Planned giving makes your every dollar go farther!  To maximize your charitable giving, as well as fulfill your own financial needs, you can fund the future of North Shore Animal League America through your estate planning.  Making a gift to the League through your estate is one of the most effective ways to ensure that we can carry on our mission to save animals' lives far into the future.

The Safe Haven Society

North Shore Animal League America invites you to join hundreds of the League's supporters who have already acted to ensure the future of our organization by becoming a member of the Safe Haven Society, an exclusive group of dedicated supporters who have included the League in their estate plans.

We look forward to working with you to design a gift that meets your charitable and financial goals. North Shore Animal League America offers the following gift arrangements:

Gifts Through Your Will or Living Trust

A gift to North Shore Animal League America through your will or living trust is a powerful statement of your support for the League's mission: to rescue, nurture and restore pets to happy and healthy lives in loving homes. It may also provide a reduction in your taxable estate.

The most common planned gift is a bequest through your will or living trust. You can arrange a gift of a specific amount, a percentage of your estate, or even all or part of the residuary of your estate. If you would like to make such a gift to North Shore Animal League America, your attorney may wish to include language similar to the following:

"I give, devise, and bequeath to North Shore Animal League America, now or formerly in the City of Port Washington, 16 Lewyt Street, in the State of New York, (dollar amount or __ percent of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate), to be used for its general purposes."

Gifts Through  Life Insurance or Retirement Plan Beneficiary Designations

Naming North Shore Animal League America as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy or retirement plan is a simple and smart way to provide for the League. It may also benefit your heirs through avoidance of substantial income and estate taxes.

To create a legacy for the League through a beneficiary designation, you may:

• Name North Shore Animal League America as beneficiary of a retirement fund
• Name North Shore Animal League America as beneficiary of an insurance policy

Retirement Plans

Retirement plan assets are among the best assets to use for charitable gifts. You can create a legacy by naming North Shore Animal League America as beneficiary or contingent beneficiary of an IRA, 401 (k), 403 (b), Keogh account, or other qualified retirement plan. Upon your death, all or a portion of the unused balance in your account is transferred to the League as a charitable gift.

When a retirement account is left to a charity, the organization does not pay the income tax otherwise due if left to a friend or non-spouse family member. To make such a gift requires merely completing a change of beneficiary form, which may be obtained from the plan administrator.

Insurance Policies

If you no longer need their life insurance that was purchased years ago to provide for children or other family members, please consider donating the policy to the League. You may claim a charitable deduction for approximately the policy's cash surrender value, and the proceeds are completely removed from your estate

Life insurance may also be used to create a legacy by naming North Shore Animal League America as beneficiary or contingent beneficiary of the policy. This requires that you complete a change of beneficiary form with the insurance company.  If you name the League as beneficiary, you can change your mind at any time by updating the change of beneficiary form.

Life Income Plans: Gifts That Give You Income for Life

Life income plans allow you to support the League and, in return, receive income for the rest of your life.  Life income plans may also provide significant income tax savings and favorable capital gains tax treatment on gifts of appreciated property.

Our staff works with donors and their advisors on many special ways of giving. A life income gift is particularly suitable if you want:

• payments for the rest of your life
• an income tax deduction, and
• a reduction in capital gains tax.

Charitable Gift Annuities

A charitable gift annuity is a special giving arrangement in which, in return for a gift of at least $5,000 (or $10,000 for two annuitants), the League provides guaranteed, fixed payments to you and/or another person for the rest of your lives. The rate of your payments is based on your age when the gift is made and will not change. A portion of your annuity payments may be tax-free, depending on the specifics of the gift. A charitable gift annuity also entitles you to partial income tax charitable deduction and may provide capital gains and estate tax benefits. After your lifetime, the remainder of your gift will support the work of North Shore Animal League America.

Charitable Remainder Trusts

To set up a trust that will ultimately benefit North Shore Animal League America, while providing you with continuing income, you would make an irrevocable gift of $100,000 or more to establish a distinct trust fund in your name. All donors qualify for an income tax charitable deduction. If you make your gift with appreciated securities, you avoid the capital gains tax on long-term appreciation. With a charitable remainder unitrust, your payment rate is fixed at 5% or more, but the amount fluctuates based on the value of the trust each year. With a charitable remainder annuity trust, your payment amount is fixed at 5% or more and does not fluctuate through time. In both trusts, the income is taxed as ordinary income to you.  But most importantly, you have established a legacy for North Shore Animal League America.

Gifts of Real Estate

A residence, a vacation home, acreage (even a farm) or an unimproved parcel of land may have appreciated so significantly in value that its sale by you would generate a substantial income tax burden. By making a gift of a full or partial interest in real estate to the League, you will avoid tax on the long-term capital gain and generate an income tax charitable deduction for the full fair market value of the property. It is also possible to make a gift of your primary residence or second home while retaining an exclusive life estate so that you (and your spouse) can continue to use it for the rest of your lives while obtaining significant tax and estate planning benefits.

Contact Us:

Our staff can prepare personalized, confidential gift examples for you. If you would like more information, or would like to let us know that you have already included North Shore Animal League America in your estate plans, please contact Barbara Barrett, at 516.812.7218, or by email to barbara_b@nsalamerica.org. We look forward to speaking with you!

Legal Information

We are a 501-c-3, not-for-profit organization as determined by the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service. Our federal tax id number is 11-1666 852