What Will Your Legacy Set in Motion? 

At Stonewall Community Foundation, we often say that legacy is about love in action. It’s about planting seeds today that will nourish our community far into the future. This Make A Will Month, we’re reflecting on one such seed, a transformative bequest from the Estate of Mark Lane Brandt, which became a catalyst for one of the boldest chapters in our Foundation’s history. 

When the Brandt estate entrusted Stonewall with this gift, it came with a powerful question: How can this funding be used for the greatest possible impact today? 

Together, we shaped a vision that honors both the intention of the donor and the needs of our community in this moment. Rather than creating a traditional endowment, the estate chose to spend down the fund over the next decade, unlocking meaningful change now, not later. We met the donor’s vision where it was and helped turn it into something expansive, lasting, and alive. 

The resulting Mark L. Brandt Fund is fueling transformative work in three core ways: 

• Macro Grantmaking: Investments in large-scale efforts with the power to shift conditions from mental health and bodily autonomy to climate justice, civic engagement, and democracy. 

• Micro Grantmaking: Urgent, direct cash assistance to LGBTQ+ individuals in crisis supporting survival, harm reduction, and self-determination. 

• Stonewall’s Capacity: Strengthening our ability to manage our growing national impact, including gender-affirming healthcare access, STEM pathways for trans youth, and new scholarship programs. 

And perhaps most meaningfully: this legacy helped make possible our new Reclaiming Our Power initiative multi-year, unrestricted funding prioritizing trans- and BIPOC-led organizations with a budget under $1M at the frontlines of LGBTQ+ liberation work. This initiative wouldn’t exist today without the generosity, vision, and flexibility of that bequest. 

This is the power of legacy. 

It’s not about the size of a gift, but about what it makes possible. It’s about how it answers the question: What do I want to set in motion? This month, we invite you to consider your own answer. 

Later this month, we’ll share an interview with LGBTQ+ estate planning expert Lee Vish, who will help demystify the process and offer guidance grounded in care and community. 

In the meantime, you can take the first step no matter where you are in life by exploring how to include Stonewall Community Foundation in your will and become part of the Stonewall Legacy Circle.  Learn more and begin your legacy planning today.