Gift & Estate Planning

Planned Giving

• Bequests

  Bequests (specific, residuary, and contingent gifts made by will) are the most popular type of planned gift. Whether you wish to provide general operating income for Bat Conservation International to use wherever it is most needed (which provides the most flexibility) or to support a specific program, your bequest expresses your lasting commitment to bat conservation. A bequest may also help you meet your financial and estate-planning goals since an estate-tax charitable deduction for the entire amount of the gift is allowed.

  To easily create your bequest, you can use our online tool to write your legal will for free. Click here to get started.

  The official bequest language for Bat Conservation International is:

  “I, ____(name)_____, of ( city, state, zip) give, devise and bequeath to Bat Conservation International (written amount or percentage of the estate or description of property) for its unrestricted use and purpose.”

  The legal designation for Bat Conservation International is:

  Bat Conservation International, a nonprofit organization organized under the laws of Texas, with its principal office at 500 N. Capital of Texas Hwy, Building 1, Austin, TX 78746.

  The  U.S federal tax identification number for Bat Conservation International is: Tax ID# 74-2553144

• Charitable Remainder Trusts

  Charitable remainder trusts allow you to make a gift to Bat Conservation International and at the same time retain a benefit from the assets you give. These separately managed trusts can be tailored to meet your financial goals with respect to the payout rate, type of income stream (variable or fixed), and payment schedule.

  To establish a remainder trust, you make an irrevocable contribution of cash, securities, or other property, which is placed in trust. The trust pays an income stream to one or more named beneficiaries (which can include you) for life and/or for a set term of years and Bat Conservation International receives the right to principal as a remainder interest.

  All trusts are administered in conjunction with the Austin Community Foundation. Please contact Bobbie Jo Kelso at bkelso@batcon.org for more information about charitable trusts.

• Charitable Lead Trusts

  A charitable lead trust is the reverse of a charitable remainder trust; the gift to Bat Conservation International is the income stream from the trust, not the remainder. Charitable lead trusts enable you to provide an income stream immediately for a set term of years or for a term measured by one or more lifetimes after which the trust assets pass to you or your estate or to your heirs.

  If you think a charitable lead trust could be a useful way to structure a gift to Bat Conservation International, you should review the alternatives for structuring the trust with your financial, tax, and legal advisors.

  All trusts are administered in conjunction with the Austin Community Foundation. Please contact Bobbie Jo Kelso at bkelso@batcon.org for more information about charitable trusts.

• Retirement Plan Assets

  Assets in qualified (tax-deferred) retirement plans may represent a large portion of your total assets and therefore may be an important factor in planning testamentary charitable gifts. Retirement assets generally considered suitable for charitable gifts include such plans as IRAs, Keoghs, SEPs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and ESOPs.

  Left to family members or friends, these assets are subject to income tax and may also be subject to estate tax and generation skipping transfer tax. Because of this potential double layer of tax, retirement plan assets may be particularly attractive as an asset to leave to Bat Conservation International. In other words, if you designate Bat Conservation International as a beneficiary upon your death of all or a specified percentage of a retirement plan, the portion of the plan payable to Bat Conservation International will generally escape estate taxes and as a tax-exempt institution, Bat Conservation International will not be required to pay income tax on the distributions.

  The official language to designate Bat Conservation International as a beneficiary is:

  “The beneficiary is my spouse as long as he/she survives me. The beneficiary of any amount(s) remaining in the plan upon my death if my spouse does not survive me, or of any portion thereof that my spouse may disclaim, is Bat Conservation International, a nonprofit organization organized under the laws of Texas, with its principal office at 500 N. Capital of Texas Hwy, Building 1, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78746.”

• Life Insurance Policies

  Naming Bat Conservation International the beneficiary of an existing life insurance policy offers a simple way to support us. Since you are the policy owner, the value of the policy will be included in your estate, but an offsetting estate-tax charitable deduction will generally be allowed. You may also be able to assign an existing whole life policy to Bat Conservation International, irrevocably making us the owner and beneficiary, and claim an income-tax charitable deduction for the lesser of either your basis in the policy or its fair market value in that year. If the policy is not paid up and additional premium payments are due, you may donate cash or the equivalent to Bat Conservation International to pay the premiums each year and claim a full tax deduction for the gift.

  If you are considering donating a life insurance policy to BCI, it is important that you consult your advisors about the possible state law restrictions on such a gift and about the amount of the charitable deduction you can expect to receive.

  The official language to designate Bat Conservation International as a beneficiary on your life insurance policy is:

  “The beneficiary is my spouse as long as he/she survives me. The beneficiary of any amount(s) remaining in the plan upon my death if my spouse does not survive me, or of any portion thereof that my spouse may disclaim, is Bat Conservation International, a nonprofit organization organized under the laws of Texas, with its principal office at 500 N. Capital of Texas Hwy, Building 1, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78746.”