Estate Planning

Ensuring the future of the Northwest's Fisheries With a Planned Gift!
Planned giving requires not only forethought, but also consultation with your tax advisor and/or attorney. In order to know if a planned gift is right for you, your family and your financial future there are several questions you should ask yourself.

  • What are my goals?
  • How can I achieve my goals?
  • Is there a charitable organization that my goals align with? 
  • Do I make this gift while I am alive or include it in my estate planning?
Depending on the type of gift, some can be given during your lifetime or others through your estate.
Once you’ve gone through this process, your outline can serve as a road map to your planned gift. If you decide that your goals align with the work of the Association of Northwest Steelheaders, and we hope they do, you may want to consider a few planned giving options:
  • Bequests
  • Gift Annuity 
  • Gifts of Stock 
  • Charitable Remainder Unitrust 
  • Charitable Lead Trust 
  • Life Insurance
Brief descriptions on the above giving options are provided as follows:

BEQUESTS
When writing a will or living trust, you may wish to include the Association of Northwest Steelheaders  as a beneficiary. The specific bequest can range from a stated amount to a specific asset, or a percentage of the estate, among other things. This gift may be in cash, securities, real or personal property.

GIFT ANNUITY
With gift annuities, a donor irrevocably transfers money or property to a charitable organization in return for our promise to pay you - the donor, another person, or both - fixed and guaranteed payments for life. In essence, the transfer is part charitable gift and part purchase of an annuity income for life.

GIFTS OF STOCK
Gifts of stock allow you to transfer publicly traded stock to the Association. This is one of the more common types of planned giving.

CHARITABLE REMAINDER UNITRUST
Money, property or both are transferred by the donor to a trustee, often times to a charity. The trustee then invests or reinvests the assets in a separate fund. The donor and/or other designated beneficiary receives an amount each year determined by multiplying a fixed percentage (at least 5%) by the fair market value of the trust assets, valued each year. On the beneficiary’s death, payments terminate and the unitrust assets go to the trustee.

CHARITABLE LEAD TRUST
A lead trust is the converse of a charitable remainder trust. A donor transfers property to the lead trust, which pays a percentage of the value of the trust assets, usually for a term of years. At the end of the trust term (not to exceed 20 years), the remaining assets in the trust and any growth it has realized are passed to your heirs. It is one of the only transfer devices currently used that can discount the value of the original assets and result in little or no taxes.

LIFE INSURANCE
Many individuals carry life insurance policies. You have the option to name the Northwest Steelheaders as a beneficiary of the insurance policy. ANWS may receive all of the proceeds or a percentage of the proceeds.

By including the Association in your estate plan, you provide enduring support and an  important source of future financial security to an organization with a history of devotion to protecting fisheries and their habitats.

If you wish to pursue some of the above Planned Giving options, please call the Association office at 503-653-4176 for more information on suggestions on how you should take the next step.