Planned Gifts Can Create a Legacy of Giving

An adult’s hands passing a small plant into a child’s hands.

People support the Council for a wide variety of reasons. Often they donate because the Council made a positive impact on their life or the life of a loved one. Sometimes their gift takes the form of a planned estate gift, such as a bequest or making us the beneficiary of a life insurance policy.

It is an honor for the Council to be named as a beneficiary in a will or life insurance policy because it demonstrates the impact the Council has had on the individual. In many cases, the gift creates a doorway that allows the Council to reach out and meet more members of the donor’s family. Those conversations revolve around how the gift will be used to further our mission of empowering people who are blind or low vision. It’s not unusual for those family members, often the donor’s children, to continue the legacy established by their parents.

If you are considering naming the Council in your will, we suggest this wording: “I give, devise, and bequeath to the Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired, Madison, Wisconsin, (insert dollar amount or percentage of the residue of your estate) to be used for the Council’s general purposes.”

If your family’s financial security is already accounted for, naming the Council to receive a gift from your life insurance policy provides the funds to make a major impact for the people the Council serves. Beneficiary forms can be completed online or with the help of your insurance advisor.

Planned giving is becoming an increasingly popular way to support us. Barbara Nilsson has been giving to the Council for nearly a decade, and recently made her first gifts from her IRA. She gives in remembrance of her father, who began receiving services from the Council after he lost his vision. In addition to vision rehabilitation therapy sessions in his home, the Council also connected him to the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library. “He was an avid reader and really missed that,” Barbara says. “With the talking books, he got a little bit of his life back. I don’t donate to many organizations, but I am so appreciative of the invaluable services the Council provides.”

For information on how you can set up a planned gift from your estate, contact Fund Development Director Lori Werbeckes at LWerbeckes@WCBlind.org or 608-237-8114. You can make an immediate donation to the Council on our website at WCBlind.org/Donate.

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