Create a Lasting Legacy for LGBTQ+ Equality
The LGBT Bar Association Foundation of Greater New York (LGBT Bar NY) is deeply grateful to friends and champions who make their legacy a future where justice, dignity, and equality for LGBTQ+ people are guaranteed. Planned gifts offer significant tax advantages, protect your financial security, and ensure our advocacy and free community clinics endure for generations.
Including LGBT Bar NY in Your Will
A charitable bequest in your will or revocable trust allows you to make an enduring investment in LGBTQ+ civil rights without forfeiting assets or financial liquidity needed during your lifetime.
Bequests may be designated for specific programs or given as unrestricted support, allowing LGBT Bar NY to deploy resources wherever the need is greatest:
- Percentage Bequest: Designate a percentage of your total estate.
- Specific Sum: Bequeath a specific dollar amount or designated security.
- Securities & Stocks: Name the Foundation as beneficiary of stocks, mutual funds, or bonds.
- Residuary Bequest: Direct the remainder of your estate after other distributions are fulfilled.
- Contingent Bequest: Name the Foundation if a primary beneficiary predeceases you.
Sample Bequest Language
To include LGBT Bar NY in your will, your estate planning attorney may use the following language:
"I hereby give, devise, and bequeath [insert cash amount or percentage of estate] to the Lesbian and Gay Law Association Foundation of Greater New York, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, for its general exempt purposes."
Additional Ways to Plan Your Legacy Gift
Explore flexible planned giving arrangements that align with your financial goals and estate plans.
Donor-Advised Funds (DAF)
You can recommend a grant to support our free legal clinics, scholarships, and advocacy directly through your Donor-Advised Fund account (such as Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, or BNY Mellon).
Retirement Plan Assets
Retirement accounts like 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and IRAs are among the most heavily taxed assets if left to individual heirs, where combined income and estate taxes can erode more than half their value.
Because nonprofits are tax-exempt, 100% of retirement assets transferred to the Foundation pass completely tax-free when designated using a simple beneficiary form.
Charitable Trusts (CRT & CLT)
Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs): Transfer assets to a trust that pays annual income to you or loved ones for life or a term of years, with the remainder transferring to the Foundation.
Charitable Lead Trusts (CLTs): Provides annual income to the Foundation for a set period, after which the trust principal reverts to your designated beneficiaries with reduced tax.
Life Insurance Policies
A life insurance policy that is no longer needed for family protection can become a transformative gift. You can name the Foundation as a beneficiary or transfer ownership outright to claim an immediate charitable deduction.
Establishing an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) can also ensure proceeds pass to heirs estate-tax-free while supporting our mission.