The economic downturn affects many types of gifts, but many charity officials might have thought bequests would be a bit more insulated than other types of donations. After all, nobody chooses when to die.
But in many charitable bequests, donors leave real estate, stock, or other assets that have dropped sharply in value in recent months — so that means that less money will pass on to charity.
It will take about two years until charities will feel the impact of today’s downturn on bequest income, according to Robert F. Sharpe, a Memphis planned-giving consultant. It takes that long to settle most estates, he says. And since most donors give a fixed amount to their heirs and leave what is left over for charities, the leftovers could be much smaller than they would have been when the economy was booming.
