<i>“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.â€  – C.S. Lewis</i>

<img src="{filedir_1}living-life-generously-web.jpg" width="170" height="255" class="floatright" /><b>What does it really mean to live a generous life? How is a generous life characterized?</b> WaterStone is privileged to serve many generous givers. For one friend, a 90-year-old agricultural entrepreneur, it is portrayed through a multi-decade journey ... a generous life that has blessed all facets of his experience.

For years, Mr. Williams gave financially to charities from his earnings. However, his generosity was also exhibited closer to home; he cared for his employees and their families, allowing employees to live year-round on the land they worked at minimal cost to them. His legacy of openhandedness also included his manner of investing. For many years, he was an “angel investorâ€ for an unaffiliated local technology company facing cash flow struggles. Others might have seen this investment purely as a financial decision; he saw it as a “neighbor helping neighborâ€ opportunity. He made certain that the company made payroll and that employees could continue to provide for their families.

Once Mr. Williams and his wife reached retirement age, they chose to live exclusively on their Social Security income. Living more simply allowed them the blessing of giving even more away. They used the profits from their business to provide significant monthly support for seven of their favorite charitable organizations. After his wife passed away, Mr. Williams redoubled his generosity; he moved into a trailer on his property and gave the family home to his grandson.

Until recently, Mr. Williams was giving primarily from cash flow. After speaking with WaterStone, he decided to gift his considerable equity and debt stake in the technology company. He wanted a partner who, like him, lived with a spirit of generosity with the competency to manage the complexity of his assets. He chose WaterStone to implement his gift through the <a href="/solutions/donor_advised_funds" title="Donor Advised Fund">Donor Advised Fund</a> solution. 

Mr. Williams continues to collaborate with his trusted friends at WaterStone in order to transition his own agricultural business to his heirs in a tax-effective and generous way. As a result of this preparation, his generosity will continue beyond his own lifetime, with monthly grant distributions to his favorite ministries through his WaterStone Donor Advised Fund. 

WaterStone has a passion for helping people who, like Mr. Williams, know the power of a legacy built upon living a life of generosity. We’d like to share your personal journey and help chart a path that will help transform your assets into living water. Please contact Jeff Gott, WaterStone’s Legacy Partner, (719) 447-4620 or jeffg@waterstone.org. 
<p>For a print version of this article, <a href="{filedir_1}Living-Life-Generously.pdf">download the pdf</a>.</p> 
<p><a href="/?/enewsletters/list/C113/" title="< Return to Spring 2011">< Return to Spring 2011</a></p>