Ninia Baehr has made quite an impact on civil liberties in Montana and across the nation.
She now serves as deputy director of the ACLU of Montana, and 25 years ago as lead plaintiff the Hawaiian same-sex marriage case that set off a movement culminating last year in Hawaii becoming the 16th state to legalize same-sex marriage.
But that's not enough for Ninia. She wants to make a positive impact now and well into the future.
That's why she included the ACLU in her will.
And she's encouraging other people to do the same. Ninia wrote a letter to ACLU members across the country telling them how they can leave a civil liberties legacy.
"I work for the ACLU, am a card-carrying member, and have included the organization in my will -- all for the same reason. My firsthand experience has shown me the ACLU's remarkable ability to keep pressing on vitally important issues, no matter how long it takes, until another advance for freedom is achieved."
"ACLU members made planned gifts in the past without being able to predict exactly when and where their commitment would have an impact. Yet now, those planned gifts are helping to propel the organization's current work forward.
"Those members couldn't have predicted that their forward-looking financial commitment would support the ACLU's agenda-setting work on the freedom to marry, our unyielding state-by-state defense of reproductive freedom, our relentless efforts to protect the right to vote, or our compelling work challenging out of control NSA surveillance.
"But they were confident that, reflecting on the long and proud tradition of the ACLU, their legacy gift would play a powerful role in forging freedom's future. By making a planned gift today, as I have done, you can act with the same confidence."
If you would like to leave a planned gift to the ACLU, please take a moment to find out more. You can leave a legacy for future generations.
