They loved that stretch of coastline. They worried about the monarch butterflies. They always stopped to watch the herons at the preserve down the road.
Now they are gone, and you are left with memories—and, perhaps, resources you never expected to manage alone. The question every surviving spouse eventually faces: what would they have wanted you to do with this?
The traditional answers—endowments to universities, plaques on benches, annual donations to charities—feel insufficient. Temporary. Bureaucratic. A name on a building that will be renamed in 20 years. A donation that disappears into operational overhead.
What if you could do something permanent? Something that actually protects the places they walked, the species they watched, the causes they cared about—not for a grant cycle, but forever?
the problem with traditional memorial giving
Most memorial gifts suffer from three fundamental problems:
| Problem | What Happens | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Impermanence | Grant cycles end, priorities shift | Protection stops when funding stops |
| Opacity | Money goes into general operating funds | No visibility into actual impact |
| Disconnection | Gifts go to institutions, not places | The specific thing they loved goes unprotected |
You write a check to a conservation organization. They send a thank-you letter with their logo. Maybe your spouse's name goes on a donor wall. And then... you have no idea what actually happened to that money. Did it protect the watershed they hiked? Did it help the species they photographed? Did it matter?
The honest answer is usually: probably not in the way you hoped.
what permanent protection actually looks like
Ensurance creates a different model—one designed for exactly this situation.
An ensurance agent is an autonomous account that represents a place, a purpose, or a cause. It has its own wallet. It can hold assets. It can receive funding. And it persists—not for a grant cycle, but for as long as the blockchain exists.
When you create or fund an ensurance agent in your spouse's memory:
- You choose what it represents — the specific watershed, the species population, the ecosystem type they cared about
- You fund it directly — assets go into the agent's wallet, not a charity's general fund
- The agent acts on their behalf — holding certificates, receiving proceeds, funding protection
- Everything is visible — every transaction, every holding, every outcome is verifiable onchain
- It lasts — the agent and its accumulated assets persist across time
This is not a plaque. This is a living entity that continues the work they cared about.
three ways to create a memorial legacy
option 1: fund an existing agent
The simplest approach. Find an agent that represents what they loved and send assets to its wallet.
Examples:
- They cared about climate stability → fund
climate-stability.ensurance - They loved a specific watershed → find or request an agent for that basin
- They photographed pollinators → support agents focused on pollination services
option 2: create a dedicated agent
Create an agent specifically in their memory. Name it after them, after the place they loved, or after the cause they championed.
The agent becomes:
- A permanent holder of ensurance instruments
- A receiver of protocol proceeds
- A visible, verifiable memorial
- A continuing actor in their cause
You control how the agent operates—manual, automated, or eventually autonomous. You can set its mandate to reflect their values.
option 3: establish an ensurance position
Purchase ensurance certificates tied to specific natural assets they cared about. Hold them in an agent, or in your own wallet to pass to heirs.
Certificates provide:
- Direct funding for specific places
- Yield-bearing instruments that compound over time
- Traceable connection between their memory and actual protection
what happens to the memorial over time
Unlike traditional gifts that deplete, ensurance positions can grow:
| Traditional Memorial | Ensurance Memorial |
|---|---|
| Donation depletes over time | Assets can appreciate |
| Impact decreases yearly | Proceeds compound |
| Eventually forgotten | Permanently verifiable |
| Single moment of giving | Ongoing participation |
Protocol proceeds flow to agents based on activity across the system. An agent you fund today continues to receive value as the ecosystem grows. Your spouse's memorial becomes more impactful over time, not less.
Certificates earn yield through the ensurance mechanism. The longer they are held, the more they generate. This is not a one-time donation—it is a position that works on their behalf indefinitely.
making it personal
The metadata attached to an agent can tell their story:
- Purpose: What they cared about and why
- Mandate: How the agent should act in their memory
- Place: The specific geography that mattered to them
This is not just financial infrastructure. It is narrative infrastructure. Future generations can see not just that your spouse existed, but what they valued and how their resources continued to protect it.
a letter to them
Imagine checking the agent in five years. The certificates have funded restoration of the wetland where you used to walk together. The proceeds have flowed to stewards protecting the migration corridor. The assets have grown because other people—strangers—joined the cause.
You can say to them, wherever they are: "I kept your work going. I made it permanent. It grew."
That is what memorial giving should feel like.
frequently asked questions
can I name the agent after my spouse?
Yes. Within a group namespace, you can choose any available name. john-doe.memorial or jane-memorial.basin or whatever feels right.
what happens if I pass away?
The agent and its assets persist. If you want to ensure continuity, you can transfer the agent NFT to heirs, include it in your estate plan, or set it to automated mode so it continues operating without manual intervention.
can multiple family members contribute?
Yes. Anyone can send assets to an agent's wallet address. This can become a collective memorial that grows over time.
is this tax-deductible?
This depends on your jurisdiction and how the position is structured. Consult a tax advisor. Some structures may qualify for charitable deductions; others are investments with potential appreciation.
can I see exactly where the money goes?
Yes. Every transaction is recorded onchain. You can see the agent's holdings, its transaction history, and the natural assets it supports. This is complete transparency—something traditional memorial giving cannot provide.
the permanence they deserve
They are gone. That cannot be changed.
But what they loved—the places, the species, the natural systems—those still exist. They still need protection. And now you have resources and the opportunity to ensure that protection continues.
Not for a year. Not for a grant cycle. Forever.
That is what ensurance offers: the chance to honor what they loved by protecting it permanently. A living memorial that grows. A legacy that acts.