Announcing Leave 10 South Sound!

The Community Foundation is thrilled to announce the launch of Leave 10 South Sound, a collaborative regional initiative that educates, inspires, and encourages individuals to leave at least 10 percent of their estate to charity.

Created in partnership with the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, the Sound Sound Planned Giving Council, and other South Sound partners, this initiative will educate nonprofit organizations, financial advisors, and individuals about the benefits of charitable giving through estate plans.

The goal is to encourage more people to embrace philanthropy by making it a part of their legacy.

Why is this initiative important?

Many people give to charitable efforts throughout their lives. In fact, the World Giving Index reports that 63 percent of Americans make charitable donations, 46 percent volunteer to help causes they care about, and 73 percent report helping strangers.

But only about nine percent of Americans include charitable organizations in their estate plans. It’s not yet a common practice. Parents who have a will often feel driven to leave their whole estate to their children. And professional advisors rarely discuss the option of charitable estate plans unless their clients bring it up first.

On top of this, more than half of all Americans—six out of 10—die without a will. These estates are governed by laws that do not include charity.

In order to live up to the Community Foundation’s mission of inspiring philanthropy, we believe it’s vital for our region to have a vehicle through which we can encourage individuals to fill this gap.

Why now?

We’re launching the Leave 10 initiative now because an important generational opportunity is on the horizon.

Over the next 25 years, Baby Boomers will pass on an estimated $30 to 60 trillion to the next generation, nationwide. To prepare for this shift, it’s important to equip nonprofits by helping them gain the skills and resources they need to encourage their donors to engage in this kind of giving.

Nonprofits that benefit from this form of generosity will have the capacity to grow and do more for their clients and communities over the long term. Financial advisors can play an important role in community health and vibrancy, acting as partners to nonprofits by educating their clients about charitable giving.

Our hope for the future

By leaving at least 10 percent of an estate to a charitable organization, one person can make a huge difference to future generations.

We imagine local communities with a bounty of resources to make our shared spaces and private lives safer, healthier, more compassionate, and more abundant. Picture a thriving region with more educational opportunities, more open spaces and parks, more affordable housing, and more services for people who need them.

We believe the Leave 10 initiative can get us closer to this reality by transforming as many people as possible into philanthropists.

Community Foundation of South Puget Sound was founded to be the community’s permanent endowment. Our focus is, and has always been, to grow financial resources for South Sound communities. The Leave 10 initiative is a way for us to redouble our efforts to promote planned giving and share our knowledge and expertise so the nonprofits in our community can thrive long into the future.

As a free resource, the Leave 10 initiative will be a gift to South Sound communities for generations to come.

Join Us!

Leave 10 South Sound is a movement created by local nonprofits, professional advisors, donors, and community leaders to encourage and inspire people in the South Puget Sound region to give at least 10% of their estates to charity.

Every one of us has the power to make a lasting, transformational impact on our communities. Leaving 10% of your estate to causes you care about—or encouraging your donors or clients to do so—can help provide our communities with more affordable housing, equitable educational opportunities, robust social services, animal protection, accessible arts and culture, programs for the environment, and more.

Please visit the Leave 10 South Sound website and pledge to become a Leave 10 Champion today or contact us at the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound about leaving a gift to charity in your estate plans!

For Nonprofits: Become a part of Leave 10 South Sound to receive free and easy access to tools and resources to help with your efforts in starting or enhancing your planned giving program.

For Professional Advisors: Become part of Leave 10 South Sound to receive free access to toolkits, resources, and learning opportunities designed to build your skills around planned giving concepts.

For Individuals: If more South Sound residents include gifts to charity in our estate plans, the landscape of social causes in our region will be positively transformed forever. In addition, our charitable legacies will also inspire humanitarian values and behaviors in other individuals, families and communities.

Click here to take the Leave 10 South Sound pledge and join us in creating a better future for our communities.

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