Have you thought about how you can ensure that open spaces, wild places, forests, meadows, and farmland will be there for your children and grandchildren? There are a number of ways you can help ensure the special landscapes of this region are conserved forever.
The Land Trust can be remembered in wills or living trusts through cash or property bequests. This is one of the simplest ways to make a future gift. You can choose to give a fixed amount; a specific property or real estate*; or the residue, or remaining assets in the estate after all other bequests are fulfilled.
*If you are considering a donation of land or other real property, please connect with NRLT staff to review the details of your intended plans and to ensure alignment with NRLT’s Gift Acceptance Policies and Conservation Plan. More information about gifts of land can be found here.
The Northcoast Regional Land Trust can receive gifts of stock or cash to our board designated Operations & Opportunity Fund held by the Humboldt Area Foundation. The purpose of this fund is to ensure the ongoing operations of the Land Trust and to ensure there are funds available when unique opportunities arise. You can make a gift to the Operations & Opportunity Fund through a bequest in your will or trust, or anytime by calling us at (707) 822-2242.
One way to donate using life insurance is to designate the Northcoast Regional Land Trust a full or partial beneficiary of a life insurance policy. In this case, NRLT will receive the life insurance benefit upon your death. You could also make NRLT a contingent beneficiary of a life insurance policy. In the unlikely event that your primary beneficiaries do not survive you, NRLT will receive the life insurance benefit instead.
If you currently own a life insurance policy that you no longer need, you might consider donating the policy to the Northcoast Regional Land Trust now. You can name NRLT as both the owner and the beneficiary of the policy. If the policy has cash value you can take a charitable deduction approximately equal to the cash value at the time of the gift.
Designate NRLT as the beneficiary of a retirement plan. Giving a retirement plan to an individual will require that individual to pay income taxes, thus reducing the amount of the gift. If given to a non-profit, there is no income tax, so it allows the entire amount of the gift to be used for the charitable endeavor.
The strategies listed above and other types of charitable gifts offer substantial tax advantages. We encourage you to contact your professional tax advisor as to how best to structure a gift for your needs.
Potential Benefits of a Legacy Gift
- Reduce or eliminate taxes
- Increase your income (with a charitable remainder trust)
- Feel good about protecting a place that you love for future generations
Ready to get started?
- Consider how you’d like to leave a Legacy Gift. Read through the options above or do additional research on your own or with the help of a financial advisor or attorney.
- Reach out to your financial advisor or attorney.
Don’t have one yet? Check out our Community Resources for Estate Planning to start your search! - Share your plans with us! Fill out an Estate Planning Statement of Intent (below) or call our office at (707)822-2242 to be welcomed into our Legacy Society!
Thank you for protecting wild and working lands in this region for generations to come!