Andy and Sara Barnes speak with passion about their city living experience. “It’s a privilege to live in a dense city like San Francisco and have access to exceptional open space and cultural amenities in surprising quantities,” offers Andy, Greenbelt Alliance’s former Board Chair and a currently active Board Member. He and Sara co-chaired our annual fundraiser, Savor the Greenbelt, in 2015. In addition to being active and generous current supporters of Greenbelt Alliance, they have also taken the additional step of including us in their will.
Why? “It’s about legacy and leaving something that our children, grandchildren, and the community can enjoy—we need Greenbelt Alliance in the Bay Area,” says Sara, quickly and without hesitation. Andy, an urban planning professional, adds that “Greenbelt Alliance offers one of those rare opportunities to invest in a spectrum of important land use conservation issues while also addressing urban growth through smart growth.”
It’s about legacy and leaving something that our children, grandchildren, and the community can enjoy—we need Greenbelt Alliance in the Bay Area.
They both agree that what makes Greenbelt Alliance an ideal recipient of their legacy gift is the opportunity to see “your private dollars get translated into public policy and public good. When you leave money to an organization, particularly when you’re gone and can’t control it, you want to make sure that your gift is going to provide continuing benefits as part of your legacy.” For Andy and Sara, that means leaving their surroundings in better condition than they found them.
“Greenbelt Alliance has a track record of getting policies and results accomplished with tangible benefits: preservation of critical lands and making our cities much more livable places. Without growing smartly in our existing cities and towns, we wouldn’t have the substantial open spaces that we have around the Bay Area.”
Another way to think about the value of a planned gift, according to Sara, is that when you’re alive, you invest to have money for the future. After you’re gone, your investment in Greenbelt Alliance provides continuing returns and benefits that couldn’t be achieved any other way. “We’re so lucky to have Greenbelt Alliance be a steward of some of our funds to provide for the Bay Area’s future needs!”
You can join Andy and Sara in securing the future of the Bay Area by naming Greenbelt Alliance in your will or trust. Contact Nora Cullinen for details.
