People who include Riverkeeper in their estate plans are eligible to join the Storm King Legacy Society, which honors those who have made this powerful commitment to Riverkeeper’s future.
Please contact us to request a free brochure, let us know your goals for your planned gift so we can thank you for your generosity, enroll you in the Storm King Legacy Society, and ensure your generosity is used as you intend. Linde Ostro, Vice President for Development, can be reached at 914-478-4501 ext. 229, or lindeo@riverkeeper.org.
Linde Ostro
Vice President, Development
lindeo@riverkeeper.org
Bequests
Including Riverkeeper in your will or living trust is a powerful way to sustain Riverkeeper’s mission our work for years to come. A gift plan allows you to protect your family’s assets and meet your charitable goals while providing a stable financial future for Riverkeeper.
Riverkeeper offers our supporters free access to estate planning tools through Giving Docs. Visit www.givingdocs.com/riverkeeper-ny to get started on your plan today. There is no obligation to include Riverkeeper in your will or trust by using this free service.
Because of the complexity of estate planning, it is important that your attorney structures your estate and writes your will or trust so your wishes are clearly articulated. The information included here is meant to educate, and should not be understood as legal advice.
Beneficiary designations
Beneficiary designations are simple and flexible gifts with a long-term impact. Designating your favorite charity as a beneficiary in your estate can be the smartest way for you to give because:
- You can make the gift without having to revise your will or living trust.
- When a charity is a beneficiary of retirement funds, those funds will not be subject to income tax.
- You may save estate taxes, depending on the size of your estate.
- The gift becomes available to the charity with little delay.
- The process is simple: Your policy administrator can provide a change-of-beneficiary form, or you can often find this form on your provider's website, and then name Riverkeeper as a beneficiary of any of the financial instruments below.
IRA and Qualified Retirement-Plan Distributions - You can designate that Riverkeeper receives all or a portion of what remains in an IRA (regardless of the type of IRA) or in most qualified retirement plans, such as a 401(k) or 403(b). This is a particularly tax-wise way to give because the proceeds distributed to the charity are not subject to estate or income tax.
Donor Advised Funds - A donor-advised fund comes into existence when a person irrevocably transfers assets to a charity. Typically, the donor will serve as advisor and periodically recommend to the charity hosting the donor-advised fund that grants of certain amounts be made to specified charities, such as Riverkeeper.
Life Insurance - The donor completes and returns to the insurance company a form indicating that the charity is to receive all or a portion of the death benefit. Proceeds received by the charity are not taxed.
Bank Accounts - A pay-on-death (POD) account involves the donor instructing a bank to pay to a nonprofit all or a portion of what remains in an account when the owner dies.
Brokerage Accounts - A transfer-on-death (TOD) account involves the donor instructing a brokerage firm to transfer to a nonprofit all or a portion of investments held in the account at the time of the owner's death.
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