Your Gift to Future Generations-
The Sycamore Society: A Legacy of Love of the Land
By including Countryside Conservancy in your estate plans, you are leaving a legacy and making a statement about what has been important in your life. Your legacy gift will help ensure that the land you care about now will be forever protected and enjoyed by future generations.
There are a variety of ways you can make a legacy gift to the Conservancy, which we summarize here. We encourage you to consult your professional advisers regarding your financial, legal, or tax needs to make certain that your gift fits well into your overall circumstances and planning.
Sycamore Society
We appreciate your interest in including the Conservancy in your estate plans. If you notify us of your plans, we would be honored to include you in our Sycamore Society, either as a named or anonymous member. If you have already included the Conservancy in your estate plans, thank you! Please let us know, so that you can enjoy the benefits of being a member of our Sycamore Society, including invitations to special events.
Cash bequests to the Conservancy are invested in our Sycamore Society Fund managed by the Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains.
Donors to the Sycamore Society Fund include:
- Len & Gerry Janus
- Patricia Fuller & Thomas Oakes
To enroll in our Sycamore Society or request more information, please contact the Conservancy’s Operations Coordinator, Amber Trunzo, at amber.trunzo@keystone.edu or by phone (570) 945-6995
To include the Conservancy in your estate plans, please use the following language.
“The Countryside Conservancy, a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation, with Business Address of PO Box 55, La Plume, PA 18440. With a taxpayer identification number of 23-2787790.”
We suggest you specify that your bequest be “used in such a manner as the Board of Directors of the Countryside Conservancy, in its discretion, determine.” If you prefer to restrict your bequest, the Conservancy will work with you to ensure that your wishes will be met.
TYPES OF LEGACY GIFTS:
Bequests
Bequests are the most common type of planned gifts. They are easy to arrange and the bequest remains in your control. You can change your mind at any time and you can structure the bequest to leave a specific item, or amount or leave a percentage of your estate to the Conservancy. Your bequest is entitled to an estate tax charitable deduction for the gift’s full value. All that is needed is a few sentences in your will or trust. To explore creating a will at no cost visit: https://www.freewill.com/
Retirement Assets
Naming the Conservancy as a beneficiary of your retirement plans is easy and straightforward. Designation can be done (or undone) online, without the expense of an attorney. It allows you to direct assets tax free.
Life Insurance
Life insurance designations are simple, flexible and have minimal paperwork, making them a popular method of providing funds to beneficiaries at your death. The beneficiary designation in your life insurance policy determines where the proceeds will be distributed, therefore are not typically transferred through your will. Life insurance can easily be distributed to a nonprofit such as Countryside Conservancy, if we are named as a beneficiary of the policy the time of your death.
Real Estate Gifts
Naming a gift of real estate to the Conservancy can reduce your taxes, ease the demands of owning property, and even provide you with lifetime income. The Conservancy accepts two types of real estate gifts: conservation lands, which the Conservancy will retain, and properties intended for sale. If your intention is to restrict the use or sale of the property you would like to give, please contact our office to be certain that we can fulfill your wishes.
For more information on additional legacy giving options, or to let us know that you’ve included the Conservancy in your estate plans, please contact Amber Trunzo, Operations Coordinator at (570) 945-6995 or by email at amber.trunzo@keystone.edu