Ask any Girl Scout, and she’ll tell you. Girl Scout memories last a lifetime. Sleeping overnight at camp for the first time, singing songs at troop meetings, making lifelong friends, and leading service projects to make the community, and the world, a better place.
Wouldn’t it be amazing to know that through a planned gift you could provide similar memories for today’s girls?
As a member of the Juliette Gordon Low Legacy Society, you will support girls with big dreams as they transform into strong women with vision.
Each year, Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania recognizes our Juliette Gordon Low Legacy Society members in our annual report as well as on our website. The society is also recognized nationally through Girl Scouts of the United States of America.
If you have already included the GSEP in your estate plans, please let us know by completing a letter of intent, calling our office at 267.419.7624, or emailing our Director of Individual and Alumnae Giving.
Funding your legacy
We welcome the opportunity to assist you and your financial advisor with your gift planning. These gifts can be through:
- Bequests
- IRA and Tax-Deferred Accounts
- Life Insurance Policies
- Gifts of Stock
- Charitable Gift Annuities
- Charitable Remainder Trusts
Bequests
Bequests are the easiest and most popular way to make a planned gift. Including the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania in your will or revocable living trust provides a way to demonstrate your commitment to the council without affecting your current asset balance or your cash flow.
A charitable bequest is one or two sentences in your will or living trust that leaves the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania a specific item, an amount of money, or a percentage of your estate.
If you already have a will, you do not need to rewrite it to include the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania. Instead, you can request that your attorney prepare a codicil or an amendment to your current will or living trust. If you choose to make an outright bequest, the provision in your will or codicil can be very straightforward. For example:
"I hereby give, devise and bequeath to the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania, a nonprofit corporation organized and operating under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sum of $_______(or ___ percent of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate) to be used for the general purposes of the council (or for a particular program of your choosing)."
IRA & Tax-Deferred Accounts
Tax-deferred accounts such as a traditional IRA (individual retirement account) can be donated to a charity upon your death and help your estate avoid paying substantial taxes that may be due.
It may be surprising to learn that the assets you thought would pass to your heirs are among the most heavily taxed in your estate. The taxes come in the form of federal income, estate, and excise taxes that can greatly erode the value of retirement savings when received by an heir. To save your estate both income and federal estate taxes, designate the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania as a beneficiary or contingent beneficiary of all or a specific percentage of your 401(k) or other retirement plan assets. You can leave a percentage of your retirement assets or a specific dollar amount. Before making any decision, please speak with your plan’s administrator or financial advisor for legal and tax advice.
Life Insurance Policies
A gift of a life insurance policy is a way to make a more substantial legacy gift than you thought possible. Establishing a gift through a life insurance policy simply requires that you designate the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania as owner and/or the beneficiary of a new or existing life insurance policy. To make the change, please contact your retirement plan administrator or insurance agent and ask for the appropriate forms.
Gifts of Stock
A beneficial way to contribute to Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania is through a gift of stock. Through gifts of securities, you can avoid capital gains taxes by donating the shares directly to charity. Check out our stock instruction sheet here.
Charitable Gift Annuities
A charitable gift annuity provides you (or a designated beneficiary) with regular fixed payments annually (an annuity) for life in exchange for transferring assets to the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania. In addition, you may consider a deferred charitable gift annuity that gives you the opportunity to claim a charitable deduction during the year of your gift, but still lets you receive payments at a later time.
Gift annuity rates vary based on your age.
Charitable Remainder Trusts
A charitable remainder trust provides you and/or another beneficiary(s) with fixed or variable income for life or for a specific period of time. After that time, the remaining assets are distributed in the trust to the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania. A charitable remainder trusts allow you to select your beneficiaries, trustees, income rate, and type of trust.
Next Steps
1. Contact Melissah Jablonski at 267.419.7624 or mjablonski@gsep.org for additional information about the Juliette Gordon Low Legacy Society, including different options to leave the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania in your will or estate plan.
2. Seek advice from your legal or financial advisor
3. If you include the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania in your plans, please use our legal name and federal tax ID:
a. Legal Name: Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania
b. Address: 330 Manor Road, Miquon, PA 19444
c. Federal Tax ID Number: 23-1352309
Have more questions? Check out our inheritance basics Q&A.
The purpose of this web page is to provide general information of only. The Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania is not engaged in providing legal or tax advisory service. Advice from legal and tax counsel should be sought when considering these types of gifts.
