- Bequests: A bequest in your will would enable you to make a gift in support of Western Reserve Land Conservancy or, more specifically, one of the Land Conservancy’s programs. Here is an example of the language you could use for this: “I give and bequeath to Western Reserve Land Conservancy, Moreland Hills, Ohio, the sum of ($ or %) to support its exempt purposes (or insert name of programs, such as farmland preservation, stewardship or Thriving Communities Institute).”
- Life insurance: There are several ways to make a gift to Western Reserve Land Conservancy with life insurance. If you donate a paid-up life insurance policy to the Land Conservancy, you can deduct the cash value of the policy at the time of the gift. You could also purchase a new life insurance policy and then transfer ownership to Western Reserve Land Conservancy. If there are still premium payments due, you could make annual gifts to the Land Conservancy to help cover the cost of those premiums, which also would be tax-deductible to you.
- Retirement plan assets: Designating Western Reserve Land Conservancy as a beneficiary in a retirement plan can offer you substantial value. Family members usually receive only 25 percent to 30 percent of the value of an IRA or retirement plan once applicable estate and income taxes are paid. Much of this tax can be avoided if the assets are instead used to fund a bequest to the Land Conservancy.