The Gateway Center for Giving in partnership with Leave a Legacy® St. Louis is pleased to announce Will to Give 2009, the region’s only community-wide initiative designed to educate donors about the importance of charitable bequest giving.

What is Will to Give?
Piloted in 2006, Will to Give is an initiative to increase charitable bequest giving. During the first two years, more than 200 teams of nonprofits and professional wealth advisors were trained to deliver presentations that reached more than 3,000 donors. As a result of these presentations 40 percent of attendees decided to name one or more charities as beneficiaries in their will.

Why is Will to Give important?
The greatest transfer of wealth in our region - approximately $532 billion - is projected over the next 50 years, with $181 billion estimated as gifts for charitable purposes. While our region is generous, only 7 percent of St. Louisians have named a charity as a beneficiary in their will. That leaves 93 percent of St. Louis households as untapped prospects for charitable bequest giving. 

How does Will to Give work?
A team made up of a representative from a nonprofit organization and a professional wealth advisor will receive an orientation on the Will to Give presentation. After the orientation, teams receive a  toolkit with all of the follow up material needed to communicate effectively to donors about charitable bequest giving. The nonprofit team member organizes a minimum of two presentations to a group of existing or potential donors using the information provided. 

What are the benefits of Will to Give for nonprofits?

• The ability to build relationships with professional advisors
• The ability to educate existing donors and secure new donors through community outreach
• Increased dollars coming into the community through charitable bequests
• Access to the most current planned giving and bequest giving resources through the Will to Give web page
• Year-long technical assistance from Gateway Center for Giving staff on the Will to Give presentation
• Discounts at other planned giving trainings offered through the Saint Louis Planned Giving Council
• Continuing education credit through CFRE

For more information visit www.centerforgiving.org or contact Kiesha Davis at kiesha@centerforgiving.org or (314) 621-6220.