August 6, 2026

A Gift that Outlasts a Lifetime

Make A Will Month 2026

Every August, Nepal Youth Foundation (NYF) marks National Make-A-Will Month. It’s an annual reminder to think about the people and causes you love, plan for your future, and ensure your wishes are recorded exactly the way you want them.

Planning for your future is more important, and much easier, than many people realize. We hope you’ll take this time to reflect on your estate plans—and consider making a legacy gift to NYF.

Why Estate Planning Matters

Estate planning isn’t just about money. It’s about love and the peace of mind that comes from caring for the people and causes you cherish most.

Depending on your state’s laws, the absence of a will may result in your estate being distributed by a court system that does not understand your values or your relationships. It may also increase the tax burden on your heirs. This process can be slow, costly, and out of your family’s hands, with assets frozen the entire time. An up-to-date estate plan spares your loved ones extra time, money, and stress during what is already a difficult and emotional time.

Whether your estate is large and complex, or small and simple, all adults should have a will!

Including a gift to NYF (or another nonprofit) in your will

When creating or reviewing your will, you can choose to leave a part of your estate to a nonprofit like NYF. Sometimes, leaving a “legacy gift” is a great way to reduce estate taxes for your heirs. It also costs you nothing during your lifetime, but will make a tremendous impact on causes close to your heart for years to come.

At NYF, a legacy gift doesn’t need to be large to make an incredible, lasting impact. A bequest of $10,000, for example, can keep a 6-year-old girl in school for 12 years. That means her education can be secured from her first day of primary school all the way to graduation. This is the impact a single gift, planned today, can have on a child’s entire future.

When you include NYF in your will, your legacy gift goes directly toward programs that protect and empower children and youth in Nepal:

At Olgapuri Children’s Village, legacy gifts ensure the kids in our care can continue to be loved, nourished, educated, and cared for in a family-style environment—in perpetuity.
Through our vocational education program, bequests allow hundreds of teenagers and young adults to access the skills and resources they need to put food on their tables and dignity in their hands for the rest of their lives.
A planned gift guarantees that a child being raised by extended relatives through our Kinship Care program never has to leave the community that knows and loves them the most.
A gift in your will ensures that children experiencing malnutrition continues to receive all the care they need at NYF’s Nutritional Rehabilitation Home to grow into healthy adults with empowered futures.

And above all, planned gifts secure the future of NYF’s programs. They help us withstand unexpected disasters, like pandemics and earthquakes, and give us the stability we need to keep serving Nepali children well into the future.

Olga’s Own Commitment

Our founder, Olga Murray, was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Legacy Circle. The Legacy Circle is our way of saying Dhanyabad, or Thank You, to those who remember us in their estate plans. She became its first member by including NYF as a beneficiary in her own estate plans, helping ensure her life’s work would continue beyond her lifetime.

“I know I am far from the only person who has reflected on the world my loved ones will inherit when I am gone. How rewarding … to know this remarkable growth will live on long after I am gone. I take great comfort in knowing I have made plans for the children in NYF’s care. With just a few lines added to my will years ago, I am helping ensure that our essential programs can endure.” *Olga Murray, 2021.*

Today, NYF’s Legacy Circle has grown to almost 60 members. Each member has made a personal and generous decision to protect the children in NYF’s programs for generations to come. Among them is Arlin, from California, who first fell in love with Nepal in 2002 while hiking:

“I’m very pleased to be able to support NYF now, but I want to continue after I’m gone. There is so much need, and the US dollar goes a long way in Nepal. I know what I’m leaving will help NYF continue its essential work helping the Nepali people have better lives.”

Every Legacy Circle member has their own story of how Nepal, and NYF, found a permanent place in their heart. What they share is a decision to make that generosity and love last well beyond their lifetimes.

Ways to join our Legacy Circle: It’s simpler than you think!

There’s no minimum bequest required to join NYF’s Legacy Circle. All you need to do is let us know you’ve included NYF in your estate plans.

Thankfully, there are many ways to include a gift to NYF in your will. Some popular ways include leaving a specific amount, leaving a percentage of a donor’s total wealth, or designating the remainder of a donor’s estate after other bequests have been paid. Many of these options may also lower the tax burden on your family. Visit our Planned Giving page to learn more!

Additionally, if you decide to designate a charity as a beneficiary, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can always decide to leave any percentage you wish to one or multiple charities.

Already included NYF in your estate plans but aren’t sure we know about it? Please let us know so we can properly welcome you into the Legacy Circle and say thank you.

Let’s chat!

If you’d like to have a no-pressure, no-obligation chat with a member of our team, we’d love to sit down with you and help you think about what your legacy at NYF could look like. Because at the end of the day, a will isn’t just a legal document. It’s one of the most personal, hopeful things you’ll ever write. And we hope this is the year you write it—no matter where you are in your life.