There is a classic proverb, probably older than the world’s written literature. It was used by the Roman poet Virgil more than 2,100 years ago. It was adapted and used again by the English playwright William Shakespeare in 1599. Both great works of literature.
It was used by the renowned French scientist Louis Pasteur in the mid-1800s.
A not-so-great work of literature, culture, or science that was our introduction to the phrase came when watching the children’s movie “An American Tail” with our kids in the 1980s.
“Fortune favors the bold,” Virgil wrote. In “Julius Caesar,” Shakespeare references it when his character Brutus says, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.” Pasteur said, “Chance favors only the prepared mind.”
In “An American Tail,” the villain, Warren T. Rat, tells the innocent mouse Fievel, “Opportunity knocks but once. Taken at the tide, t’will lead to fortune. If denied, t’will never return.”
We were reminded of the phrase by a headline we recently read in the magazine, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, “U.S. Giving Hits $617B. Has Great Wealth Transfer Begun?”
“’Giving USA’ data held good news: a 3% growth in giving and a 17% surge in bequests that hints the wealth transfer has begun. But experts warn that charities are becoming too reliant on a small pool of wealthy donors,” Rasheeda Childress, senior editor, fundraising, at The Chronicle of Philanthropy writes.
Donors of all levels of wealth, and even those with generous hearts and not so much to give, donated $617 billion to U.S. charities in 2025, she writes. It was the third year in a row where donations to charities increased by double-digit figures, and it was a strengthening sign that the greatest transfer of wealth in American history is poised to take off.
What is fueling this immense transfer of wealth? An aging Baby Boom generation – those who were born between 1946 and 1964, who over their lifetimes made large or small fortunes, or who just set aside a little more money than they needed to get by and are now giving some of it away. Some donations come through wills or legacies after the donor has died; others are planned. The strength of the stock market over the past nearly four years has helped build individual and family wealth.
Who is getting these sustaining and transformational donations? “Those that were effective in sharing their story saw their donors respond,” Wendy McGrady, chair of Giving USA, told Childress.
“If an organization hasn’t started looking into planned giving, it’s not too late,” McGrady said. “Not all of your donors are educated in the ways that they can give to you, so talk about the fact that you can receive planned and estate gifts,” she adds.
There are more than 70 million Baby Boomers, Patrick Schmitt, co-CEO of estate planning company FreeWill, told Childress, “It’s imperative to get on their radar. Many are already giving qualified charitable distributions from retirement accounts, which can indicate a capacity to give.”
How much wealth is expected to transfer in our area counties? You probably would be surprised by how much.
“Most communities have no idea how much wealth resides in their midst,” University of Minnesota Extension educator and rural sociologist Ben Winchester says. Yet, the funds are poised to be substantial for those who actively seek them.
“Philanthropic giving represents the greatest underdeveloped financial resource a community can mobilize — and now is the time for communities to start talking about it,” he said last year.
This transformational transfer of wealth is expected to peak in the next 15 years.
“Minnesota’s Baby Boomers are preparing to hand down their collective wealth and assets — a whopping $61 billion,” Sarah Jackson, University of Minnesota Extension news media manager, says in an article about Winchester’s study.
Winchester’s study prepared data for every county’s potential giving capacity. Consider what the donation of just 5% of it to a foundation would mean over the next decade for our area:

Household net worth expected
to transfer in the next 10 years
County Net worth 5% donated
Pope $133.8 million $6.7 million
Swift $80.6 million $4.03 million
Stevens $80.4 million $4.02 million
Grant $56.8 million $2.84 million

Grant funds can help support programs for childcare, community education, sports, community events, the food shelf, and senior citizen services. Health care, emergency medical services, and fire departments would benefit.
They can help a new generation of community members make their towns better places to live, work, play, and enjoy cultural events.
Charitable donations can help communities retain more residents and draw young people back to their hometowns by strengthening local services and opportunities. They can fund business incubators to help new entrepreneurs get started.
Every rural school district should maintain a graduate database that is frequently used to contact former students. Don’t just email them; invest in a print newsletter that sits around for a while. Foundation funds could help pay for such an effort.
The tide is coming in – will our communities take advantage of it or let it slip away? What are they planning to do to capture some of it? Citizens should ask schools, cities, and counties what they are doing to reach out to potential donors. If you have a local foundation, it should take immediate steps to broaden its communications with potential donors.