Write a Will

Nonprofit Impact on Communities

By Michelle Creager

Nonprofit charitable organizations highlight all that is good in America today. According to the National Council of Nonprofits, Charitable organizations provide a way for people to work together for a common good, a place where shared hopes and beliefs are transformed into action, and an atmosphere to shape our boldest dreams, highest ideals, and noblest causes.

Everyone benefits from the work of nonprofits in one way or another. Nonprofit organizations strengthen communities by providing the educational, health, and social services that citizens need and the government cannot fully provide.

There is a good chance that you have attended service at a house of worship, learned to swim at the YMCA, developed life skills through Girl Scouts or Little League, or enjoyed a family vacation at the zoo, all thanks to the work of nonprofit organizations.

Charitable nonprofits feed, heal, shelter, educate, inspire, enlighten, and nurture people of every age, race, religion, gender, and socioeconomic status. They foster community engagement, promote leadership, drive economic growth, and strengthen the fabric of our communities every single day.

However, operating a nonprofit isn’t easy. A nonprofit’s ability to secure sustainable long-term funding providing generational stability is a challenge. Nonprofit organizations can only fulfill their missions when they have dedicated and passionate people who give their time, talents, and treasures. They count on legacy bequests to carry out their missions of creating more equitable and healthy communities.

Quite simply, supporting a nonprofit organization is a beneficial way to strengthen our community, share our blessings and help our neighbors who are in need. It provides a way for donors to leave behind more than just “things” when they pass. It allows a way for donors to communicate their values and beliefs to their heirs, while leaving them with a community improved by philanthropy.

Roughly, 80% of dollars contributed to nonprofits come from individual donors or their estates. [1] By donating to charity in the form of a charitable bequest in a Will, it alleviates this risk of needing the money for your own health needs, since upon the death of the donor, the funds would no longer be needed by him or her.

With this guide you will find wonderful local organizations that are impacting Northeast Indiana. By adding a bequest to one, or several of them, you can participate in the Write a Will event at no cost to you.

Nonprofits are all around us and touch millions of lives each day thanks to the generous and selfless gifts provided by those invested in the community and proud to help those less fortunate than themselves.

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[1] Giving Statistics https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=42