Anniversaries are excellent opportunities to reflect on the strategies and methods that brought you to the current milestone. As the RFC celebrates our 35th anniversary, one of the key components of our longevity is bequests.

Since receiving our first bequest in 1992, the RFC has received legacy gifts totaling almost $4.5 million from the estates of more than 140 individuals. The following comment accompanying a recent bequest is typical of many others:

“We know that [the deceased] would have been very happy to have this money going to further the work of your organization. And we are very happy to send it, both because it was (his) wish but also because of our own belief [as executors] that the work of the Rosenberg Fund for Children is important and valuable.”

In their last letter to their sons just before their execution, my grandparents Ethel and Julius Rosenberg shared their belief that others would carry on after them. That sentiment is at the genesis of the RFC. In our early days, my father (Founder Robert Meeropol) often outlined the strategy behind this project by explaining that if it was going to take generations to bring about true, meaningful change to a more just society, then we needed to support institutions committed to carrying forward and passing on progressive values from one generation to the next.

Bequests are a critical component of that strategy and a vital part of making all our work possible. Individuals who include the RFC in their estate planning are passing on necessary resources to allow us to stand with the children of resistance now and in the years and even decades to come.

Please consider adding the RFC as a beneficiary of your estate. Help be part of ensuring that the RFC is strong and vibrant for years to come. If you need more information you can call me at 413-282-7282 or email exdir@rfc.org, and I will be happy to assist you.