From The Heart: Creating a Legacy Through Planned Giving
These lands and waters tie us together, generation beyond generation. Today’s care shapes tomorrow’s outcomes for beloved places, ecosystems, and communities.
When you designate Whidbey Environmental Action Network as a beneficiary in your estate planning, you build resilience for the beloved places we call home. Your gift ensures our work, from environmental education to policy advocacy and nature defense, will be here to support and grow these islands’ health and beauty for generations to come.
Joining Our Heartwood Circle
As a tree ages, the oldest cells form a durable pillar at the organism’s core. This “heartwood” adds resilience and supports the tree during windstorms throughout its lifespan, long after the transportation of water and nutrients has shifted to younger sapwood layers. When you make a planned gift, you become a member of our "Heartwood Circle" in recognition of the strength you’ll give to the generations of environmental protectors yet to come.
We’re launching the Heartwood Circle to recognize those who have indicated their commitment to supporting nature beyond their lifetime with a legacy gift to WEAN. Heartwood Circle members can expect invitations to special events, opportunities to learn about and inform our long range planning, and early access to annual updates. Please let us know if you have included WEAN in your estate plans so we can welcome you into the circle. If you would like to talk through setting the intention for a legacy gift please reach out to Executive Director Marnie Jackson.
How to Leave a Legacy
Planned giving is a way for you to make a significant and lasting gift to WEAN while also meeting your financial goals and retaining flexibility throughout your lifetime. With gratitude to the Whidbey Community Foundation for their informative guidelines, we’re sharing a few common ways to make a legacy gift:
- Bequest by Will or Trust: Name WEAN as a beneficiary in your will. You can designate a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or the remainder of your assets after other provisions are met. See the form below for sample language from Whidbey Community Foundation.
- Beneficiary Designation Gifts: Easily name WEAN as a beneficiary of your retirement account (IRA, 401k), life insurance policy, or other qualified plans. You can often do this directly through your plan administrator with a simple form.
Promises Kept
- Our dear friend Elliott Menashe was an environmental educator and advocate who worked tirelessly to protect forests and shores. When he passed, gifts of stock and a vehicle from his estate supported our work at a level beyond what he could give in dollars during his lifetime. His impact will last generations.
- Another late supporter chose to designate several nonprofits as beneficiaries in her Last Will & Testament, with each receiving an equal share of her residual estate after bequests to close friends and family. This provided a significant boost to environmental and social support organizations across our community, including WEAN.
- A retiree and Heartwood Circle member gives what he can annually. Stewarding his resources with care, he limits these gifts to what is affordable and responsible, knowing that a larger gift from his estate will follow.
Interested in learning more? Let's connect!
Reach out for time to discuss your needs, your questions, and your insights in relation to leaving a legacy for environmental protection.
The content on this site does not constitute legal advice. To learn more about your choices in estate planning, charitable giving, and philanthropic impact, we recommend consulting with the financial, tax, or legal advisor of your choosing.
Images from the public domain, via Picryl, Pexels, and Pixabay.