Planned Giving

Support St. Johns RIVERKEEPER in a Meaningful Way

A planned gift to St. Johns Riverkeeper is an opportunity to leave an enduring legacy for the river we love. Planned giving is a tax-wise option as you plan your estate and inclusion therein of the nonprofit organizations you hold dear.

 

  • Help us continue to thrive with your gift
  • Take advantage of numerous tax and financial benefits
  • Leave a legacy to be remembered by future generations
writing a will

How Can I Learn More?

Please contact Meredith Jespersen, development director, at meredith@stjohnsriverkeeper.org to learn more or notify us of your planned gift.

Types of Planned Gifts

Bequests

You may be looking for a way to make a significant gift to help further our mission. A bequest is a gift made through your will or trust. It is one of the most popular and flexible ways that you can support our cause.

 

What are the benefits of making a bequest?

  1. You leave a lasting legacy to be remembered
  2. You lessen the burden of taxes on your family
  3. You may receive estate tax savings

Gifts of Stocks and Bonds

Donating appreciated securities, including stocks or bonds, is an easy and tax-effective way for you to make a gift to our organization.

Donating appreciated securities, including stocks or bonds, is an easy and tax-effective way for you to make a gift to St Johns RIVERKEEPER.

 

Benefits of Gifts of Stocks and Bonds

  • Avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale of appreciated stock
  • Receive a charitable income tax deduction
  • Further our mission today
watching stocks on the computer

IRA Charitable Rollover

An IRA rollover allows people age 70 1/2 and older to reduce their taxable income by making a gift directly from their IRA.

You may be looking for a way to make a big difference to help further our mission. If you are 70½ or older, you may also be interested in a way to lower the income and taxes from your IRA withdrawals. An IRA charitable rollover is a way you can help continue our work and benefit this year.

 

Benefits of an IRA Charitable Rollover

  • Avoid taxes on transfers of up to $105,000 from your IRA to our organization
  • May satisfy your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year
  • Reduce your taxable income, even if you do not itemize deductions
  • Make a gift that is not subject to the deduction limits on charitable gifts
  • Help further the work and mission of our organization
IRA papers

Donor Advised Fund

With a donor advised fund, you can make gifts during your lifetime, and when you pass away, your children can carry on your legacy of giving.

A donor advised fund (or DAF) might be a great solution for you. You can use a DAF to distribute gifts to numerous charities. With a DAF, you can make gifts to charity during your lifetime, and when you pass away, your children can carry on your legacy of giving.

 

Benefits of a Donor Advised Fund

  • Establish a flexible vehicle for annual charitable giving
  • Benefit from a more tax and cost efficient alternative to a private foundation
  • Obtain a charitable income tax deduction in the year of your gift
Financial advising

If you have questions about any of these planned giving options, or would like to notify us of your gift, please contact our development director, Meredith Jespersen at meredith@stjohnsriverkeeper.org.

 

Scroll for More Information on the Gift Type of Your Choice

Bequest Details

An excellent way for you to support St. Johns RIVERKEEPER’s mission is to leave us a bequest in your will, living trust or with a codicil. One significant benefit of making a gift by bequest is that it allows you to continue to use the property you will leave to charity during your life. Another benefit is that you can leave a lasting legacy.

How do I make a bequest?

A bequest is one of the easiest gifts to make. With the help of an advisor, you can include language in your will or trust specifying a gift be made to family, friends or St. Johns RIVERKEEPER as part of your estate plan.

Types of Bequests

There are a number of ways you can make a bequest to St Johns RIVERKEEPER.

Specific Bequest. A specific bequest involves making a gift of a specific asset such as real estate, a car, other property or a gift for a specific dollar amount. For example, you may wish to leave your home or $10,000 to St Johns RIVERKEEPER.

Percentage Bequest. Another kind of specific bequest involves leaving a specific percentage of your overall estate to charity. For example, you may wish to leave 10% of your estate to St Johns RIVERKEEPER.

Residual Bequest. A residual bequest is made from the balance of an estate after the will or trust has given away each of the specific bequests. A common residual bequest involves leaving a percentage of the residue of the estate to charity. For example, you may wish to leave 30% of the residue of your estate to St Johns RIVERKEEPER.

Contingent Bequest. A contingent bequest is made to charity only if the purpose of the primary bequest cannot be met. For example, you could leave specific property, such as a vacation home, to a relative, but the bequest language could provide that if the relative is not alive at the time of your death, the vacation home will go to St Johns RIVERKEEPER.

Bequest Benefits

A bequest is generally a revocable gift, which means it can be changed or modified at any time. You can choose to designate that a bequest be used for a general or specific purpose so you have the peace of mind knowing that your gift will be used as intended. Bequests are exempt from federal estate taxes. If you have a taxable estate, the estate tax charitable deduction may offset or eliminate estate taxes, resulting in a larger inheritance for your heirs.

Bequest Language – Find Suggested Language Here

Restricted Bequests

If you are considering a bequest but would like to ensure that your bequest will be used for a specific purpose, please let us know. We would be happy to work with you and your attorney to help you identify ways to give and meet your charitable objectives. We will also work with you and your attorney to craft language to accomplish your goals.

If you are making a restricted bequest, we recommend that your attorney include the following provision to give St Johns RIVERKEEPER flexibility should it no longer be possible for St Johns RIVERKEEPER to use your gift as you originally intended:

If, in the judgment of the Board of Directors of St Johns RIVERKEEPER, it shall become impossible for St Johns RIVERKEEPER to use this bequest to accomplish the specific purposes of this bequest St Johns RIVERKEEPER may use the income and principal of this gift for such purpose or purposes as the Board determines is most closely related to the restricted purpose of my bequest.

Contact Us

Please contact us if you have any questions about how to make a bequest to St Johns RIVERKEEPER or to request any additional information that might be helpful to you and your attorney as you consider making a bequest to us.

If you have included a bequest for St Johns RIVERKEEPER in your estate plan, please contact us at info@stjohnsriverkeeper.org to let us know. We would like to thank you and recognize you for your gift.

Summary: What are my options?

A bequest can be made in several ways:

  1. You can gift a specific dollar amount or asset
  2. You can gift a percentage of your estate
  3. You can gift from the balance or residue of your estate
  4. You can make a beneficiary designation of certain assets
Gifts of Stocks and Bonds Details

How to Make a Gift of Stocks and Bonds

By electronic transfer – Please contact us for instructions on how you can transfer stock or bonds from your brokerage or investment account to St Johns RIVERKEEPER.

By certified mail – If you hold securities in certificate form, you will need to mail two envelopes separately to complete your gift. In the first envelope, place the unsigned stock certificate(s). In the other envelope, include a signed stock power for each certificate. You may obtain this power from your broker or bank. Please remember to use certified mail.

More on Gifts of Stocks and Bonds

There are special rules for valuing a gift of stock. The value of a charitable gift of stock is determined by taking the mean between the high and low stock price on the date of the gift. Mutual fund shares are valued using the closing price for the fund on the date of the gift.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about gifts of stocks and bonds, please contact us at info@stjohnsriverkeeper.org. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions that you have.

IRA Charitable Rollover Details

How an IRA Charitable Rollover Gift Works

  1. Contact your IRA plan administrator to make a gift from your IRA to us
  2. Your IRA funds will be directly transferred to our organization to help continue our important work
  3. Please note that IRA charitable rollover gifts do not qualify for a charitable deduction
  4. Please contact us if you wish for your gift to be used for a specific purpose

Gifts from Your IRA

If you are 70½ or older, you can use your IRA to fulfill your charitable goals. You can use the “Make a Gift From My IRA” tool to contact your IRA custodian and make a qualified charitable distribution. We will acknowledge your generous gifts as a qualified charitable distribution, which may satisfy your RMD, if applicable.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about an IRA charitable rollover gift, please contact us at info@stjohnsriverkeeper.org. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have.

Donor Advised Fund Details

How a Donor Advised Fund Works

  1. You make an initial, irrevocable gift of cash or stock to fund a DAF at a sponsoring organization
  2. The assets in your DAF grow tax-free
  3. You make annual recommendations on gifts to be made from your DAF

Gifts From Your Donor Advised Fund

Your donor advised fund has several advantages. You can make one larger gift to a DAF and then recommend grants to us and other nonprofits. You can use the “Make a Gift From My DAF” tool to contact your DAF provider and make a grant. We will acknowledge your generous gift as a DAF distribution.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about donor advised funds, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have.

Planned Giving Information Request

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