Planned Giving
Through planned gifts to the Natural Resources Council of Maine, donors
help to protect and restore Maine’s environment for future generations.
Planned gifts also may provide donors with significant financial benefits
through future estate tax savings, current income tax savings, the
creation of an income stream for life, and a reduction of capital
gains taxes.
Below are brief descriptions of the various ways you can make a financial
commitment from your will, living trust, or other estate plans to
protect Maine’s environment.
Please contact the Development Department for a confidential discussion
about the potential benefits of a planned gift to the Natural Resources
Council of Maine.
Gretta Wark
Director of Development
Natural Resources Council of Maine
3 Wade Street
Augusta, ME 04330
1-800-287-2345, ext. 208
Planned Giving Options
Bequests: Leave a financial
and environmental legacy for future generations. Sample bequest language
is available.
Retirement Plan Assets:
Use your tax deferred retirement plan assets to benefit the environment.
Life Income Gifts: When you make
a life income gift, you enjoy the security of ongoing income for you
or your beneficiary at the same time you invest in Maine’s environmental
future.
Bequests
By including a bequest to the Natural Resources Council of Maine in
your will, you help to ensure the health and beauty of our state for
many years to come.
There are several forms that this bequest can take:
A specific bequest:
“I devise and bequeath to the Natural Resources Council of Maine,
a nonprofit corporation currently located at 3 Wade Street, Augusta,
ME 04330, the sum of $________(or, _______% of my estate) to be used
to support the charitable activities of the Natural Resources Council
of Maine for the protection of Maine’s environment.”
A residuary bequest:
“I devise and bequeath to the Natural Resources Council of Maine,
a nonprofit corporation currently located at 3 Wade Street, Augusta,
ME 04330, all (or specify _______%) of the rest, residue, and remainder
of my estate to be used to support the charitable activities of the
Natural Resources Council of Maine for the protection of Maine’s
environment.”
Retirement Plan Assets
Because of the estate and income taxes imposed on unused portions
of your retirement plans after your lifetime, you may want to make
a charitable contribution of those assets. Simply name the Natural
Resources Council of Maine as the beneficiary on the plan’s
beneficiary designation form. If you wish to split the assets between
your heirs and the Natural Resources Council of Maine, consider giving
a percentage of the assets.
Life Income Gifts
When you make a life income gift, you enjoy the security of ongoing
income for you or your beneficiary at the same time you invest in
Maine’s environmental future.
Generally, a life income gift pays income to you or your chosen beneficiary
for a term of years or for life. After the conclusion of the term,
or upon the death of the last income beneficiary, the remainder left
in the life income gift is distributed to the Natural Resources Council
of Maine. Life income gifts can be funded with cash or securities
and may be made during the donor's lifetime or at death for the benefit
of one's heirs.
Life income gifts offer many potential benefits:
• Income for life (or a term of years) to you and/or other designated
beneficiaries
• An immediate tax deduction
• Reduction of capital gains taxes
• Reduced probate expenses
Charitable Gift Annuities
In exchange for an irrevocable gift of cash or securities, the Natural
Resources Council of Maine will agree to pay one or two annuitants
you name a fixed sum each year for life. The older the annuitants
are at the time of the gift, the greater the fixed income that we
can agree to pay. Minimum gift is $10,000.
Charitable Remainder Trusts
A charitable remainder trust is one of the most flexible and beneficial
charitable tools available today. In exchange for a gift of cash or
securities, a separate tax-exempt trust can be set up for your benefit.
The trust will pay income to one or more persons for life, or for
a term of years (not to exceed 20). Income or capital gains taxes
are paid only on distributions to the lifetime income beneficiaries,
making the charitable remainder trust an excellent vehicle to provide
tax-free investment growth and avoidance of capital gains taxes on
highly appreciated assets. After the death of the last beneficiary
(or the expiration of the term of years), the Natural Resources Council
of Maine receives the remaining trust assets.