Considering where you’re reading this, I’m going to assume that you already have a pretty good idea of why planning gifts to non-profits, whether from your retirement plan or a bequeath from your will or life insurance policy, is good for you. There are, of course, the great tax reasons, and they are incredibly flexible, but it’s also many people’s only opportunity to leave their charities of choice with that major gift they’ve always wanted to give but haven’t been able to.
A planned gift also allows donors to create a legacy. It doesn’t just leave a lasting mark on the charity or non-profit you choose to give to, but it also creates a lasting impact on your community, leaving the world a little better than what you inherited.
And on our end of things, planned giving is extremely important as well. Over the rest of 2019 and through 2020, the Food Bank of North Alabama will be putting forth a campaign to inform our supporters about planned giving options as well as creating a society to honor those who choose to consider the Food Bank in their planned gifts.
We’re wanting to make this push with our current supporters and with new potential ones because planned giving provides a sturdy foundation of long-term support. While it’s tempting for me as development director to focus on gifts that come in right away and make an immediate impact, I want to make sure we have long-term stability. Because there are so many agencies — over 260 soup kitchens, food pantries, churches, women’s shelters, halfway homes, child backpack programs, senior feeding programs and more — across North Alabama that depend on us for food, it’s so important that we are here for as long as people are hungry. Planned giving allows us to better navigate any unforeseen problems that might be awaiting us on the horizon.
The Food Bank of North Alabama was honored to be featured in this blog in 2016, but I wanted to share a few ways we’ve grown since then. Many of our programs have changed, most morphed into new programs with new names as new staff members take hold of them.
But the biggest change since 2016 is how much food we’ve been able to provide the people of the 11 counties in North Alabama that we serve. Then we supplied nearly seven million pounds of food to over 200 charitable feeding programs. This year, we are on track to supply 10 million pounds of food to over 260 charitable programs. It’s all because people who choose to support us.
If you’d like more information about the Food Bank of North Alabama, please visit foodbanknorthal.org, and for more information about planned giving or to let us know you’ve made a planned gift to the Food Bank, email Bobby Bozeman at bbozeman@fbofna.org.
