EverGreen Legacy Society

Our most visionary supporters have chosen to join SKLT’s EverGreen Legacy Society by making a lasting gift through their will, retirement account, or other provision. Gifts are invested in our Clarkson A. Collins Stewardship Fund, which provides income to protect South Kingstown’s open spaces, natural resources, and cultural landscapes now and forever. EverGreen members commit a permanent voice to their conservation values and ensure that the landscapes we all enjoy today will endure for generations to come.

Make a Lasting Impact: Join the EverGreen Legacy Society

Everyone, regardless of the size of their estate, can make a lasting difference with a legacy gift. You can choose to make a bequest provision at any time, and any amount (large or small) is appreciated to become a member. Recognition as an EverGreen Legacy Society member is by name only; the amount of your gift remains private, and you can choose to be anonymous.  Make protecting South Kingstown’s forests, farms, fields, wetlands, and scenic landscapes in perpetuity part of your legacy by joining the EverGreen Legacy Society.

If you would like to learn more, please contact Matt Eldridge at 401-789-0962 x204 or info@sklt.org.

Legacy Opportunities

Bequest Through a Will or Trust

The most popular and simplest way to make a legacy gift is under your will or trust. You can provide a specific dollar amount, a percentage, a residual amount, real estate, or tangible property to SKLT. This provision can be made through a new will or trust or added to a codicil or amendment to your existing document.

Benefit: Bequests enable you to make a significant contribution that previously might not have been possible or convenient. Gifts to qualified charitable organizations are deducted from the value of your estate, reducing taxes for your heirs.

Retirement Plan Assets

You can name SKLT as the sole, partial, or contingent beneficiary of your 401(k), IRA, pension, profit-sharing plan, or other retirement plan. Simply file a beneficiary update form with your plan administrator to take care of protected lands in South Kingstown.

Benefit: Assets accumulated in retirement plans often constitute a substantial portion of your wealth. These assets are included in your taxable estate and are also considered taxable income to your beneficiaries. When left to a qualified charitable organization, such as SKLT, retirement plan assets can escape both income and estate taxation.

Life Insurance

As with retirement plans, you many name SKLT as the sole, partial, or contingent beneficiary of a new or existing policy; or donate a paid-up policy to SKLT as the owner and sole beneficiary.

Benefit: The gift of an insurance policy can result in a tax deduction at the time of your gift and, if you continue to pay the premiums on the policy, such payments may also be deductible. This also reduces the size of your estate and thus the tax obligation to your heirs.

Donor Advised Fund

You can use your donor advised fund as a tool for future charitable giving simply by naming SKLT for a full or percentage beneficiary when you no longer need the fund.  

Donor advised funds can be set up with a financial firm, a community foundation, or college. These funds offer a deduction for contributions into the fund, then you make qualified charitable distributions. Guidelines and restrictions apply.   

Benefit: You can secure a charitable deduction for yourself now. For example, you might transfer appreciated stock into your DAF to avoid the capital gain tax and get a charitable deduction for the fair market value of the stock, then make a satisfying gift to SKLT.

For people with complex estate issues, consider the benefits of a Charitable Remainder Trust or a Charitable Lead Trust. Please confer with your family lawyer or a trusted financial planner to learn more.