Did you know that August is National Make-A-Will Month? To celebrate, we’re sharing the story of Jude and Diana Fernandes, two members of Uniting Voices Chicago’s planned giving society, Voice of Tomorrow. Jude also has served on our Board of Directors since 2023. Jude and Diana believe it’s never too early to think about making a will, and with free resources available like FreeWill.com, you can ensure life-changing musical opportunities are always available for the youth of Chicago.
Uniting Voices Chicago: How did you come to be involved with Uniting Voices Chicago?
Jude and Diana Fernandes: We first became involved with Uniting Voices Chicago by volunteering. Pat Boehmer, a longstanding board member and KPMG colleague, asked Jude to volunteer at Paint the Town Red on the morning of the event! A couple hours later, Jude was in Grant Park handing out bottles of water and apples to a stream of kids coming off the buses at Millennium Park. Once the concert started, he fell in love with the voices and the excitement all around Millennium Park and couldn’t wait to be more involved with the organization.
UVC: Who or what influenced your philanthropy growing up? Did you have role models that inspired you?
JDF: Both of us were inspired by our parents. Diana, as an example, comes from a big, tight-knit family where everyone supports each other. It wasn't uncommon for weekends to be filled with helping a family member with their house, or cleaning up the church, or helping a neighbor with their yard. Her parents instilled in her the sense that being a part of a community — whether that's your family, your neighborhood, or an organization you believe in — means helping and giving what you can. Now that we are lucky enough to be established in our careers, we realized that in addition to following in our parents' footsteps in giving our time and effort, we can also expand to give in other ways.
UVC: What motivated you to include Uniting Voices in your will?
JDF: We wanted to make sure that Uniting Voices, the organization that we believe in wholeheartedly, would be able to continue to help the children of Chicago, if we were here or not. Solidifying that support in our estate plans now means that there won't be any questions or decisions later. Uniting Voices has given so much back to the community, we want to make sure they are able to do so in the coming years and decades. Including Uniting Voices in our will ensures that we are doing our part to have this organization continue even after we are gone — and it is very easy to do!
UVC: A lot of people think of retirees when they think of planned giving. What prompted you to take steps earlier in your life, and what would you say to encourage others your age to think about their wills now?
JDF: Everyone should be thinking about their wills, no matter what their financial circumstances are. Think of it like going to the dentist — you may not be excited to do it, but you’ll feel so much better after it is done. We feel confident that no matter what life will bring, we have a plan. And there are so many different ways to set up a will — it's really not a long process.
UVC: What impact do you hope your gift will have in the future?
JDF: We always tell our son that we leave things better than we found them. This is our small way to make sure we are leaving the world better than we found it. We know our gift won't be the biggest, but if it helps even just one child experience this amazing organization, that is one more life changed for the better by Uniting Voices.
UVC: What do you hope others - especially people your age - will take away from your story?
JDF: It's not as hard as it sounds! In fact, it is incredibly easy, no matter what kind of financial or estate planning system you have in place. When many people hear “legacy gifts” they immediately think that it's only for older people who have a gazillion dollars and that just is not true. We’re in our early 40s, and realized that a legacy gift is easy to designate and periodically update — regardless of the stage in life you are currently in or what kind of financial or estate planning system you have in place.
The hardest part is getting started. We were initially intimidated thinking about what the process is for even creating a will, let alone designating a legacy gift to Uniting Voices. But take the first step and the rest falls into place.