Did you know that making wills and assisting with end-of-life planning was one of the very first services offered by the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force, now Allies? At a time when AIDS was a death sentence, PATF volunteers connected people with AIDS to attorneys who were willing to help them create the documents needed to make sure their wishes were carried out after they were gone. Today, Allies still offers legal support - including end-of-life planning - for clients living with HIV.

As we observe Make-A-Will Month this August, it's a great reminder for all to create or review estate plans. These plans can include provisions to organizations that have been meaningful to you throughout your lifetime. Creating a legacy can be done though gifts of any amount, and there are many ways to create a legacy at Allies for Health + Wellbeing. One of the most popular planned giving methods is naming Allies as a beneficiary in your will or retirement account. This can either be as an outright dollar amount or a percentage and is easy as adding language to your existing plan or updating the beneficiary form with the company that manages your retirement account.

Earlier this month, Allies announced its participation in the recently formed National LGBTQ Legacy Giving Initiative (NLLGI). Selected as just one of 12 organizations nationwide, Allies was invited to join this cohort of organizations seeking to grow legacy gifts that support LGBTQ community-facing organizations. When you choose to include Allies in your will or through other legacy giving options, you can transform Allies and secure our organization’s future. By informing Allies of your intent to make a legacy gift, Allies will receive an unrestricted grant to support our current operations, so your legacy gift will go further.

If you're interested in giving to Allies as part of your legacy, or learning more about the NLLGI, please contact Alex Neal, senior director of development and marketing, at 412-910-0077 or email aneal@alliespgh.org(opens in a new tab). You can also click here for our legacy giving page.