Charitable giving fell in 2008 by the largest percentage in five decades, according to a  study published in 2009 by the Giving USA Foundation and as reported by The New York Times. The 2009 statistics are not in yet, but they are not promising, either. 

ROAR adherents seek to make a meaningful contribution through their special skills and talents.  Quite often, people who break through their borders and embark on their true purpose are - as a byproduct - well rewarded materially, yet through inertia and/or ignorance fail to share their good fortune with the institutions that helped them on the way up.  The universities, learning foundations and other institutions that help ROARers achieve their success, are fading financially as the economy takes its toll.  Funding for higher education is under siege.

Planned giving programs have been around for along time, but many who are financially secure and successful fail to consider the benefits - including tax and estate benefits. 

And such planned giving programs are not just for the rich and can be undertaken with relatively little pain.      

In this time of new year’s resolutions, why not resolve to give back on a planned giving basis to the institutions that helped you develop and live your passions or whose causes align with your interests and values?