COEUR d’ALENE — More than $4 billion in wealth will transfer between generations in Kootenai County within the next decade, according to a new analysis published by the Idaho Community Foundation, most if it changing hands through wills and estates.

The Idaho Community Foundation is launching a campaign to inspire Idahoans to consider dedicating some of that wealth to local philanthropy and use this “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to strengthen their communities. 

Steve Burns, president and CEO of the Idaho Community Foundation, said the “Dream Big for Idaho” campaign is about more than dollars.  

“It’s about making sure our growing and changing state continues to reflect the values we cherish — neighbors helping neighbors, rural communities thriving and every Idahoan having the opportunity to give back,” Burns said. “We’re calling on local leaders, nonprofits, professional advisers and everyday Idahoans to dream big for Idaho and make a plan for how they want their legacy to impact their hometowns.” 

According to data from the 2025 Transfer of Wealth analysis — a first-of-its-kind statewide and county-by-county study — Idaho households hold more than $793 billion in net worth. 

Kootenai County’s current household net worth is a little more than $98 million, according to the study, a figure that estimates assets like homes, businesses and investments. About $4.2 billion is expected to change hands over the next 10 years, while $22.1 billion is expected to be transferred over the next 40 years. 

If 5% of that 10-year wealth transfer was captured for endowed, philanthropic purposes, it could generate $253 million in grants for Kootenai County in the 20 years following the investment, according to the study. 

Since 1988, the Idaho Community Foundation has awarded $200 million in grants to Idaho communities. The foundation celebrated that milestone with its “200M Moment” campaign, recently awarding a $10,000 grant to Village of Hope CDA and to three other Idaho nonprofits. 

“It took us 37 years to grant $200 million around the state,” said Autumn Kersey-Camilovic. “Kootenai County could exceed that in 30 years.” 

Idaho Community Foundation is stewarding an additional $238 million in charitable assets on behalf of individuals, families and businesses across Idaho. These gifts are supporting scholarships, building parks and libraries, improving health care access, strengthening nonprofits and more, according to the foundation. 

The foundation is inviting Idahoans to imagine what could be possible if they planned ahead and dreamed bigger. 

“Philanthropy is for everyone and it’s the Idaho way,” Kersey-Camilovic said. “Our state has been built by generous citizens from all walks of life. Idaho runs on nonprofits.” 

Kersey-Camilovic said that leaders and community members across Idaho have generally agreed that the nonprofit sector is Idaho’s safety net — a sector that cares for the most vulnerable, stewards the land and more. 

“If we’ve agreed that’s who we’re going to lean on, then we have a responsibility to make sure they have the philanthropic capacity to do that work,” she said. 

That’s why Idaho Community Foundation is urging Idahoans to consider how 5% of their estate, dedicated to a cause close to their hearts, could fuel long-term community change. 

“There are so many ways to direct that giving,” Kersey-Camilovic said. “Dream big with us.”