As we reflect on the patients and families we have cared for in our community over the last 26 years, we are reminded of the purity of the word “comfort”. To comfort means to soothe, console, reassure, support, and encourage. Many people ask what they can do to support Hoffmann Hospice in continuing to provide comfort to those that need it most.

Often, families of Hoffmann Hospice patients choose to give memorial gifts to honor their loved ones. The simple, thoughtful act of naming Hoffmann Hospice in an obituary for a loved one can also make a difference — many families ask that gifts be made to Hoffmann Hospice “in lieu of flowers” or “in addition to flowers”, and we greatly appreciate those gifts to help us continue our mission. Hoffmann Hospice sends acknowledgments to the designated family member anytime a donation has been made in memory of their loved one.

Memorial gifts, particularly around important dates like birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays, are a special way to let someone know you are thinking about them. 

Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, Hoffmann Hospice has had the privilege of serving over 25,000 adults, children, and veterans with a serious or terminal illness regardless of their ability to pay. Donations to Hoffmann Hospice assure that high quality care is available to all Hoffmann Hospice patients and their families, including patients in need of financial assistance. Contributions also support non-core programs and services offered including:

  • Unfunded Patients
  • Bucket List Wishes
  • Grief Support Groups
  • Volunteer Programs
  • Heart Art Camp
  • We Honor Veterans Program activities
  • Community Outreach and Education activities
  • Many more important programs and services

This home – Kern County’s first and only freestanding in-patient hospice home –expands Hoffmann’s ability to provide hospice services to all hospice-eligible patients. This beautiful home-like, 18 patient suite hospice home is professionally staffed with registered nurses 24-hours per day, as well as social services, home health aides, chaplains and volunteers. Patients receive daily personal visits from physicians providing unparalleled hospice care in Kern County.

The home features many spaces and amenities that make the hospice home an environment comfortable for our patients and their families. The aesthetically comforting and visually pleasing interior decorations throughout the home and exterior gathering areas create an intimate, home-like feel.

Naming and dedication opportunities are available for many of the interior and exterior spaces. Not only do these spaces offer a great way to preserve your family heritage or make a lasting tribute to a special loved one, but also help patients at The Hoffmann Hospice Home feel surrounded by love.

Legacy Lane honors generations of families that have called Kern County home. Preserve a piece of your heritage and the memory of a loved one by placing a commemorative engraved brick on Legacy Lane at The Hoffmann Hospice Home. 

Whether you dedicate a brick in tribute to your entire family, or in memory of a grand-parent, parent, spouse, sibling, or child, these memorials will stand the test of time. You will also help guests and visitors know that they are always among friends and family while at Kern County’s first-and-only hospice home.

 

A few More ways to Give

Naming and Dedication Opportunities

Gift dedication are a wonderful way to remember a loved one. For gifts of $2,500 and above, we have multiple naming opportunities available throughout the Hoffmann Hospice Campus. Donors that wish to select one of our special naming opportunities will have a personalized plaque located at the naming location. For a current list of naming opportunities, please contact Hoffmann Hospice at (661) 410-1010 or info@hoffmannhospice.org

Gift and Estate Planning

For over 25 years, Hoffmann Hospice has had the privilege to serve the greater Bakersfield community by providing professional and compassionate end-of-life care, grief support, and so much more. Since 2015, the Hoffmann Hospice Home has offered the comforts of home for families in need of General Inpatient Care (GIP) or short-term respite care at our beautiful campus on Buena Vista Road. Hoffmann Hospice has served over 25,000 members of our community, and your support will help us continue to serve Bakersfield for generations to come.

A planned gift to Hoffmann Hospice—through your will, insurance policies, or retirement plans—is a powerful and thoughtful way to ensure that Hoffmann Hospice can continue to celebrate the sanctity of life, provide compassionate end-of-life care, and comfort the grieving. Your gift to Hoffmann Hospice may also provide welcome tax benefits to you and your estate.

A charitable bequest is a common, simple way to include Hoffmann Hospice in your estate plan. A bequest to Hoffmann Hospice is free from federal and state taxes and can be made either outright or contingent upon the death of the named beneficiary. The amount of the bequest is deducted from your estate total, offering substantial savings by decreasing the value of the estate subject to taxation. There is no limit to the amount of your estate that can be left to a charitable organization like Hoffmann Hospice. The following is language that we recommend you use to name Hoffmann Hospice as beneficiary of your will or codicil:

““I give and bequeath to Hoffmann Hospice of the Valley [(the sum of ________ dollars)(______ percent of the rest, residue, or remainder of my estate) or (a specific asset)], without reduction for any tax occasioned by my death, for such purposes as Hoffmann Hospice Board of Governors shall determine to be in the best interest of the organization. Hoffmann Hospice of the Valley, a California nonprofit corporation exempt from federal taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, is currently located at 4325 Buena Vista Road, Building A, Bakersfield, CA 93311, Federal Tax Identification number 77-0386207.”

If you designate that Hoffmann Hospice is to receive real estate, please state in your will or codicil that the property is to be sold through your estate and Hoffmann Hospice is to receive the proceeds from its sale.

Need help creating your estate plans? Check out this free, online tool to help guide you through the process. 

Life insurance policies allow several smart ways to give. You can donate a paid policy that you no longer need by naming Hoffmann Hospice as the beneficiary and policy owner. In return, you will receive an immediate tax deduction based on your cost basis in the policy, and it will reduce the value of your estate by the full face value of the policy, potentially reducing estate taxes. You may also simply designate Hoffmann Hospice as a partial beneficiary of your policy. Upon your death, the life insurance proceeds will be passed on to Hoffmann Hospice. 

By designating Hoffmann Hospice as the primary beneficiary of your qualified retirement plan or IRA, this asset avoids income and estate taxes. Alternatively, you can name Hoffmann Hospice as contingent beneficiary upon the death of the named beneficiary. Before your passing, you may be eligible to make annual qualified charitable contributions, also referred to as IRA rollovers, to Hoffmann Hospice directly from your account.

We recommend you consult with your financial planner, attorney or tax accountant about how a planned gift to Hoffmann Hospice will work for you. We know it will work for us!

If you have already named Hoffmann Hospice in your will, please let us know so we can thank you for your dedication to our mission.

All of these charitable gifts remain in the Kern County community and help Hoffmann Hospice continue to celebrate the sanctity of life, provide compassionate end-of-life care and comfort the grieving. Hoffmann Hospice is an IRS-approved 501 (c) 3 agency. All gifts are tax-deductible. Tax ID 77-0386207.