Bequest or Legacy Gift
An increasing number of Plan USA sponsors and donors are discovering they can do more for children around the world and at the same time receive benefits for themselves and their families by taking advantage of gift planning instruments.
PHOTO: Plan staff
A bequest is a gift created through a Will expressing your wishes for family, friends and the charities you support.
By including Plan USA in your will, you are providing a legacy for the children, families and communities who benefit from our work. Your gift may be a fixed amount, a percentage of the estate, or all or part of the estate residue. Your estate will receive a charitable tax deduction, after your death, when the gift is made. View Plan USA’s Suggested Language for Bequests.
We hope you will let us know when you have included Plan USA in your estate plans. We would like to include you as an honorary member of our Brighter Future Society. The Brighter Future Society is our way of thanking our special friends and recognizing the generosity and vision of individuals whose thoughtful planning will help ensure that children in less developed countries continue to have the opportunity to achieve a healthier, more enriched and self-reliant future.
Donor stories*
Barbara's involvement with Plan USA began in 1975 when she became the sponsor of a child in Bolivia. Today she has children in Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand, Ghana and Ecuador. "I'm not rich — only comfortably well off. I drive a seven-year-old Honda, shop at WalMart, and live on a fixed income. The reason I sponsor five children is because they are among the most rewarding people in my life. My own kids are grown, and two of my three grandsons live a thousand miles away," she says.
In 1996, Barbara visited Chatchai, one of her sponsored children, and his family as part of a Plan USA field trip to Southeast Asia, where sponsors toured Plan projects in Vietnam and Thailand. "There I saw with my own eyes the impact Plan has on children and families in developing countries. In Fai Hin, more than half of Chatchai's class proudly raised their hands when asked who had Plan sponsors." Barbara was impressed by seeing the children eating nutritious school lunches provided by Plan. In an isolated village in Vietnam, she witnessed a Plan-built obstetric clinic providing midwives and a delivery room for women who would otherwise have their babies at home with no professional assistance.
Following the trip to Southeast Asia in 1996, it occurred to Barbara to leave money to Plan USA in her will. She was 64 at the time. "I thought about it, told my daughters of my intentions, but never put anything on paper," she says. "But after a week of visiting schools, clinics, and community centers in Ecuador this summer, I decided to take action, as the powerful impressions left by the Asian trip were only reinforced by the Ecuador experience." The trust now bequeaths five percent of Barbara's assets to Plan USA.
"As I near the end of my life cycle, I believe that geographic boundaries are artificial and the people on this planet, wherever they live, are connected. We owe it to our human family to nurture all the children of the world. By leaving part of my estate to Plan USA, my sponsorship will carry on after I'm no longer here to write checks or send letters."
* * * * *
*These donor stories are for illustrative purposes. Each story is based on an actual gift case or a combination of cases. The pictures and names may be representative of the actual donors who were involved in either the cases or the combination of cases.
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By including Plan USA in your will, you are providing a legacy for the children, families and communities who benefit from our work. Your gift may be a fixed amount, a percentage of the estate, or all or part of the estate residue. Your estate will receive a charitable tax deduction, after your death, when the gift is made. View Plan USA’s Suggested Language for Bequests.
We hope you will let us know when you have included Plan USA in your estate plans. We would like to include you as an honorary member of our Brighter Future Society. The Brighter Future Society is our way of thanking our special friends and recognizing the generosity and vision of individuals whose thoughtful planning will help ensure that children in less developed countries continue to have the opportunity to achieve a healthier, more enriched and self-reliant future.
Donor stories*
Barbara's involvement with Plan USA began in 1975 when she became the sponsor of a child in Bolivia. Today she has children in Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand, Ghana and Ecuador. "I'm not rich — only comfortably well off. I drive a seven-year-old Honda, shop at WalMart, and live on a fixed income. The reason I sponsor five children is because they are among the most rewarding people in my life. My own kids are grown, and two of my three grandsons live a thousand miles away," she says.
In 1996, Barbara visited Chatchai, one of her sponsored children, and his family as part of a Plan USA field trip to Southeast Asia, where sponsors toured Plan projects in Vietnam and Thailand. "There I saw with my own eyes the impact Plan has on children and families in developing countries. In Fai Hin, more than half of Chatchai's class proudly raised their hands when asked who had Plan sponsors." Barbara was impressed by seeing the children eating nutritious school lunches provided by Plan. In an isolated village in Vietnam, she witnessed a Plan-built obstetric clinic providing midwives and a delivery room for women who would otherwise have their babies at home with no professional assistance.
Following the trip to Southeast Asia in 1996, it occurred to Barbara to leave money to Plan USA in her will. She was 64 at the time. "I thought about it, told my daughters of my intentions, but never put anything on paper," she says. "But after a week of visiting schools, clinics, and community centers in Ecuador this summer, I decided to take action, as the powerful impressions left by the Asian trip were only reinforced by the Ecuador experience." The trust now bequeaths five percent of Barbara's assets to Plan USA.
"As I near the end of my life cycle, I believe that geographic boundaries are artificial and the people on this planet, wherever they live, are connected. We owe it to our human family to nurture all the children of the world. By leaving part of my estate to Plan USA, my sponsorship will carry on after I'm no longer here to write checks or send letters."
* * * * *
*These donor stories are for illustrative purposes. Each story is based on an actual gift case or a combination of cases. The pictures and names may be representative of the actual donors who were involved in either the cases or the combination of cases.
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