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Your tax-deductible contribution will help us fulfill our mission to stimulate research on the biology and conservation of birds of prey, and to promote a better public understanding and appreciation of the value of these birds.

You may choose to support one of the following programs:

General Fund. Maximize the impact of your donation with an unrestricted gift. This provides RRF needed flexibility to use funds where and when they are most needed.

Memorial Endowment Fund. Support our annual grants and awards programs for field research, travel support to attend our annual conference, and monetary awards for the best student conference presentations.

Journal of Raptor Research. Designate your donation to fund our society’s journal including covering page charges for researchers without institutional support to publish their research in the journal.

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Lifetime and Estate Charitable Planning Guide

Many raptor researchers have dedicated their lives to studying and conserving the raptors that stir our souls and move our minds. The Foundation provides a unique community through which we share our experiences, knowledge, and passion for these amazing creatures and allow us to collectively address important challenges to raptor management and conservation worldwide.

There are many ways to invest in the future of Raptor Research Foundation, Inc. and ensure our important work continues. Below are just some of the options available, many of which provide substantial tax advantages because the Foundation is a tax-exempt charitable organization. If your preferred method of giving is not listed, please contact us. For all planned gifts and inquiries, please use our permanent mailing address and information below:

Raptor Research Foundation, Inc.

Tax ID 23-7037266

[email protected]

All members who make a planned gift to the Foundation will join a new and elite membership category known as Legacy Members. These members are recognized by the Foundation for their substantial and long-term commitment through planned giving to the future of the Foundation. When you make a planned gift, please let us know by emailing us at: [email protected] so we can include you in our list of Legacy Members. Of course, you may also remain anonymous if desired.

Testamentary Giving Options

IRA Beneficiary or Retirement Trust Beneficiary

Naming Raptor Research Foundation, Inc. as a beneficiary of your retirement assets is a tax efficient way to give. Most retirement plans, such as 401(k)s and Traditional IRAs, are income tax deferred, which means income tax is due upon distribution of funds from the retirement plan. However, because the Foundation is a tax-exempt entity, distributions to it from your retirement plans on your death are tax-free; the charity can receive the full amount of the payment and pay no income tax upon receipt.

Please contact your retirement plan provider for its change of beneficiary form. If you would like to name the Foundation as a beneficiary, please decide what percentage of the plan’s value (0–100 percent) you would like the Foundation to receive, and name it, along with the stated percentage, on the beneficiary form. Then return the form to your retirement plan provider.

Will or Trust Beneficiary – Percentage or Stated Dollar Amount

You may list Raptor Research Foundation, Inc. as a beneficiary of your Will or Trust. It may be the beneficiary of a percentage of your estate, or a specific dollar amount. You can use a codicil as a simple amendment to your will, which must be signed and witnessed or notarized as done with your original will.

Example language to include in your Will:

“Upon my death, my Trustee shall distribute (_____% of my Estate) or ($_________ stated dollar amount) to the Raptor Research Foundation, Inc., Tax ID Number: 23-7037266 or its successor in interest, to be used for its unrestricted use and purposes. I instruct my Trustee to satisfy this gift, to the extent possible, from property that constitutes income in respect of a decedent. If the Raptor Research Foundation, Inc. is no longer in existence at the time of my death, this gift shall lapse.”

Life Insurance Beneficiary

Raptor Research Foundation, Inc. can be named as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy. Please contact your insurance company for its change of beneficiary form. If you would like to name the Foundation as a beneficiary, please decide what percentage of the policy’s value (0–100 percent) you would like the Foundation to receive, and name it, along with the stated percentage, on the beneficiary form. Then return the form to your insurance company.

Lifetime Giving Options

Gift in Memoriam, One Time Gifts, and Reoccurring Giving

A special way to give tribute to the memory of a loved one is an in-memoriam gift. These gifts celebrate the memory of an individual that has touched your life. You can mail your one-time gift of a check or money order, payable to Raptor Research Foundation, Inc., to the address above. The Foundation can also help you establish reoccurring giving payments.

Gifts of Closely Held Stock or Marketable Securities

Gifts of appreciated stock or securities (held long-term) to Raptor Research Foundation, Inc. are especially advantageous as you may be able to avoid paying capital gains if you gift your appreciated stocks or securities before those stocks or securities are sold. Additionally, gifting stock or securities allows you to fulfill your gifting without impacting your liquid assets. You may make a gift of closely held stock by mail, by transferring ownership using stock certificates pursuant to the terms of the entity’s bylaws/operating agreement/partnership agreement. You may make a gift of marketable securities by notifying your bank or broker of your wish to transfer certain marketable securities to the account of Raptor Research Foundation, Inc.

Gift from your IRA

Under current law, if you are over 70 ½ years of age, you may make a qualified charitable distribution from your individual IRA to a qualified charitable organization. You may give up to $100,000 per taxpayer per year without counting the distribution as taxable income. To take advantage of this please contact your IRA provider and have them make the distribution directly to the Foundation. Please note that you cannot receive the funds first to get the deduction.

Real Estate

Raptor Research Foundation, Inc. may be able to accept a gift of real estate. A gift of real estate is usually tax deductible at full fair market value, and the donor is not taxed on the long-term capital appreciation when the gifted asset is later sold.

Matching Gifts

Did you know you can double or even triple your gift if you or your spouse works for a company with a matching gift program? Please contact your human resources department for details about how to match your gift to Raptor Research Foundation.

Charitable Remainder Trusts

A Charitable Remainder Trust is a type of trust that a donor may use when he or she wants to avoid capital gains tax and has a desire to ultimately donate funds to a charitable organization but also receive a source of income during the donor’s lifetime. You and your spouse may establish an irrevocable trust and fund it with cash, real estate, stock, or other assets. As the trust creators, you receive an immediate income tax deduction, which is based on projected rates of return and the projected life expectancy of the income beneficiary of the trust. You may also be able to avoid capital gains tax if the charitable trust later sells the gifted assets.

The trust can pay you and your spouse, the trust creators, an annual income (if you create a charitable remainder annuity trust) or annual percentage payout of the value of the trust assets (if you create a charitable remainder unitrust). Upon maturity of the trust, which is usually the death of you and your spouse or upon the expiration of a term of years, the trust assets will be conveyed to Raptor Research Foundation, Inc. The trust assets are not subject to probate or estate taxes. In short, this trust allows the donor to provide for their ongoing cash needs but allows them to bypass capital gains from a sale of a highly appreciated asset such as a business or property.

Charitable Lead Trusts

A Charitable Lead Trust (“CLT”) operates in the reverse order of a Charitable Remainder Trust. A CLT gives the donor an income tax deduction in the year of the transfer of the asset to the CLT. After the asset is transferred, the CLT provides income to the donor’s favorite charities for a term of years. At the end of the term, the donor receives back the remaining trust asset. CLTs are especially attractive for persons who have a large income tax bill in the year that they transfer the asset to the trust, since the donor receives an income tax deduction in the high-income year. The CLT then provides an annuity to the donor, supplementing future, lower-income years. This is an excellent tool for giving to charity without permanently releasing title to the property transferred. The trust maker only gives up the right to use the trust income for a term of years but then ultimately gets it back.

Recommend Payment to Raptor Research Foundation from your Donor Advised Fund

You can recommend a gift from your Donor Advised Fund (“DAF”) to Raptor Research Foundation, Inc. A DAF is a charitable giving vehicle established by a donor at a tax-exempt public charity, known as a sponsoring organization. The donor can fund the DAF at various times throughout their life – each act of funding results in a charitable income-tax deduction to the donor. The donor, and their designated board (which can consist of the donor’s family members), retain the right to make recommendations to the sponsoring organization regarding grants to be made from the fund (at any time in the future) and regarding the investment of the fund’s assets. DAFs are easy to establish and can be established without the need for legal counsel. They are also easy to operate, as they require no annual federal or state tax filings, audits, or annual board meetings. If you already have a DAF, please contact your DAF Provider to initiate the giving process.