Phyllis Freedman is the author of The Planned Giving Blogger (www.smart-giving.com/plannedgivingblogger) and a planned giving consultant. Go to her blog, choose the bequests catagory, and look for the post "New Research Enlightens". It highlights a presentation by Dr. Russell James in which he describes what is going on in the brain when people consider making a bequest. Sometime ago, I realized that donors don't wake up in the middle of the night thinking, "I have just got to put a bequest in my will for the benefit of United Way." Rather it is their passion for impact that wakes them up and the bequest serves as a means. Phyllis highlights Dr. James' theories about the connections people make between the stories of their lives and a good donor story from someone else who has already taken the next step with a bequest to support their cause. There looks to be quite a few good posts worth reading, so bookmark this one. 
I couldn't resist adding this picture of Lake Erie at sundown from the back of the house in Bratenahl, Ohio where I wrote this post. I continue to experiment with BlogTouch and so far so good.
