Talking about leaving part of a will and making a solidarity bequest to a foundation or non-profit organization is never easy. It confronts us with profound, transcendent decisions that invite us to think about the future, when we are no longer around. However, more and more generous people are discovering that making a solidarity will is a concrete way of continue to do good in this world, when earthly life is over.
That is precisely what Álvaro and Ana experienced fifteen years ago. They learned about the CARF Foundation through a maiden aunt who decided to make a solidarity will in favor of the foundation, which surprised the family. Why did their aunt decide to include the foundation in her inheritance? Moved by interest and curiosity, they began to inquire.
They found that the CARF Foundation support for the integral formation of seminarians and diocesan priests and religious men and women, They understood that this decision was neither improvised nor symbolic: it was a concrete and effective way of sustaining the Church in the future, beyond their own lives. They understood that this decision was neither improvised nor symbolic: it was a concrete and effective way of sustaining the Church in the future, beyond their own lives.
This experience marked them both. Today they explain it clearly in this video: «a legacy or a solidarity will is a serene and conscious way of to give continuity to all the effort of a lifetime; To transform heritage into vocations; to turn an inheritance into a better future for the Church in needy countries. It is a brilliant opportunity to prepare a home in heaven.
His words summarize the profound meaning of this decision: the legacy of solidarity does not subtract from the family, it adds to the world.
G.P.M. and M.M. are a married couple who learned about the CARF Foundation 25 years ago through priest friends. «What strikes us most is the work of fundraising, their difficulties and perseverance and the miracles that God performs when money is needed to complete study grants for so many seminarians, priests and religious,» they say.
And it is that, for them, the world needs well-trained priests. «For this reason, we have decided to make a solidarity will in favor of the CARF Foundation. because we see the need for priests in the world and so that no vocation is lost for economic reasons,» they explain.
We could have looked for a notary on our own, but through the CARF Foundation, everything was made easier.
Finally, they encourage other people to make a solidarity will to «collaborate with this good, providential and faith-filled work of some people, for the good of all humanity. Any other bequest would have seemed vain to us. And, in addition, pray for the living and deceased benefactors every day, which we need.
Of the same opinion is J.M., retired engineer. He got to know the CARF Foundation more closely in 2014 during a trip to the Holy Land and «I became interested in its work when I was struck by the enthusiasm of its collaborators,» he says.
He explains that his will is in favor of the CARF Foundation for the following reasons «the worldwide impact of the people trained in Pamplona and in Rome. In addition, I have friends who collaborate financially to help poor people with a vocation to the priesthood to improve their formation and study, because they need financial help. Other more generous people even donate houses to the CARF foundation,” he says.
J.M. encourages more people to make a solidarity will or a financial contribution in favor of the CARF Foundation since their contribution «helps vocations to the priesthood to study in Europe and then return to their countries and give back the formation received».
Making a joint and several will is a simple, accessible and inexpensive procedure that allows you to decide how your assets will be distributed. Any person can can include a non-profit entity as an heir or legatee, allocating a specific part of its estate to a cause it considers valuable.
In the case of the CARF Foundation, this legacy of solidarity will keep alive the effort to achieve a better world for Christians and non-believers alike, because the priest is no respecter of persons or creeds when it comes to helping another human being anywhere in the world.
Many of these seminarians and priests come from dioceses in Africa, Asia or Latin America that do not have sufficient resources for their studies. But the life of each Christian sustains and edifies the church.
A joint and several bequest can take different forms: a specific amount of money, a percentage of the inheritance, real estate, securities or investment funds or movable property. It is a free and flexible decision, which can be modified at any time while the person is alive.
On the other hand, entities such as the CARF Foundation are exempt from inheritance tax, which means that one hundred percent of the bequest goes entirely to the chosen purpose.
Alvaro and Ana express it with emotion: «to think that you can help form priests who will take the faith and the sacraments to so many places... it is worth it».
Many generous people find that this decision does not compete with their love for their children or relatives. On the contrary, it complements it.
Each vocation accompanied, each well-trained priest, has an impact for decades on tens of thousands of people: rural communities, parishes in poor neighborhoods, missions in isolated territories... To include the CARF Foundation in the solidarity will is to bet on this silent chain of favors and good. It is to trust that the work of a lifetime - savings, patrimony and effort - can continue to bear fruit in the form of sacraments, spiritual accompaniment, education in the faith and hope for entire communities.
Today, Alvaro and Ana invite others to reflect with serenity. «It's not about great fortunes, but about great decisions. It's about asking yourself: what do I want to remain when I'm gone? What footprint do I wish to leave?».
Therefore, the CARF Foundation (click on the link) offers personalized and confidential information for those who wish to learn more about how this type of donation and assistance works, resolve legal doubts or receive practical guidance.
carf@fundacioncarf.orgLandline: +34 914 029 082Mobile: +34 638 078 51145 Conde de Peñalver Street.
