Your Legacy: Ending homelessness for children and their families ...

Leave a lasting gift

What will your legacy be? You can continue the generosity and kindness that have characterized your relationship with Committee on the Shelterless (COTS) by making a gift to us in your estate planning. In choosing COTS, you can be sure that your benevolence will endure for generations and will help families move beyond homelessness toward self-sufficiency.

Children and families in crisis need help that is skilled, competent and kind. COTS is lauded for its effective delivery of a comprehensive array of shelter, housing and services.

From entry to launch, COTS clients receive help with budgeting, parenting, housing search, employment, and health. COTS staff come from a dynamic variety of backgrounds—from the street to the boardroom— enabling them to work effectively and compassionately.

Create permanent opportunity for children and families

We at COTS are pragmatic innovators — we respond to changing conditions with new and effective approaches and programs. Our Education Houses, Kids First and Rent Right programs are examples of this entrepreneurial spirit.

At the same time, we continue what we’ve seen work for our clients — solid case management, licensed childcare, money management, career development, and safe homes to rebuild lives. Dramatic changes in government and foundation funding are among the biggest challenges in our work. We are constantly struggling to keep our successful programs adequately funded.

To provide stable support for the most needy among us — homeless children and their families — we established COTS’ Endowment Fund. Your contribution to the Fund will support these family programs:

COTS Center for Homeless Children and Their Families: A safe, temporary home for families in crisis. Children receive nurturing care, and help transitioning back into the school system. Parents work on issues that contributed to their loss of housing, including employment, health, and money management.
Children’s Haven: Licensed childcare, tutoring, psychological and physical assessments. Focus is on improving children’s safety, health and long-term developmental outcomes.
Kids First: Intensive parenting and child development course that focuses on the needs of homeless families.
Shared Housing: Two-year supported housing program for families who need time to achieve self-sufficiency. Aggressive goals in areas of money management, career development and parenting are achieved with help of professional case management support.
Education Houses: Specialized shared housing to provide homeless parents a chance to go back to school and increase long-term earning potential.

How an endowment works
Endowments are permanent investments from which only the income is spent for the purpose designated by the donor. Donors like endowments because their gift will keep working for generations. An endowed fund may be established with a contribution in the form of cash, appreciated securities, or other gifts such as a bequest. COTS’ Endowment Fund is managed by Community Foundation Sonoma County, which serves as steward of the endowed funds in accord with donors'
designations.

The donor may designate objectives of the fund, such as helping families with food, shelter and counseling, or may entrust COTS to use income from the endowment.

Ways to make a legacy gift

There are many ways to further your commitment to helping homeless families rebuild their lives, including

• Bequests: Name COTS in your will.
• Retirement plans: Name COTS as a beneficiary of your retirement plan.
• Insurance policies: Name COTS to receive all or part of the proceeds from your life insurance.
• Gift a home
• Establish a charitable trust

To name COTS as a beneficiary:

It is best to use COTS’ full formal name and address if designating us as a beneficiary in your estate planning:

Committee on the Shelterless
1500 Petaluma Boulevard South, No. B
Petaluma, CA 94952-5521
Federal Identification Number: 68-0176855

How do I find a competent estate planning advisor?

COTS cannot recommend a particular advisor but will supply a list of professionals who can be interviewed.

What if I have questions about making a legacy gift to COTS?

Please contact our Development Director
Roger M. Kirkpatrick
PO Box 2744
Petaluma CA 94953-2744
Phone 707-849-3195
Email: rogerk@cots-homeless.org