The transfer of wealth in southern Wisconsin, and what 5% could do
Over the next 10 years, an estimated $18.6 billion will pass from one generation to the next across our 11 counties. Five percent of it could stay.
Wealth here was built slowly. On second and third generation farms in southern Wisconsin. In family businesses on main streets in our historic downtowns. In houses bought in 1985 and paid off in 2010 filled with memories and a legacy that will never be forgotten.
When someone passes awat, that wealth moves. Usually to children, and increasingly to children who built their lives somewhere else. No one should be faulted for that. But it means money earned in a county over 50 years can leave the county in a single afternoon at a closing table.
Five percent changes that math. Your family still receives 95%. The rest stays where it was earned and keeps working to build opportunity in an area of the state many have forgotten.
What “transfer of wealth” actually means
In 2025, community foundations across Wisconsin, including CFSW, commissioned the University of Minnesota Extension to study how much household wealth will change hands in the coming decades. Researchers counted what local households own (homes, family businesses, retirement accounts, savings), subtracted what they owe, and projected how much of that will transfer as estates settle.
These are projections built on census data, population forecasts, and 20 years of similar studies across the country. They describe a most likely future, not a certainty. The scale of the number is the point.
What the study found here
Across Crawford, Dane, Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Vernon, and Walworth counties:
- Households in the region hold a combined net worth of $549.2 billion, spread across 460,365 households
- $18.6 billion will transfer between generations in the next 10 years
- $76.4 billion will transfer over the next 40 years
- That’s roughly $1.9 billion changing hands every year
- The average estate in our region will pass on about $155,000
What the money does close to home
You already know the needs. Housing that working families need and can actually afford. Quality childcare that lets a parent take the job. A food pantry that needs $8,000 for a walk-in cooler so it can accept and distribute fresh produce instead of turning it away. A rural fire department, a theater, a scholarship, a crisis line that answers at 2 a.m.
Philanthropy is a tool to address those problems, but we can’t do it in just one lifetime. The point is a county that still has a school, a clinic, and a downtown in 40 years.
When you leave a gift through CFSW, you decide where it goes. You can name a cause you care about, a specific community, particular nonprofits, or leave it flexible so future boards can respond to needs no one can predict today.
We are a resource to you and would love to have a conversation about how you can leave your 5% directly to a nonprofit you already love, or split it among several. If a local organization is the right home for your gift, name them in your will and tell them you did. What matters is that the 5% stays in the community where it was earned.
How to leave 5%
- Talk with a member of our team. Tell us what you care about and what you want your gift to do.
- We’ll draft a notification of charitable bequest that includes a fund agreement and direct giving options.
- Your attorney adds one line to your will, trust, or retirement account beneficiary form directing 5% to CFSW.
- If your wishes change at any time, we amend the plan at no cost. Your will stays as it is.
Working with us is free. There’s no fee to talk with us, no fee to set up a fund agreement, and no fee to change it later.
That last part matters more than it sounds. People’s charitable intentions shift over 20 years. A cause becomes more urgent, a grandchild’s illness redirects your priorities, an organization you loved closes its doors. Every one of those changes, handled through your will, means another appointment with your attorney at their hourly rate. Handled through your fund agreement with us, it means a phone call.
What you can leave
Most people think of cash, and cash works. So do a number of other things you may already own:
- Cash or a share of your bank accounts
- Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds
- Retirement accounts, by naming CFSW as a beneficiary on your IRA or 401(k)
- A house, land, or farmland
- Farm equipment, grain, or livestock
- An interest in a family business
If you’re not sure whether something qualifies, ask. It’s a short conversation.
Start with a conversation. Call 608-758-0883 or email [email protected]. We’re happy to meet at our office, at your kitchen table, or alongside your attorney.