Devoted donors for InterServ

When money gets tight or harder to find, it becomes much more important to plan how to continue to accomplish our mission. And that is exactly what the staff and board at InterServ have been discussing, in much more specific terms than we have in the past—“How will we continue to serve people in need in our community if available funds continue to decrease?”

As a nonprofit that has been particularly responsive to the needs of people as well as receptive to requests from other nonprofits, churches, government, etc., to “do something” about whatever problem has arisen at any given time, InterServ has made itself vulnerable to the “mood swings” of the economy. Fortunately, you and donors like you have made us strong enough to provide resources needed to address almost any emergency situation in the community. One way in which you have done that is to rise to the occasion—when InterServ puts out a call for volunteers, you come, in droves; when we need funding to help people displaced by flooding, you provide it; and when we ask for prayers to keep our staff and volunteers strong, you pray. But one way in which our donors and volunteers have kept us strong is something that we haven’t talked much about up to now.

Over the last year or so, a number of our very devoted donors and volunteers have passed away. In several instances, just as we became accustomed to not seeing or hearing from one of them, we received a letter, letting us know that this loyal servant had included us in his or her estate plan. It is an awe-inspiring and emotional occurrence, receiving that letter. It reminds us, every time, that we are here on earth for such a short while. When we are gone, the things about which we cared, so dearly, may still exist, but will be less without our support.

And so it goes with InterServ. We will continue to feed people. To care for children. To make sure that the youth of our community stay on the right path. To help families to help themselves. To assist the elderly and the infirmed in living where they want to live. And, thanks to the thoughtfulness and planning of the many people who remembered to name InterServ as beneficiaries in their wills, InterServ is stronger and more resilient to the financial highs and lows that so often damage nonprofits. The mission lives on.

Simply naming InterServ in your estate plan leaves behind not only a legacy of love and caring, but an answer to the question, “How will we continue to serve people in need?” Your legacy of love and caring for your neighbors is one of the most important gifts that you will ever give. InterServ promises, in return, to use your gift wisely, to help those most vulnerable among us to live their lives more fully and more capably.

We thank you for your partnership and support, but mostly we thank you for making life better for others.