Stories of progress, inspiration, and information in overcoming osteosarcoma.
Many people think donating to meaningful causes is something we do later in life, once more money or stability is acquired.
This is not necessarily true. You can start making a difference right now, even at the beginning of your career.
If you are passionate about a cause, such as osteosarcoma research, you can include organizations such as The Osteosarcoma Institute (OSI) in your financial plan.
This is called planned giving, and here, we explain how young professionals can participate.
Simply, planned giving is deciding ahead of time where your money and benefits will go after death. Legally, this is outlined in an estate plan, which lists the organizations you choose to give your money to, or what we call beneficiaries. You can choose to tell the organization about your planned gift, or keep it private.
It’s not the most fun thing to think about, especially in your 20s or 30s. But the reality is, life is unpredictable, and setting things up now guarantees assurance that your money will go to the causes you care about.
“Planned gifts to OSI can be a way for siblings and friends to remember a loved one who passed away,” says Emily Allbright, member of OSI’s development committee. “It is a way for them to honor, celebrate, and continue their friends’ legacy and friendship in a meaningful way.”
For full-time employees, there are typically two avenues to name beneficiaries through work benefits: life insurance and retirement investments.
“When you are filling out all that paperwork as a new hire, you are probably thinking about your parents, siblings, or a significant other,” Allbright says. “You can absolutely name them as beneficiaries, but you can also share a percentage, or name a contingent beneficiary, as a planned gift.”
When you share a percentage, you can give money to both loved ones and organizations. For example, you can give 75 percent of your life insurance proceeds to your parents and 25 percent to OSI.
Employers commonly provide 1.5x of your annual salary for life insurance benefits. If you make $40,000 a year, your life insurance benefit would be $60,000. If something happened to you, your parents would receive $45,000 and OSI would receive $15,000 as an impactful donation to the organization.
When you name a secondary (or contingency) beneficiary as part of a planned gift, that beneficiary is “next in line” to receive the funds.
For example, if you name your parents as primary beneficiaries and OSI as a contingent beneficiary, the money will go to your parents first. But if they were no longer living or turned down the funds, it would then go to OSI as a donation to the organization.
You may not have a lot of assets when you are young, but perhaps you own a car, a home, or a personal life insurance policy. You can include them as planned gifts, too.
For items like vehicles or real estate, OSI arranges them to be sold, and the proceeds go to the organization for 100% mission impact.
With life insurance, you’re likely to qualify for a lower-cost policy if you sign up when you are young. As you get older, or if you develop health problems, life insurance can be much more expensive, and you might not get approved.
Something else to consider: When you leave money to a nonprofit, it can reduce the taxes owed on those funds. This means that more of your money goes to the people and causes that matter to you.
“Establish a thoughtful plan that allows your legacy to make a lasting charitable impact aligned with your values and priorities,” Allbright says.
Starting your first job comes with a lot of paperwork, and it can feel overwhelming. You might postpone choosing beneficiaries for your life insurance or retirement plans.
But taking just a few extra minutes to fill out the forms out thoughtfully can make a lifetime of difference, for yourself and others. You can always update your choices as life changes.
By setting up a planned gift, you’re organizing your finances, and you’re setting up support for something bigger than yourself with direct mission impact for research and clinical trials needed for osteosarcoma.
Stay informed as we work to identify new treatments for osteosarcoma.
We never sell or share your information.
Your donation provides immediate and long-term support to osteosarcoma patients.
Sign-up for our newsletter and stay up-to-date about our fight against Osteosarcoma!