When you include a gift to Save Mount Diablo in your will or other estate plan, you establish a living legacy and help provide a solid financial foundation for Save Mount Diablo’s future.
The most common way to plan a legacy gift to our organization is through a bequest in your will or living trust. You may also assign our organization as a beneficiary of assets held in various accounts, such as retirement accounts (for example, IRAs or 401ks), pension plans, or annuities.
Wills and Trusts
Sample text to include in your will or living trust:
“I bequeath ______ percent (for example, 50%) of my estate OR $______ (exact monetary value) to Save Mount Diablo. Save Mount Diablo is a nonprofit corporation, organized and existing under the laws of California with principal business address of 201 N. Civic Drive, Suite 190, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. Tax identification number: 94-2681735.”
Beneficiary Designation
If you would rather not create a will or amend your current will or trust, assigning Save Mount Diablo as an account beneficiary is another easy way to plan your gift. Your retirement accounts, pension plans, investment accounts, donor advised funds, paid life insurance policies, or commercial annuities are options.
To designate Save Mount Diablo as your beneficiary, simply
- Contact the institution holding your assets and request a beneficiary form (also referred to as a designation form). This can typically be found on the institution’s website.
- Indicate our organization as a beneficiary with the following information: Save Mount Diablo, 201 N. Civic Drive, Suite 190, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. Tax ID: 94-2681735.
- Return the completed form to your plan administrator, insurance company, or financial institution.
Gifts of Real Estate
For gifts of real estate or personal property, please contact us regarding our acceptance policies.
Your Legacy
When considering how you would like your legacy to be realized, you may choose to allow Save Mount Diablo to determine its best use by indicating the gift is unrestricted. Unrestricted gifts will be used strategically to support our organization’s top priorities at the time your gift is received.
If you would like to restrict your contribution, we ask that you speak with our staff to determine if we can meet your wishes. Either way, your gift will help preserve and protect the lands you love for future generations to enjoy.
Thank you for considering planning a legacy gift to Save Mount Diablo! If you have questions, we can help. Please contact Samantha Kading at skading@savemountdiablo.org or 925-949-4513.
Please note: This information is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax adviser. Save Mount Diablo cannot draft wills or trusts or act as executor or trustee.
Useful Documents
Legacy Circle Questionnaire (PDF)
Diablo Legacy Circle
Save Mount Diablo honors every planned gift supporter with membership in the Diablo Legacy Circle. The Diablo Legacy Circle was formed to show appreciation for our growing number of friends who have chosen to remember us in their estate plans.
Letting us know you’ve taken the generous step of remembering Save Mount Diablo in your plans is always up to you, but we’d love to be able to welcome you to the Diablo Legacy Circle, show our gratitude, and keep you updated on our work.
We hope you will share your plans with us through a simple verbal confirmation, or by completing our one-page legacy gift questionnaire, through which you may share details of your gift if you’d like and your recognition preferences.
Although we would like to recognize you in our publications so that your generosity may inspire others, you may also choose to remain anonymous.
Legacy Circle Members Bob and Cindy Brittain
When Bob and Cindy moved to Walnut Creek in 1990, their first impressions of Save Mount Diablo were formed from reading Contra Costa Times articles. The articles detailed the organization’s efforts to address proposed housing development plans, with pictures of Seth Adams amid the stunning landscape with beautiful views.
They also followed Gary Bogue’s nature column and were first inspired to contribute to Save Mount Diablo because of Gary’s frequent fundraising efforts for open space and parks.
Cindy and Bob Brittain, Legacy Circle Members
Cindy explains, “After retirement, we decided to include Save Mount Diablo in our estate plans to protect the mountain we loved. Our volunteer work with Save Mount Diablo for the past several years has convinced us that it is one of the most sustainable and effective land advocacy organizations in the country.
“We admire their longtime emphasis on volunteer stewards, their cooperation with parks and other conservation partners, and their respect and support for landowners who want to see their lands stay natural.
“However, it is their continual defense of the Urban Limit Line against urban sprawl, and their strong involvement in developing land use policies that achieve strategic conservation gains that sets them apart from most land advocacy groups and makes them indispensable.”
Bob and Cindy appreciate the lasting impact of their legacy gift stating, “We know Save Mount Diablo will continue to preserve and protect our most vital natural resources in the Diablo Range for future generations to enjoy, and we are proud that our legacy investment will be a part of that.”
Top photo by Nate Campi.
