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I
Nonprofit
Professional
Performance
Magazine
Y
ou don’t have to be uber-wealthy to have
Legacy Projects. Wanting to be a positive
influence in the world is a fundamental value
amongpeopleofgoodwill.Legacymightbeabout
having meaningful impact that continues
beyond
our lifetime, but legacy’s foundation focuses on
what we do
during
our lives. For some, that’s
about setting aside a portion of our estate to be
utilized by our favorite causes after our death.
For most of us, though, it’s about our donating
time, energy and/or money during our lives in
ways that make an immediate difference and
might have an enduring impact.
A Legacy Project is a focused way of having
positive impact in areas that are most aligned
with the purposes and causes about which
we most care. Ideal Legacy Projects live at
the intersection of what’s truly important to
the legacy creator and where underserved
individuals and/or causes can most benefit
from the legacy creator’s chosen gift(s). This
means you’ll probably feel the most fulfilled if
the Legacy Project(s) you select enable you to
make a meaningful difference by having positive
impact in ways that are truly important to you,
with those who can most benefit from the
assistance you’re passionate about providing.
The first logical question to ask yourself is this:
How can I best identify Legacy Projects that
accomplish all this?
Legacy Project Selection
For PhilanthropistsWanting to Maximize Their Positive
Impact inWays that Reflect Their Passion
DAViD GruDEr
Legacy Project Selection
To start identifying a Legacy Project that would
rock your world, consider three starter questions
for identifying your best Legacy Project
Candidates:
1. What’s your cause?
2. Who will you help?
3. How will you help?
As you consider your answers to those questions,
keep these two dimensions in mind:
• Selecting:
Of all the Legacy Projects you
could
devote yourself to, which ones might best
enable you to express heartfelt portions of
your life purpose? Of these possibilities,which
best combine the strongest pull for
you
with
the biggest unmet need in the philanthropic
marketplace?
• Providing:
What form(s) of Legacy
Project assistance would most delight you
to provide? The gift of time, expertise,
resources, and/or money? How much of
which? Starting now or after you (and/or your
spouse) die?
Once you’ve identified your best Legacy Project
Candidates through your unique answers to the
questions above, here are four things to evaluate
that can help you decide the one(s) you’ll feel the
most
sustainably impassioned about, and fulfilled
by, supporting: