With proper planning, you can support the Arbor Day Foundation’s mission well beyond your lifetime. Below are several ways you can give through your estate.
A Gift in Your Will
Multiple options are available for including the Arbor Day Foundation in your will.
- Special Bequest – allows you to discern exactly what you want to leave to the Arbor Day Foundation, great tool for leaving a specific dollar amount or particular asset/piece of real estate
- Residuary Bequest – allows you to designate that an organization receive all or a specific portion of the remainder of your estate once all specific bequests and obligations have been paid
- Contingent Bequest – allows a gift to be fulfilled if certain conditions are met (e.g., if your primary beneficiary does not survive you, you can select a contingent beneficiary)
In addition to planting trees, your bequest to the Arbor Day Foundation may offer tax savings because it is deductible from your gross estate, providing your estate is large enough to require the filing of a state or federal estate tax return.
To include the Arbor Day Foundation in your will, please ask your attorney to include the following language:
I give __________(specific amount or property, percentage, or residue) to the tax-exempt Arbor Day Foundation, located in Lincoln, NE, for the purpose of supporting its environmental stewardship programs. (Tax ID 23-7169265)
Beneficiary Designation
You can also leave remaining funds in your retirement account to the Arbor Day Foundation through two different types of beneficiary designations.
- Primary Beneficiary – allows you to name the Arbor Day Foundation as the beneficiary of either a stated percentage or the entire amount of a retirement asset
- Contingent Beneficiary – allows you to name the Arbor Day Foundation as the beneficiary of either a stated percentage or the entire amount of a retirement asset, given that the primary beneficiaries do not survive you
To name the Arbor Day Foundation as a beneficiary to your retirement plan, please use the following address:
Arbor Day Foundation
211 North 12th street
Lincoln, NE 68508
Tax Identification Number: 23-7169265
Charitable Remainder Trust
This option allows your heirs to receive income for their lifetime(s). After that point, the remainder in the trust or annuity is distributed to the Arbor Day Foundation. A qualified financial advisor can talk through this option with you and help you set it up.
If you’ve decided to leave a gift to the Arbor Day Foundation, please let us know so that we can express our gratitude and welcome you into our Oak Society.