Planned Giving Donor Spotlight: Bob Olafson

For more than 40 years, Bob Olafson has been a proud United Way supporter. He first began giving through his workplace campaign when he moved to the Twin Cities in the 1970s - and he's been a steadfast donor ever since.

With time, he furthered his involvement by becoming a member of Tocqueville Society, by participating in a Planned Giving Task Force and by serving as a Centennial Endowment and Planned Giving volunteer.

Several years ago, Mr. Olafson incorporated planned giving into his estate plan by designating nonprofit agencies as beneficiaries of his 401k account. When he retired from Securian, as he considered the legacy he wanted to impart, he re-examined his planned giving designations. As a strong United Way supporter, he knew he wanted to include a planned gift to the organization, and decided to make a legacy gift to sustain his Tocqueville support. In doing so, Mr. Olafson was welcomed into the Tocqueville Legacy Circle.

"Over time I started thinking that United Way is one of the organizations I'd like to support when I'm gone. I support it at a higher level than I do most other organizations, so it only makes sense to continue that," he said.

Mr. Olafson sees his legacy gift to United Way as a direct investment in the community and an indirect investment in his family. "I think that ensuring the welfare of your community is part of ensuring the welfare of your family, and I think when people are making annual gifts to United Way they're essentially taking that view," he said.

The process of updating the beneficiary designation on his 401k was easy and inherently flexible- which is something that Mr. Olafson appreciated. "You're not being asked to make an irrevocable designation or gift," he said. "You're making a gift that you can change in the future if you change your mind." Mr. Olafson said he's worked with a retirement plan administrator more than once to make adjustments and additions to his plan.

In reflecting on his past, current, and future legacy support, Mr. Olafson feels confident that his United Way investment will continue to provide important support for the community.

"It's always made me feel good to support what United Way does," he said. "And the fact that the organization has been around for 100 years and is doing such good work, I feel confident that it will continue to do that in the future - and I'm happy to be a part of that."