Join the Birkie Legacy Circle!

Leave a legacy by contributing to the Foundation for the Endowment of the American Birkebeiner

Foundation for the Endowment of the American Birkebeiner

The Birkie Legacy Circle is an important program that recognizes individuals who plan a legacy gift to the Foundation for the Endowment of the American Birkebeiner. The Endowment is a crucial part of how the Birkie organization is funded and provides a stable, permanent source of income.

Endowed funds are invested over the long-term and earnings are used to support the Birkie’s greatest needs now and in the future.

Planned Legacy Gifts can be made in multiple ways.

  • Make a bequest through your will or living trust
  • Name The Foundation for the Endowment of the American Birkebeiner as a beneficiary of your existing IRAs, retirement plan, or life insurance policy
  • Give a life-income gift such as charitable or deferred gift annuities, or a charitable remainder trust

Donors may make a gift in their own name or in honor of someone else. Legacy Circle Donors who are registered for the Birkie, Korte, Prince Haakon or Open Track will receive a gold Legacy Circle sticker on their bib.

Being a Trustee of the Endowment for the American Birkebeiner, a Birkie donor and a principal at Marks Group Wealth Management, provides me with the background to discuss the advantages and best practices used for legacy giving to the endowment. Legacy gifts offer donors a powerful way to create lasting impact, ensuring their values and passions continue to support the Birkie’s mission in perpetuity. By contributing to the endowment, donors will help provide stable, long-term funding that supports programs, scholarships, or initiatives for generations.

Naming the Endowment for the American Birkebeiner as a beneficiary of a retirement account—such as an IRA or 401(k)—can be especially advantageous from a tax perspective. Retirement assets are often subject to both income and estate taxes when passed to heirs, significantly reducing their value. In contrast, nonprofit organizations can receive the full value of these accounts tax-free. Donors may prefer to leave after-tax assets with unrealized capital gains (such as stocks or real estate) to heirs, who can benefit from a step-up in cost basis, potentially avoiding capital gains taxes. This strategic planning allows donors to maximize both philanthropic impact and tax efficiency.

– Ben Marks, Endowment Trustee and principal at Marks Group Wealth Management

Birkie Endowment Funds to Give to:

Endowment donors who want to support well-recognized and long-standing Birkie needs should donate to a Legacy Fund. Five Legacy Funds have been established:

Or, Endowment donors may want to consider starting their own Legacy Fund.

The Endowment will help design the structure of a Legacy Fund to best fit its overlying purpose. A minimum donation of $25,000 is needed to establish a Legacy Fund.

Consider leaving a legacy for yourself or to remember an individual with a gift to the endowment and support the Foundation for the Endowment of the American Birkebeiner forever!

For more information or help in creating an endowment gift, please contact:

Louise Droessler
Development Director
louise.droessler@birkie.com
608-843-8451

Ben Popp
Executive Director
ben.popp@birkie.com
715-558-3091

Birkie Legacy Circle Members!

Dan & Jodi Hope Anderson

Nancy Bauer

Jane Bidwell & Marcia Engebretson

Faye Bidwell

Dale & Wendy Brott

Bill & Jane Butsic Family

Butterfield Well Drilling

Jim Coors & Ann Pollock

Jeff Cummisford Family

Kevin Cummisford Family

The Dahl & Brubaker Family

Kay Hoida Dawson Family

Jon & Sue Derksen Family

Patrick & Shelley Duffy Family

Eric Eben

Dave Eckel

Carol & John Fitzgerald

Kevin Fores

Jim & Jean Gantz

John Garrett & Colleen Graham

Sean Gavigan

Rick Gering

David Gilmer

Steve Gordon & Pat Gavan Gordon

Willie & Marilyn Gorham

Pam & Craig Heilman

Ralph Hansen Hendrix

Gregg & Shari Hietpas

Joe & Cheri Hoida Family

Mark Hooley

Dave & Judy Jensen

Leslie A. Johnson

Tom & Sue Kintzinger

Tom Koss

Jennifer Krohn

Madison Nordic Ski Club

Jerome & Karen Malmquist

Toby & Dorothy Markowitz

Ted & Tracy May

Duncan & Karen McLean

Pat & Kay Meyer

Jim Michler aka jimmycuba

Bunkie Miller

Ryan & Ellen Morris

James Mullen

Timothy Nelson

Jonathan Patz

Dr. Marnie Pearsall & Marmutt

James Pearson

Richard & Peggy Perry

Richard Pierce & Sandy Lampman

Mark Pilney

Melissa Putzer

Pat & Sue Quinn

Karen Ann Roesler

George Rounds

Tom & Judy Rowley

James Ryan

Fred & Sue Scheer

Dr. Charles Schleevogt & Linda Adams

Kurt & Julie Schroeder

Timothy Seline

Carolyn Senty

Dr. Mark & Barbara Sharon

Allison Slavick

Lori Steinbach

John & Leslie Taylor

Steve & Jyneen Thatcher

John & Kine Torinus

Nathan & Holly Van Zeeland Family

VandenBrook

Gustaf & Julie Virkus

Patrick Warpinski & Collette LaRue

John Widdifield & Darlene Mac Bride

Joey Widmer

Tony Wiederkehr

Richard & Corinne Zabinski