3 A Life of Love, a Legacy of Community - The Margot Dorn Dutcher Fund The legacy we will leave behind says much about the lives we lived. For Margot Dorn Dutcher, that legacy is rooted in family and a deep love of the community she called home since the early 1970s. Margot’s daughters, Kate Phillips and Nancy Szejbach, say their mother had a great sense of adventure, uncondi onal love for her family, and a strong desire to serve others. Those quali es spilled over into her charitable giving during and a er her life me. Margot passed away in September 2015, and wanted to leave a legacy for the community she cherished. In 2016, the Community Founda on received word that it was the beneficiary of a significant bequest from Margot’s estate to establish the Margot Dorn Dutcher Fund. It was her wish that Kate and Nancy oversee the charitable distribu ons from this donor-advised fund. The first grant was given to Besser Museum of Northeast Michigan for its Katherine V restora on project. “She would say to me, ‘when I’m gone, I’m gone, and you can do anything you want to do’,” said Kate of conversa ons with her mother about her estate. “But she always said she hoped it would be used to take care of her loved ones, and to support organiza ons that were important to the community.” While Margot wanted her charitable gi s to support her communi es, she also hoped to encourage others to leave similar gi s, and to be an example of how planned giving and its poten al tax benefits can help family and the community. “So many mes you can give a gi in your estate, and it can actually benefit your heirs more than if you le everything to them,” said Kate. “My mom really wanted others to understand the full benefits of planned giving.” 3