By joining the Ploughshares Fund Nuclear-Free Legacy Society you can help eliminate one of the greatest risks to our planet and leave a legacy of a more secure world for future generations.
Member Spotlight
Become a member of the Legacy Society
To become a member and ensure your values are recognized until our shared vision becomes a reality, please consider the following options for including Ploughshares Fund in your estate plans:
Do your estate plans already include Ploughshares Fund?
Let us thank you! We would be honored to acknowledge you as a member of the Nuclear-Free Legacy Society. Contact Elizabeth Warner at ewarner@ploughshares.org [3] or 415.668.2244 and a member of our team will be in touch shortly.
Benefits of membership in the Nuclear-Free Legacy Society
- Commemorative Nuclear-Free Legacy Society pin
- Exclusive invitations to special events with Ploughshares Council Members, such as the National Security and Nuclear Policy annual briefings in Washington, DC and regional private events featuring nuclear experts and Ploughshares Fund leadership
- Assurance and peace of mind that your legacy with Ploughshares Fund will make the world safer and more secure for future generations
Every day Ploughshares Fund works to build a safe, secure world by developing and investing in initiatives to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons, and to promote stability in regions of conflict where they exist. As a public grant-making foundation, supported by individuals, families and foundations, your support goes directly to the smartest people with the best ideas for creating a safer world.
Those who remember Ploughshares Fund with a gift in their will or trust are leaving a lasting legacy that will promote peace and security – and a world free from the threat of nuclear weapons – for generations to come.
Request more information or a personal legacy gift consultation
Contact Elizabeth Warner at ewarner@ploughshares.org [3] or 415.668.2244 and a member of our team will be in touch shortly. If you'd prefer you can use our Legacy Giving inquiry form [4].
Ploughshares Fund offers personal consultation, without cost or obligation, to those interested in learning more about legacy gift options. Our legacy giving specialists will be glad to talk with you about your goals and provide you with confidential estimates of the tax and income benefits of specific legacy gifts. Our specialists provide information only. Ploughshares Fund recommends you consult with professional advisors before making any gift.
There’s no greater inheritance … than a legacy of Peace and Security.
Gifts that cost you nothing now
Simple Gifts in Your Will or Living Trust
The most common legacy gift people make to support the work of Ploughshares Fund is a gift in their will or living trust, also known as a charitable bequest. There is no need to write a check now and your assets remain entirely under your control during your lifetime. To make a charitable bequest, consider adding the following language to your will or living trust:
"I give devise and bequeath to Ploughshares Fund (tax I.D. # 94-2764520), located in San Francisco, California, [ _____ % of my estate, or description of specific asset including location, or $_____ dollars] for its general use [or the following specific purpose: __________________________________].”
Gifts that pay you income
Charitable Gift Annuities & Charitable Trusts
Charitable gift annuities provide donors with guaranteed fixed payments for life and an immediate income tax deduction, while allowing them to make a significant gift to a mission they care about.
Charitable gift annuities (CGA) are easy to establish. Donors 55 and older can fund a CGA with a minimum gift of cash or stock of $20,000. The annuity rate is based your age when the annuity is established, and when payments begin. Immediate, Deferred, and Flexible CGAs are available to meet your financial and philanthropic goals. CGAs can provide lifetime payments to one or two income beneficiaries.
Sample single life annuity rates for one person (Rates differ for annuities for two people):
Mary Richards, age 75, funds a $25,000 charitable gift annuity contract to benefit Ploughshares Fund. Her annuity payment is 6.6% of her gift, giving her an annual guaranteed payment of $1,650 for as long as she lives. $1,097 of her payment is tax-free for twelve years. She also receives an immediate income tax deduction of $11,839.
Charitable trusts provide income for life, savings on capital gains tax, an immediate income tax deduction - and the satisfaction of making a significant gift to a good cause like Ploughshares Fund.
Any asset placed in a charitable trust (cash, stock, or real estate) is invested by the trustee to pay you income for the rest of your life and, if you wish, to pay your heirs for life or for a specified term. When the trust ends, the remainder goes to charity.
Your trust may provide you with important tax benefits:
- An immediate income tax deduction for a percentage of your gift.
- Bypass of capital gains tax on the sale of appreciated property.
- The trust principal is not subject to estate tax.
Appreciated real estate is often an excellent asset to place in a charitable trust. Under ordinary circumstances, owners face substantial capital gains taxes when they sell rental properties, commercial real estate, and in some cases, personal residences, even after a $250,000 or $500,000 exclusion has been used. However, because your charitable trust will be selling the property, there will be no capital gains taxes due when the real estate is sold.
Gifts of appreciated stock are ideal for funding a charitable remainder trust because the stock can be reinvested by the trust for greater income while bypassing capital gains taxes at the time of the sale.
There are two basic types of charitable remainder trusts. An annuity trust will pay you a fixed dollar amount for the rest of your life. A unitrust will pay you a fixed percentage of the trust principal each year, so if the value of the trust principal increases over time, your income increases with it. Finally, your trust must have a trustee: a bank or trust company, an individual with professional experience in trust management, a relative, or yourself.
Gifts that reduce taxes
Gifts of retirement plan assets
Naming Ploughshares Fund as a beneficiary of your retirement account can be an easy way to make a legacy gift and reduce taxes to your loved ones.
If you leave your retirement plan to your children, they will have to pay income tax on its distribution. Ploughshares Fund does not pay this tax, so 100% of your gift will be used to fulfill its mission. Here’s an example of what this can mean to your heirs:
A widower died a few years ago. He left his $300,000 house to charity and his $300,000 retirement plan to his relatives. He should have done just the opposite. The relatives had to pay income tax on the $300,000 in the retirement plan, an $80,000 cost to them. If they had received the home, and the charity had received the retirement plan payment, no one would have paid income tax.
To make a gift of retirement plan assets, simply ask your plan administrator for a beneficiary designation form and name Ploughshares Fund as a primary or contingent beneficiary.
If you have any questions, or we can help in any way, please contact Elizabeth Warner at ewarner@ploughshares.org [3] or 415.668.2244 and a member of our team will be in touch shortly.