Photo Credit: J. Rojas/Arbor Drive

In June 2022, Megan Hottman — an attorney and passionate cyclist — had a near-death experience as a pick-up truck collided with her while she was riding her bike. “As it unfolded, I thought it was the end. I had just a few seconds to process what was about to happen prior to impact, and believed it was lights-out for me,” she says. “By some miracle, and maybe a bit of bike handling skill, I avoided a direct head-on impact. Though I was seriously injured, I survived, and that experience shook me to the core.”

While she was healing from the crash, Hottman had a lot of time to think about her life, purpose, and what she wanted to leave behind. “Facing my own mortality pushed me to get my affairs in order — something I’d been putting off. Setting up a trust was hard, both financially and emotionally, but I realized it wasn’t just about me. It was for my loved ones, so that when my time comes, they’re spared from unnecessary complications. It also lets me decide how my life’s work will be used, instead of leaving it to chance.”

Photo Credit: JC Buck

As a lawyer for 15 years, Hottman represented injured cyclists who experienced crashes just like her own. She also spent a lot of time doing advocacy work for better laws to protect cyclists and push for harsher penalties on drivers who hit people riding bikes. “I didn’t know it when I went to law school, but it turns out my life’s purpose is to make biking safer,” she says. “Getting more people on bikes is what gets me out of bed. And getting them to do it more safely is my call to action.”

“After the crash, I spent a lot of time thinking about what I want my life’s work to stand for and what I want to leave behind,” says Hottman. “It’s my life mission to make biking safer for everyone while I’m here, and it can continue being my mission long after I’m gone.”

With this dedication to safer bicycling in mind, Hottman decided to name PeopleForBikes as a beneficiary on some of her accounts. “A lot of people want our life’s work and estate and assets to mean something and stand for something. But we're not in a place where we can give them away during our lifetime,” she says. “Designating it makes it so it's not left up to chance. It’s an easy process that can have a powerful impact and allows you to build a legacy without any immediate financial cost.”

Hottman recently took part in a PeopleForBikes webinar to talk about her experience and decision to name our organization in her trust. “When you start thinking about what you have and what you have to give away, you want to trust those dollars are going to the right place,” she says. “I have no qualms with giving the keys to PFB to make the best use of my money in continuing to make biking safer for people nationwide long after I’m gone.”

WATCH THE WEBINAR RECORDING HERE

Are you interested in leaving a legacy of better biking? By including PeopleForBikes in your will or estate plans, you ensure that your values and passion for better biking will continue making a difference long into the future. Legacy gifts often allow you to make a more significant contribution than what might be possible during your lifetime, helping us accelerate the creation of great places to ride that change lives for generations. Legacy gifts may also provide estate tax benefits for your loved ones while supporting the causes you care about most.

LEARN MORE ABOUT PLANNED GIVING