One of the things I love about my job is meeting all of our donors, who loyally support the Water Trust in its mission to support Colorado’s rivers and streams in the era of climate change-driven stress. Because our projects often (usually!) take multiple years to come to fruition, it takes a special kind of foresight to drive this organization forward financially, to give it the resources it needs to see its vision become reality. But there is an even more exclusive group, who can see in decades ahead rather than years: Our Forever Flow Society members.
Planned giving – thinking of the Water Trust in your wills or estate plans – is a good fit for a mission like ours. Time and water created much of the Colorado landscape. Millions of years of geological time, with runoff from mountains each year entering the same rivers we use to produce food, fish in, and walk by today. We in the water world are patient. We are the sort who plant trees under whose shade we never expect to sit. That is the essence of planned giving.
Planned gifts can vary greatly in size, and structure. Some are restricted to a certain, beloved river, while others are more general. Some tools provide tax benefits now, some later. But they all accomplish the same thing: Allowing the Water Trust to pursue its dream of a resilient system that ensures the healthy flow of our rivers and streams into our great-grandchildren’s time. That dream requires patience, lots of it: Staff time, research, analysis, and plenty of outreach to bring the state together to face this crisis. It is beyond the scope of all of our lifetimes.
If you do decide to join the Forever Flows circle, you can be assured that your resources will be used effectively and efficiently, and that the change we seek will only get more urgent in the climate-changed world, our grandchildren’s world. If I could sum up the Water Trust’s vision in one word, it would be collaboration. The solutions to restoring flow to Colorado’s rivers are out there. The legal tools available to water rights owners exist and they are flexible and adaptable to each user’s situation. Colorado Water Trust has the expertise, the resources, and the water world connections to bring it all together. Our vision for the time in which your planned gift would be given is to do what we do today on a far grander scale, with more people across the state, supporting more rivers in need. Our founders envisioned a nonprofit that would be a market participant for water sharing opportunities, and we proved that vision possible and popular. In our mature phase, we will take that expertise to the next level and double in size and impact, or more. We can’t do that without the continued support of our community. So appealing to you to take that next step into a planned gift seems like a natural one.
We hope you will consider leaving a lasting legacy for Colorado’s rivers, to help us grow and collaborate with more people across our state. We designed Forever Flows for our loyal core of water-conscious Coloradoans, who have supported our work through the years. Every adult should have a will, and in that will, you have the option to request a percentage or dollar amount to be left to a nonprofit. It’s as easy as that. You can let us know of your plans and we can work with you on how you want your legacy to be spent at the Water Trust.
How much has Colorado given to you through the years? Please consider giving back in a meaningful and significant way.
For more information on our Forever Flows Society, click here.
If you’re interested in learning more, contact Dana Dallavalle, Colorado Water Trust Director of Development and Communications, at 720-570-2897 or ddallavalle@coloradowatertrust.org.