell Chaplin was a citizen of the world. Born in 1926 in China, he attended UC Berkeley before joining the American Field Service, and completed a degree in International Relations. Max married Cynthia Nancy Klein of Carmel and had a career in foreign service which took the couple all over the world before retiring in Carmel Valley.
Max began a second career in civic and environmental activities including leadership in the Carmel Valley Property Owners Association, local Sierra Club chapter, Big Sur Land Trust and Point Lobos Foundation. Before his passing in 2020, he and his wife Cynthia created a Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) at the CFMC which will benefit her during her lifetime and ultimately create a fund to support the Ventana Wilderness Alliance.
Lowel Figen, of Monterey, passed away in 2017. Born in Minneapolis, Lowel graduated from the University of Minnesota. After college he served in the Army in Korea. He and his late wife Janie moved to Monterey in 1957 and ran the Starlight Motel (now Del Monte Pines) before transitioning to real estate.
He enjoyed amateur photography, classical music, hiking, horseback riding and running. Lowell frequently attended and supported CFMC events. Lowel left a bequest through his will to benefit two field of interest funds, the Todd Leuders Fund for the Arts and the Fund for the Environment.
Terry Jones Haber was the much loved, wonderful head of a large, diverse family. Terry and her late husband, Edgar “Ed” Haber, a past CFMC board chair, worked as a team to develop what is now Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley. The couple were the 2005 CFMC Distinguished Trustee Award recipients for their local philanthropy. The Habers created a Charitable Remainder Trust with the CFMC which, after Terry’s death in 2019, created the Edgar H. and Terry Jones Haber Fund. Thanks to their generosity, this designated fund will benefit the nonprofits they selected in perpetuity.
Jim Valentine, who passed away in March 2020, oversaw 16 skilled nursing facilities, was chief executive officer of a hospital and two retirement homes, and a successful businessman. Jim gifted the commercial property he no longer needed to the CFMC to establish a CRT. He received income for life from the sale of the property until his passing. Jim also designated the CFMC as beneficiary of his life insurance policy, retirement accounts and his residence. Per Jim’s wishes, his CRT and all gifts converted to a designated fund to support four nonprofits he specified: Hospice Giving Foundation, York School, MPC Foundation and Montage Health Foundation.
Steve and Barbara Brooks – Honoring Neighbors
Charlie Snorf – Patron of Arts, Culture, Education
Maxwell Chaplin – Citizen of the World
Lowel Figen – Funding the Arts
Terry Jones Haber – A Charitable Remainder Trust to Benefit Favorite Nonprofits Forever
Terry Jones Haber was the much loved, wonderful head of a large, diverse family. Terry and her late husband, Edgar “Ed” Haber, a past CFMC board chair, worked as a team to develop what is now Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley. The couple were the 2005 CFMC Distinguished Trustee Award recipients for their local philanthropy. The Habers created a Charitable Remainder Trust with the CFMC which, after Terry’s death in 2019, created the Edgar H. and Terry Jones Haber Fund. Thanks to their generosity, this designated fund will benefit the nonprofits they selected in perpetuity.
Jim Valentine: Peace of Mind
Jim Valentine, who passed away in March 2020, oversaw 16 skilled nursing facilities, was chief executive officer of a hospital and two retirement homes, and a successful businessman. Jim gifted the commercial property he no longer needed to the CFMC to establish a CRT. He received income for life from the sale of the property until his passing. Jim also designated the CFMC as beneficiary of his life insurance policy, retirement accounts and his residence. Per Jim’s wishes, his CRT and all gifts converted to a designated fund to support four nonprofits he specified: Hospice Giving Foundation, York School, MPC Foundation and Montage Health Foundation.
Leave a Legacy
How will you express your values, experiences and interests to the next generation? Through a planned gift, you can be assured your charitable assets will be directed to the causes you care about most. If you have made the important decision to include the CFMC in your estate plans, you can become a Legacy Society member. The annual Legacy Society Luncheon honors those who have chosen to partner with the CFMC through their estate. Legacy Society members trust the CFMC to ensure their wishes are carried out. How it works- You include the CFMC as a beneficiary of your will or trust. We can help you or your attorney with sample bequest language.
- You determine the type of fund you would like to establish with your gift and the nonprofit(s) you wish to support.
- Your charitable gift is excluded from your assets for estate tax purposes.
- Bequest (through your will or trust)
- Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT)
- Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA)
- Gift of Life Insurance
- Designate the CFMC as beneficiary of a Retirement Plan or IRA
- Create an Endowed Fund (or contribute $25,000 or more to an endowed fund)
