What if a small part of what we leave behind could continue to create beauty?

A concert. A young man who discovers music. A project that manages to get started. A place that comes back to life. A person who finds an opportunity to grow.

All this can also arise from a gesture we make today thinking of a future that we will not see.

Il 13 September is International Solidarity Bequest Day. It is a good opportunity to talk about a possibility that is still little known: choose, through your will, to allocate part of their assets to an association or third sector body.

And there is one important thing to know:

You don't have to be rich to leave something.

A bequest can also be a small sum. A percentage of your assets. A good thing.

What may seem like little for one person can become a lot for a small association.

Why?

Because a cultural association does not only live through the moments that the public sees.

When we attend a concert we see the musician on the stage.

We don't see everything before and after.

We can't wait to spend hours studying and researching, the planning, the organization, the preparation of spaces, public reception, the equipment, training, work with young people.

And above all we don't see what can be born thanks to all this.

A cultural association produces much more than an event.

It produces knowledge.
It produces opportunities.
It produces relationships.
Produces training.
Preserves and transmits a heritage.
Help young people grow.
It keeps places and communities alive.

Produce, in a word, value.

So what can a small legacy become?

It can become a project for kids.
It can contribute to the training of a young musician.
It can help make a concert happen that otherwise wouldn't be possible.
It can support the research and rediscovery of a musical heritage.
It can help keep a cultural activity going over time.
It may simply allow an association to look to the future with a little’ more safety.

A sum of money, alone, it produces nothing.
But in the hands of those who work every day for culture it can transform into something that remains.

It doesn't mean taking something away from your family

This is another very common misconception.

The law protects the shares due to family members who are entitled to it. The part of the assets which can be freely disposed of can also be allocated to a third sector organisation.

And it is not an irreversible decision: the will is a personal act and can be modified or revoked during life.

Naturally, a bequest must be formulated correctly. Because of this, especially when there are complex family or financial situations, It is important to contact a notary or a qualified professional.

Leaving something means choosing what will continue

Perhaps the deepest meaning of a solidarity legacy is precisely this.

We don't know what will happen in ten, twenty or thirty years.

But we can choose, at least in part, what we would like to continue to exist.

A music.
A school.
A project.
An association.
The possibility for a boy to get closer to culture.
The chance for someone to encounter something beautiful that they otherwise wouldn't have encountered.
You don't need to leave much.

It is necessary to leave something we believe in.

And for those who work in culture, every small gesture can become a concrete possibility for the future.

Because perhaps the best way to leave something is not simply to leave possessions.

It's making sure that part of what we have had can continue to generate beauty, knowledge and opportunities for others.

The solidarity legacy in brief

A bequest can be for a sum of money, a percentage of the estate or a specific asset. It can be included in the ordinary forms of will required by law. It is important to precisely indicate the beneficiary organization and respect the quotas reserved for any heirs.
Getting informed doesn't mean deciding. It simply means knowing that this possibility exists.

And maybe, precisely on International Solidarity Bequest Day, it's worth starting here.