Church receives $7 million bequest
Maggie Sue Goodwin was a retired schoolteacher and principal. When this 89-year-old passed away in January, she bequeathed her estate—an estimated $7 million—to the First Baptist Church in Marion, Arkansas.
Mrs. Goodwin devoted her time and money to the 600-member church during her lifetime as well. She was the church’s treasurer for 50 years and often made $50,000 gifts to the church for various projects and needs. She had hinted to church officials when she made cash gifts over the years that there was more to come.
Mrs. Goodwin lived frugally and modestly. Her husband, Cecil Goodwin, died in 1963. He and his family had farming interests in the area. The couple had no children.
Many organizations have found that donors such as Mrs. Goodwin, who are often hidden among the ranks of long-term, frequent donors, are often the mainstay of endowment development efforts.
Source: The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN,
August 19, 1999
NCPG continues Legacy programs
The National Committee on Planned Giving continues to encourage its member councils to encourage people in council communities to consider establishing charitable bequests and other planned gifts in their estate plans. The initiative, entitled “Leave A Legacy,” is being made available to all NCPG councils and is intended to serve the entire local nonprofit community wherever it is established.
Many Leave A Legacy programs are already established. To find out if your area has a Leave A Legacy program in place, you can check the NCPG Web site at www.ncpg.org. If you would like to help implement the effort in your local community, NCPG can provide you with a Leave A Legacy kit for $35 that can help get you started. For more information, contact NCPG at (317) 269-6274 or e-mail to ncpg@iupui.edu
