Planning Your Legacy

At the Civic Garden Center, so much of what we do is about bringing people together to care for the natural world—not only for ourselves, but for those who will follow in our footsteps. Our work spans generations. And that means we have the opportunity to dedicate our resources to vital, evergreen work even when our hands can no longer be of service.

Bequests and beneficiary designations are two simple but impactful ways to include the Civic Garden Center in your legacy planning.

Bequests

Bequests are gifts made through your will or living trust. They’re exempt from federal estate taxes and can generally be changed at any time. It’s up to you whether you want to designate a specific purpose for your bequest or allow the CGC to decide how to use it most effectively.

Types of Bequests

  • With a specific or outright bequest, you make a gift of a specific dollar amount to the organization of your choice—for instance, $10,000 to the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati.

  • With a percentage bequest, you designate that a certain percentage of your overall estate should go to charity—for example, 10% of your estate to the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati.

  • With a residual bequest, after all of the specific bequests have been given away, you leave a portion of what is left in your estate to the organization of your choice—for instance, 30% of the residue of your estate to the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati.

Making a Bequest

Bequests are best planned with the assistance of your attorney, who can help ensure your intentions are set down correctly. The following language can help you and your attorney include the Civic Garden Center in your estate plan.

For a specific bequest, we recommend the following language:

I hereby give, devise and bequeath [DOLLAR AMOUNT] and No/100 dollars to the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati, a nonprofit organization located at 2715 Reading Road, Cincinnati, OH, 45206, Federal Tax ID #31-0559893, for the Civic Garden Center’s general use and purpose.

For a percentage bequest, we recommend the following language:

I hereby give, devise and bequeath [PERCENT] % of my total estate, determined as of the date of my death, to the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati, a nonprofit organization located at 2715 Reading Road, Cincinnati, OH, 45206, Federal Tax ID #31-0559893, for the Civic Garden Center’s general use and purpose.

For a residual bequest, we recommend the following language:

I hereby give, devise and bequeath to the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati, a nonprofit organization located at 2715 Reading Road, Cincinnati, OH, 45206, Federal Tax ID #31-0559893, [ALL or PERCENT%] of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate to be used for the Civic Garden Center’s general use and purpose. 

Gifting your bequest without restriction allows the CGC to determine the best and most effective way to use your gift at the time it is received. However, if you would prefer to designate a specific purpose for your bequest, please reach out to our Executive Director, Karen Kahle: kkahle@civicgardencenter.org or 513-221-0981 ext. 300. We will gladly work with you and your attorney to find options that meet your charitable goals and create the language for your estate planning that will help accomplish them.

Beneficiary Designations

Did you know that you can specify a nonprofit organization as a beneficiary on many common types of financial accounts? This is another easy way to support the Civic Garden Center while minimizing the tax burden as you plan your legacy.

To take advantage of this option, simply specify the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati as a beneficiary of all or a percentage of the assets for one of the following:

  • Retirement assets

  • Life insurance policies

  • Bank accounts

  • Investment accounts

In all of the cases above, there’s no need to modify your will or living trust. Instead, simply request, complete and submit a new beneficiary designation form from the company or plan administrator responsible for the account.

Please get in touch!

If you’ve decided to include the Civic Garden Center in your estate planning, thank you! We would love to know so that we can thank you properly and, if you’d like, formally recognize your generosity.

If you have questions, we would love to answer them.

You can reach our Executive Director, Karen Kahle, at kkahle@civicgardencenter.org or 513-221-0981 ext. 300.