Planned Giving


A planned gift to The Conservation Fund is a flexible and creative way to give charitably while meeting your personal, family or financial goals. Creating a legacy gift can be an especially meaningful way to help The Conservation Fund continue to build parks, conserve open space, protect wildlife habitat, and more.

No matter your financial circumstances and charitable goals, there are planned giving options available to meet your needs:


BEQUESTS

The most popular and easiest method of leaving a legacy gift is to include The Conservation Fund in your will or living trust. Your assets remain in your control during your lifetime and you can modify your bequest at any time. This offers you great flexibility as you plan for the legacy you want to leave behind. Please consult our Sample Bequest Language.


CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITIES

With a Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA), you can support the work of The Conservation Fund now while retaining secure, fixed payments for life. A CGA accomplishes two goals—preserving the landscapes you cherish through a gift to The Conservation Fund and retaining income through fixed payments to you and/or your loved ones. You may also receive an immediate income tax deduction.

CGAs to The Conservation Fund can be funded with cash or appreciated assets valued at $10,000 or more by persons age 65 or older. Charitable gift annuity rates depend on your age when you make the gift. Contact us for current rates and deductions.

Try our online gift annuity calculator to estimate your annuity payments and tax deductions. You can explore a variety of immediate-payment gift annuity options privately, by entering your basic information, customizing your figures, and changing your options at any time.


LIFE INSURANCE DESIGNATIONS

Making a beneficiary designation through your life insurance plan is an easy and affordable way to support the work of The Conservation Fund. By naming The Conservation Fund as the beneficiary of an individual or group term life insurance policy, the benefits from your policy pass to us free of federal estate tax after your lifetime.


RETIREMENT PLAN GIFTS

Naming The Conservation Fund as the beneficiary of your IRA, 401k or other qualified retirement plan is a simple and tax-efficient way to benefit nature. These assets are subject to two taxes when left to heirs other than your spouse. When left to a qualified charity such as The Conservation Fund, the residue of your plan passes on to The Conservation Fund tax-free, avoiding both the estate tax and income tax.


SAMPLE BEQUEST LANGUAGE

“I give The Conservation Fund, a Nonprofit Corporation, incorporated in Maryland, and having its principal offices at 1655 North Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1300, Arlington, VA 22209, the sum of $ __________ (or alternately, _____ percent of the residuary of my estate), for its general purposes to protect the nation’s land and water resources.”

(Please note: Each state has its own particular rules that are to be applied to planned giving documents, and because the requirements for the gift to take effect vary depending on where you reside now or in the future, we strongly recommend that you have appropriate language drafted by an estate planning professional. The language we set out above is merely an example of language that has worked in prior situations, but might not for your circumstances; thus we do encourage you to consult with a lawyer or CPA who can be sure your intentions are given effect as you wish. We thank you again for your generosity.)

The Conservation Fund’s tax identification number is: 52-1388917.