PNC Bank was the title sponsor for the 2023 Raising the Roof Breakfast and Auction. President Kamal Ali and Vice President Jessica Castellanos join their PNC colleagues (pictured above) for breakfast. 

Saturday morning, April 15th brought donors, friends, corporate supporters, and staff together at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, to celebrate our signature fundraising event for the first time in three years, in person.  And boy did we bring this event back with a flourish!

While all numbers will not be completely tallied until April 30th, we had set a fundraising goal of $69,868 for net revenue and have realized $64,617 of that goal, thus far.

One of the morning highlights was our live auction trip to Africa.  With the help of our MC and Auctioneer, Tom Elmhorst, bidding raged in the room until Mr. and Mrs. David Sanchez presented the winning bid for the excursion to South Africa.  Congratulations to the Sanchez’s – we hope your trip is transformative.

Our Board of Directors set up a donation challenge of $3,000 and, through an instant text-to-donate platform, we raised $4,400 in about 10 minutes for a total of $7,400 on that challenge.

Executive Director Doug Champlin with MC and Auctioneer, Tom Elmhorst (pictured above) engaged our attendees throughout the morning.

Among other highlights of the morning was a 50/50 raffle worth over $500 and other lovely items that we raffled off. 

Next year, we plan to change the format to an evening affair with dinner and in-person silent auction, dancing, and many surprises.

We thank all of you who attended, and who supported this event through your sponsorships, table purchases and donations.  We’d also like to thank those who participated in our on-line auction where we sold some wonderful packages and two more international trips.

Make sure to be on the lookout for our next Raising the Roof coming April 2024!

When you first dip your toe into the world of estate planning, you’ll begin to hear a lot of fancy legal-speak. They may start making sense contextually, but nevertheless it’s a good idea to know exactly what they mean. This is especially true because terms are often used interchangeably when they are in fact not the same. For instance, a bequest is a gift, but a gift is not necessarily a bequest.

To bequest or not to bequest, that is the question.

Bequests are gifts (often property like jewelry, cars, etc.) made as part of a will or trust and are one of the most popular and flexible ways to support the causes that are important to you and your family. A bequest can be to a person or a trust, or it can be a charitable bequest to a nonprofit organization such as Greater Albuquerque Habitat for Humanity.

Bequests are made via instructions left in a Will. They can also be included in other types of estate planning documents, such as a Trust or beneficiary designation. These are all estate planning tools that designate how your estate should be managed and distributed after your passing. An individual typically details their bequests when they create their Will, and then updates it regularly, especially when their family grows, and needs evolve.

Before you can start making bequests, you must first set up an estate plan.

To do so, follow these simple steps:

In summary, setting up a bequest describes the act of bestowing a gift on a loved one or charitable organization through your Will. Upon your eventual passing, the person or organization named in the bequest will receive the property you described. In this sense, setting up bequests for those you love or wish to support will be an amazing way for them to remember you and honor your life.

Ready to set up a bequest or have questions about bequests?
Email Liz@HabitatABQ.org to get started.