Why We Give in “Legacy Fashion”
As a Board member and former Board Chair of the YWCA of Metropolitan Phoenix, my husband and I chose to take out a life insurance policy designating the YWCA as the beneficiary. What inspired us? Why this organization? Why this vehicle?
Both Jim and I currently participate in the community for our many passions-of-the-heart that lead us to volunteer, donate, give of our time, our talents and our treasure. Our YWCA is the first (and currently, only) organization which has received our legacy gift. I don’t know about you, but when I hear people speak of leaving a legacy gift, I think of Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, or other wealthy society member, who has not only the desire, but the means to make a real and lasting impact on the world. What I have come to learn is that ANY gift designated in a “legacy fashion” places us in that same circle of humanity that understands the power of lasting contribution. And, we don’t need to be at that level of society in order to make a lasting, and powerful contribution.
Jim and I are not wealthy philanthropists. We are humble entrepreneurs who came from families of moderate means and simple lives, whose parents were not community contributors in any formal continuing way. What we did learn from our respective histories is the importance of making a difference, of giving back, of repairing the world. Through our volunteering and community engagement, we have come to understand what it means to leave a lasting mark on the community you love. And, while we do not have the means typically thought of when someone asks you to leave a legacy gift, we do have something to give to ensure that the causes that are most important to us are able to continue, to thrive, to sustain, long after we are gone.
The mission of the YWCA:
To Eliminate Racism, To Empower Women, To Promote Peace, Justice, Freedom and Dignity for All could not be more important to us as a legacy to our daughters, to our community and to the world. Can you imagine the world when the mission of the YW is fulfilled? Can you ‘rest in peace’ knowing that your contribution, no matter how small (or how large!) will ensure that one day, this will be true?
A simple life insurance policy gift, that takes a small premium payment from us monthly, will one day arrive at the YW. I know whenever that happens, it will be the perfect time to be received. The YW will need this gift, and YOUR gift, after we each have left the planet and cannot give in our current, traditional ways of time and talent. It inspires me to know that our treasure, our gift, our contribution, will live on by giving to the powerful, bold mission that the YWCA of Metropolitan Phoenix holds up for all of us.