Dear Vegan Outreach Supporter,
I’ve spent my entire adult life trying to help animals. My decades in the nonprofit sector haven’t left me with millions of dollars to manage, but I still created a will because:
- I think about animals in slaughterhouses all the time. All. The. Time. Working for a vegan organization means daily reminders of suffering. I want people to stop torturing animals, and the vegan movement needs resources to make that happen.
- I have a modest IRA and I own a condo here in Anchorage, Alaska. It’s not much, but I do get a lot of moose visitors!
- I don’t have a spouse or kids. I mean, I think I have kids (my dog, my cat, my favorite aloe vera plant), but the law doesn’t agree.
I want to work for animals and hike the Chugach Mountains for years to come. But if I’m hit by a bus tomorrow and there’s no will, where will the resources I’ve worked hard for—like my IRA or the proceeds from my condo—end up?
They’ll go into probate or to the state, maybe eventually to a relative. The money I earned while working for PETA, HSUS, and Vegan Outreach could even end up funding the very things I’ve spent my life opposing, like government vivisection or those awful surplus cheese subsidies!
I couldn’t let my work for animals end instantly.
It cost me $150 and one hour to write my will. That’s $100 for the online service, and $50 to notarize it. It also includes an advance directive so my family won’t have to make tough medical decisions for me, plus plans for any companion animals in my care.
In that same hour, I updated the beneficiaries on my retirement account. Then I filled out the Vegan Outreach Letter of Intent, and thanks to a matching donor, VO received $500 in my honor!
Boom. Done.
If you’ve been putting off writing a will, here’s how you can make a meaningful will just as quickly:
- Fill out a free or affordable online will (like FreeWill, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, or Quicken WillMaker).
- Name Vegan Outreach as a partial or full beneficiary of your online accounts or retirement plan.
- Let us know by completing our Letter of Intent, and a long-time donor will give $500 in your honor.
- Share your decision with your loved ones so they know your wishes.
- Encourage the activists in your life to make a will too!
If that fabled bus gets me before I’m ready, I know exactly where my assets will go. My retirement account goes directly to Vegan Outreach—no banks, no probate. VO could be creating new vegans with that money in as little as two months. My other assets go first to a trusted relative, who will know if my mom needs support. If not, the funds will go to work for the animals.
Things get more complicated if you have children, own a business, or have greater wealth. But in general, making a will doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars or require meetings with attorneys.
Best of all, making a will sparks conversation. It helped me discover what I really wanted for myself and for the people (and animals) I love. It even inspired two of my loved ones to make their own wills. Both included VO, which was the best gift they could have given me!
Please email if you have questions or would like to set up a phone call. Thank you for everything you’re doing to help animals!
Sincerely,
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| Alex Bury, Vice President of Development, Vegan Outreach |