Heirs’ Property: Investing to Preserve Wealth

Ownership of land and other forms of real property are primary building blocks of wealth for current and future generations. Yet, for hundreds of thousands of people with inherited land and homes, particularly low wealth families and those in underserved communities, these assets—called heirs’ properties—are at risk.

Mitigating that risk requires not only direct service and a supportive policy environment, but also strategic philanthropic investments that facilitates families’ ability to prevent heirs’ property, retain existing property, and resolve title issues on such property. Promoting such investments can be informed by a social return on investment analysis (SROI).

Asset funders have an important and time sensitive role in supporting activities that help families retain their heirs’ property and maximize the value of their asset. As grantmakers work to help families and communities both build wealth and reduce wealth disparities in our nation, preserving and improving the property of heir owners requires ongoing focused attention and investments.

Join us on June 5, 2025, at noon CT to learn about AFN’s new brief, Heirs’ Property: Investing to Preserve Wealth. Designed with funders in mind and building on the 2023 AFN primer, Heirs’ Property: Acting to Preserve Wealth and the 2024 brief Heirs’ Property: Policies to Preserve Wealth, this webinar is open to all audiences and will explore the new brief, Heirs Property: Investing to Preserve Wealth. This paper uses a prospective statistical economic model to make the case for increased philanthropic and public investment heirs’ property preservation and resolution and projects the economic impact of the value of assets preserved by families as well as the value to communities.

Participants will:
* Learn about methodological approach to developing the SROI analysis;
* Explore applications of the SROI results by funders and for funders;
* Examine the opportunity to localize this national economic model for states and municipalities; and
* Highlight the need for financial support so that families and communities can fully benefit from the heirs’ property investments

We welcome your input for shaping this conversation. Please submit your questions in advance when you register. Please register by May 27, 2025.

Thank you to our generous sponsor:

Accessibility Statement
Captioning will be provided. If you have any other accessibility requests or questions, please email Nikki Armstead at nikki@assetfunders.org. Requests for reasonable accommodations must be received by May 28, 2025, to ensure our ability to meet your request.