Planned Gifts & Grants

Why Consider Planned Giving?
Planned gifts to Rhode Island Zoological Society's endowment will help the zoo to grow and flourish for current and future generations. Your children, grandchildren and their children will have a wonderful zoo to visit and appreciate due largely to the generosity of those who had the foresight to make planned gifts to our endowment. Through your planned gift to the Rhode Island Zoological Society endowment fund, you will have a lasting impact on Roger Williams Park Zoo.

Types of Planned Gifts Welcomed by the Zoo
Planned giving opportunities at the zoo include making an outright gift of cash, a donation of stocks/securities to the zoo, or listing Rhode Island Zoological Society as a beneficiary in wills, trusts, retirement plans and/or insurance policies. Click on the following links to learn more about these types of gifts.

Appreciated Stocks or Securities >

Bequests >

Charitable Remainder Trusts >

Charitable Lead Trusts >

Life Insurance Policies >

Retirement Assets >

Other Planned Gifts >

For More Information...

 

BEQUESTS

You can make a lasting and especially thoughtful impact upon the zoo through bequests. A bequest may be for a specific sum of cash, item of property or for a certain share of your residuary estate.

Unrestricted Bequests
An unrestricted bequest is one that is intended for the general support of the zoo. In accordance with Board Policy, all bequests that are not restricted by the donor will be dedicated to one of the zoo's endowment funds. Investment earnings from these funds are wholly restricted for use in support of the zoo's education, research and conservation programs, including related capital projects.

Restricted Bequests
While unrestricted bequests are of particular value to the zoo because of the flexibility allowed in application of funds, the zoo realizes many of our supporters have a special connection to particular programs and choose to make a specific request. Therefore, the zoo welcomes restricted bequests. Since a bequest will likely not be received by the zoo until far into the future, we ask that its terms be as general as possible to avoid a gift benefiting a project that the zoo no longer pursues or with terms that will be difficult to meet. If you are considering a bequest for a specific purpose, please call our office to discuss.

Naming the Zoo in Your Will
If you wish to include the Rhode Island Zoological Society in your will, the Board of Trustees suggests the following language:

"I give ___________ (specific amount, percentage or residuary share) to Rhode Island Zoological Society, a private, not-for-profit organization, having its principal offices at Roger Williams Park Zoo, 1000 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, Rhode Island 02907-3659, to be used for ______________ (general or specific restricted purpose.)"

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CHARITABLE REMAINDER TRUSTS

If you have an asset that you would like to give to the zoo but you currently need the income that asset provides, a charitable remainder trust may allow you to achieve both of your goals. By forming a charitable remainder trust, a donor irrevocably transfers assets to a trust for a designated period of time during which the trust provides income to the donor (and/or beneficiaries) until their death or the termination of the trust term. At that point, the remainder of the trust, the corpus, is transferred to the zoo.

Benefits to the Donor
A charitable remainder trust may offer a donor the following benefits:

• Receive an income tax charitable deduction for the present value of the estimated remainder that will be left to support the zoo. This may result in significant income and capital gain tax savings.
• Increase current cash flow.
• Provide supplemental retirement income.
• Provide for other family members.

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CHARITABLE LEAD TRUSTS

If you have a large estate you are planning to pass on to your children, you should know about the charitable lead trust. Estate and gift taxes can severely reduce the value of property passed on to your heirs. A charitable lead trust enables you to reduce gift and estate taxes and make a charitable contribution to the zoo at the same time. In establishing a lead trust, the donor makes an irrevocable transfer of assets to a trustee. The zoo then receives income from the trust for a stated period of time or until the end of the donor's life. At the end of the stated term, the principal is distributed to the donor's heirs as stated in the trust agreement.

Benefits to the Donor
A charitable lead trust offers a donor benefits in that it may reduce gift and estate taxes and allows a donor to provide for family members while supporting the zoo.

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LIFE INSURANCE POLICY

Life insurance policies can be used for charitable giving. One simple method is to designate Rhode Island Zoological Society as the primary beneficiary (full or partial) of the policy's proceeds. The zoo may also be named as the contingent successor beneficiary, where we receive the death benefits only if a named individual beneficiary predeceases the policyholder.

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RETIREMENT ASSETS

Many individuals are investing in qualified retirement plans such as IRAs, 401(k)s and 403(b)s. Unfortunately, these plans can carry an array of potential tax liabilities. One satisfying way to lessen or avoid these liabilities is to use retirement assets in charitable giving. There are multiple ways to use these assets to support the zoo.

Naming the Zoo as Beneficiary of a Retirement Plan
A donor can simply fill out a "Change of Beneficiary" form, provided by the plan administrator, and designate Rhode Island Zoological Society as primary beneficiary (full or partial) of the plan.

Offset Retirement Plan Distributions with Direct Zoo Gifts
The plan owner can begin taking structured withdrawals for the retirement plan at the required age and make outright gifts to the zoo. This will generate an offsetting charitable deduction.

Transfer Retirement Plan Residual to a Charitable Remainder Trust
The donor can establish a charitable remainder trust in their will for the residual of their retirement plan assets. The trust will name beneficiaries and include Rhode Island Zoological Society as the charitable remainderman. Upon the death of the donor, beneficiaries of the trust (e.g. spouse, children, etc.) will receive income from the trust for a period of years. After that point, the remainder of the trust, the corpus, is transferred to the zoo.

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OTHER PLANNED GIFTS

There are several other types of planned gifts that a donor may make to the zoo, through Rhode Island Zoological Society's named fund at the Rhode Island Foundation. All such gifts must meet the Rhode Island Foundation's minimum gift requirements. Such gifts include:

- Charitable Gift Annuities
- Pooled Income Funds

Other tangible gifts that may be accepted, on a case by case basis, include those listed below. Please note that these gifts should be discussed with Rhode Island Zoological Society before they are donated or bequeathed.

-Real Estate
-Tangible Personal Property

FOR MORE INFORMATION...
To obtain more information on these, or other gift types, or to begin working with a member of the Rhode Island Zoological Society to make one of these gifts, please contact the Development Office at (401) 941-3910 extension 374 or 302 or email plannedgiving@rwpzoo.org.

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The information above does not constitute legal or financial advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. The Rhode Island Zoological Society encourages you to seek professional legal, estate planning and financial advice prior to deciding on a course of action.