Planned Giving Bequest

A bequest is one of the easiest gifts to make. With the help of an advisor, you can include language in your will or trust specifying a gift be made to family, friends or the William Holden Wildlife Foundation as part of your estate plan.

The William Holden Wildlife Foundation is the entity through which bequests and other gifts can be made to support our efforts in Kenya. Please ensure that gifts are designated to the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, (Federal ID Number: 95-3755629).

An excellent way for you to support the foundation’s mission is to leave a bequest to the William Holden Wildlife Foundation in your will, living trust or with a codicil. One significant benefit of making a gift by bequest is that it allows you to continue to use the property you will leave to charity during your life. Another benefit is that you are able to leave a lasting legacy.

Types of Bequests:
There are a number of ways you can make a bequest to The William Holden Wildlife Foundation.

Specific Bequest:
A specific bequest involves making a gift of a specific asset such as real estate, a car, other property, or a gift for a specific dollar amount.

Percentage Bequest:
Another kind of specific bequest involves leaving a specific percentage of your overall estate to charity. For example, you may wish to leave 10% of your estate to the foundation.

Residual Bequest:
A residual bequest is made from the balance of an estate after the will or trust has given away each of the specific bequests. A common residual bequest involves leaving a percentage of the residue of the estate to charity. For example, you may wish to leave 30% of the residue of your estate to the foundation.

Contingent Bequest:
A contingent bequest is made to charity only if the purpose of the primary bequest cannot be met. For example, you could leave specific property, such as a vacation home, to a relative, but the bequest language could provide that if the relative is not alive at the time of your death, the vacation home will go to the foundation.

Bequest Benefits
A bequest is generally a revocable gift, which means it can be changed or modified at any time. You can choose to designate that a bequest be used for a general or specific purpose so you have the peace of mind knowing that your gift will be used as intended. Bequests are exempt from federal estate taxes. If you have a taxable estate, the estate tax charitable deduction may offset or eliminate estate taxes, resulting in a larger inheritance for your heirs.

Bequest Language
In order to make a bequest, you should speak with your attorney. Your attorney can help you include a bequest in your estate plan to the William Holden Wildlife Foundation. We have provided some basic bequest language to assist you and your attorney.

1. Specific Bequest
2. Percentage Bequest
3. Residual Bequest
4. Contingent Bequest

Restricted Bequests
If you are considering a bequest but would like to ensure that your bequest will be used for a specific purpose, please let us know. We would be happy to work with you and your attorney to help you identify ways to give and meet your charitable objectives. We will also work with you and your attorney to craft language to accomplish your goals.

If you are making a restricted bequest, we recommend that your attorney include the following provision to give the William Holden Wildlife Foundation flexibility should it no longer be possible for us to use your gift as you originally intended:

“If, in the judgment of the Board of Directors of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, it shall become impossible for the foundation to use this bequest to accomplish the specific purposes of this bequest, the William Holden Wildlife Foundation may use the income and principal of this gift for such purpose or purposes as the Board determines is most closely related to the restricted purpose of my bequest.”

Contact Us
Please contact us if you have any questions about how to make a bequest to the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, or to request any additional information that might be helpful to you and your attorney as you consider making a bequest to us.

If you have included a bequest for the William Holden Wildlife Foundation in your estate plan, please contact us to let us know. We would like to thank you and recognize you for your gift.

William Holden Wildlife Foundation
Post Office Box 16637
Beverly Hills, CA 90209
Telephone: (310) 274-3169
Email: [email protected]