Gifts & Estate Planning
Create Your Lake Legacy
Make your love for our lakes a lasting part of your life story.
Your support for The Watershed Foundation reflects what you cherish: the beautiful lakes that bring joy to your life. Leaving a gift to TWF is a powerful way to ensure that your values endure and your lakes remain vibrant and healthy for future generations.
When you give through your will, retirement plan, or other financial account, you can save on taxes, receive income for life, or enjoy other financial benefits. You can protect the lakes you love today and for years to come. You can create a legacy of lake stewardship that lasts a lifetime – and beyond.
To discuss the legacy gift that is right for you, please contact Executive Director Lyn Crighton at 574-834-3242 or lyn@watershedfoundation.org.
All inquiries are completely confidential, and you are under no obligation to donate.
Planned Giving Options
Please consult your financial and legal advisor before making a particular planned gift. If you have already included TWF in your estate plan, please let us know so we can thank you and ensure your generous gift is used as intended.
Wills or Trusts
You can use your estate plan to provide future support for the lakes you love by leaving assets or a percentage of your estate to The Watershed Foundation. When you create your will or trust, or revise an existing one, simply name TWF as either a primary or a contingent beneficiary. We’ll receive your gift after your lifetime. Your gift is fully deductible for federal estate tax purposes and may provide other tax savings.
Retirement Accounts
You can use your IRA, 401(k), or another qualifying retirement plan to protect our lakes. Simply designate all or a portion of the funds in your plan as a gift to The Watershed Foundation. Your gift will not be subject to estate tax, and as a nonprofit, TWF pays no income tax. That means 100% of your gift can be used to further our mission.
Life Insurance
Life insurance policies are a wonderful way to support healthy lakes. Simply name The Watershed Foundation as a full or partial beneficiary of your policy. After your lifetime, your benefits pass to TWF free from federal estate tax.
Donor-Advised Funds
If you support multiple organizations and want to simplify your charitable giving, then a donor-advised fund might be right for you. You can donate to TWF through an existing account or create a new donor-advised fund. Simply designate The Watershed Foundation as a full or partial successor beneficiary.
Assets
Through your estate plan, you can leave assets like cash, real estate, or even vehicles to The Watershed Foundation. In some cases, you can even donate a gift outright. The methods vary with each gift, as do benefits for you and TWF.
Certificates of Deposit, Bank, and Brokerage Accounts
Your financial institution can help you with the easy process of leaving TWF the gift of a certificate of deposit, or any other bank or brokerage account. Be sure to provide our Federal Tax ID# 35-2020845 and our legal name: Tippecanoe Environmental Lakes and Watershed Foundation.
How to Say It
The language below is a template for including a gift to TWF in your estate plan. Please consult your attorney for more information and guidance.
“I give, devise, and bequeath ________________ [dollar amount or percentage of estate] to Tippecanoe Environmental Lakes and Watershed Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation with a mailing address of 301 N Main Street, PO Box 55, North Webster, IN 46555, and Tax ID# 35-2020845.”
