Planned Giving

Planned Giving Resources

Planned giving enables you to leave a lasting gift that will touch the lives of many families well into the future and ensure that your most important values and commitments are part of your legacy.

When you include the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation in your estate planning, you create a legacy that will impact the cholangiocarcinoma community and improve the lives of those affected by this rare form of cancer.

August is National Make-a-Will Month!

Every single one of us needs a will, whether you are 18 or 80 years old. But did you know that almost 70% of American adults don’t have one?

We have partnered with FreeWill, so writing your will can be easy and completed in 20 minutes or less at no cost to you. If you would still prefer to finalize your wishes with an attorney, use FreeWill to create a list of documented wishes to give you a head start and make your wishes known to your attorney.

Ready to get started? Click here

Still want to learn more? Click here and learn more about estate planning, various giving vehicles and download the free Estate Planning Guide.

Already included us in your estate plan?  Let us know by clicking here!

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I Give Because...

We are so thankful for the enduring partnership of donors who have already made a commitment to supporting the Foundation as part of their estate plans. Read more about why some of these donors have been inspired to make this important decision.

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My name is Laurie Ann Taylor, and I want to share my story in light of August being National Make-a-Will Month. For me, creating a will was important for practical purposes after I lost my mom to cancer, and it represented an important opportunity to honor my mom and continue her legacy of generosity and caring.

My mom, Dr. Laurie Jowers Ware, was diagnosed with stage-4 intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma the day after Thanksgiving in 2020. I was my mom’s primary caregiver until she passed away on August 15, 2021. For most of my life, it was just me and my mom loving and supporting each other—we truly were best friends. (I also had a wonderful stepfather for four years, but he too passed away just as I was beginning high school.) We navigated our journey with cancer much like the rest of our lives—the two of us against the world.

As a little kid, I was always excited to write “Dr." in front of her name on school forms. I was endlessly proud to have such an accomplished mom, and she inspired me with her always down-to-earth humility, free laughter, and a smile that friends across the decades have never forgotten. As an adult, my esteem for her only grew as I recognized the full extent of her research and impact on the nursing field. My mom retired from her role as an associate dean of the school of nursing at the University of West Georgia after forty years of teaching students the art of caring and compassion.

When my mom was diagnosed, I was 28 years old and in my last year of studies at Harvard Law School. I finished my last semester only because of the grace and support of my incredible professors and friends, and I’m grateful that my mom was able to see me graduate (in an online ceremony). After graduating in May 2021, I deferred the bar exam to focus on my mom. Taking care of my mom through her illness was the best and most difficult thing I will ever do and devoting that summer to celebrating her was the best decision I will ever make. At the time, there was much uncertainty in my life, but one thing I knew for sure was the value of time with my mom.

Today, I am a practicing attorney in Atlanta. My greatest hope is that I can continue to seek out and act on ways to honor my mom and the love she exuded each day. I recently created my estate plan and I have left a bequest to the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation to support its mission of finding a cure for this aggressive cancer and its personal outreach to patients, caregivers, and others impacted by cholangiocarcinoma. I want to ensure that research continues so that my mom’s death is just a chapter in our story, not the end. My mom took care of me all her life and beyond, and in making this bequest I feel like my mom, and I can play a small part in taking care of others—extending her legacy beyond our lifetimes and well into the future.

For more information, or if you would like to speak with someone, please contact Kourtney Sanchez at kourtney.sanchez@curecca.org or at 630-286-0418.

Every contribution, regardless of size, makes a difference and is an investment in education, research, and advocacy to find a cure for cholangiocarcinoma. The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation depends upon your support to continue this important work.

The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization (Federal Employer Tax ID # 20-5776861).