Planned Giving

Sharon Bensinger
Founder of VIPS

Have you ever thought you might want to leave a gift in your will to VIPS or another charity of your choice?
A few years ago my husband Charlie and I sat down with our lawyer to update our wills. It had been a long time since we had made any changes. Our lawyer has a great “bedside manner” and obviously has helped many people over his professional career to write their wills. He asked us many good questions, one of which was “what charitable organizations mean the most to you, and would you like to remember any in your will?” My answer was obviously “yes!”

Over my professional career, I had been to quite a few workshops that focused on getting folks to leave bequests to nonprofit organizations. I especially remember seeing a short video quite a few years ago, stressing the fact that you do not have to be wealthy to leave money to a charitable organization!

Any Amount Will Make an Impact

Any amount of money……$500, $5,000 or $50,000 tells the charity that you believed in them in your lifetime, and now that you have passed, you want to support them with a gift. The important thing to remember is that you leave something, not the amount. I believe that to be true!

So, naturally, I decided that I wanted to leave something to VIPS in my will. I was not sure how much to leave. I talked to my financial advisor and he told me about the idea of having VIPS purchase a life insurance policy that will pay out at my death. He went on to say that if I donated money for the purchase of a life insurance policy now when I pass away VIPS will receive four times the amount! I never dreamed that I would be able to leave VIPS that much, so investing the money now and having it pay out at my death sounded like a great plan and made me very excited.
That is exactly what I did.

I understand that may not be what you want to do. You may not have the cash now to give. You might want to leave money after your death. There are numerous ways to leave a legacy, including plans that pay you an actual income while you are alive and then benefit a selected nonprofit upon your passing.

Contact a Professional to Advise You

To find the plan that works for you, just contact your lawyer or financial advisor. Additionally, VIPS has a team of experts who can also guide you through this process.

Please think about where you would like to leave money and, remember, how much is not important! The fact that you are remembering your favorite causes and want to leave something is what is important. Talk to an attorney, financial planner or the development staff at VIPS (Louisville: 888-636-8477, Lexington: 888-254-8477, and Indiana: 888-824-2197) to get started. Most importantly…remember VIPS in your will!