Estate Planning

Bequest Language

• Bequest language (unrestricted): “I [name], of [city, state, ZIP] give, devise, and bequeath the residue of the property, real and personal and wherever situated, owned by me at my death [or specific amount or percentage] to the California Native Plant Society, a nonprofit corporation, organized and existing under the laws of the State of California, and with principal business address of 2707 K Street, Suite 1, Sacramento, CA 95816, for its unrestricted use and purpose.”
• Bequest language (contingency): “I [name] of [city, state, ZIP] give, devise and bequeath the residue of the property, real and personal and wherever situated, owned by me at my death to [name of beneficiary]. If s/he does not survive me, I devise and bequeath my residuary estate to the California Native Plant Society, a nonprofit corporation, organized and existing under the laws of the State of California, and with principal business address of 2707 K Street, Suite 1, Sacramento, CA 95816, [written amount or percentage of the estate or description of property] for its unrestricted use and purpose.”
• Bequest language (restricted): I [name], of [city, state, and zip code] bequeath to the California Native Plant Society, a non-profit corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of California, with a principal business address of 2707 K Street, Suite One, Sacramento, CA 95816, [insert here the amount in dollars, percentage of estate, complete description of the securities, real estate or property], to be added to the [insert name of established CNPS fund] to be managed and spent according to the terms of the [name of fund], as set forth below [attach a copy of the text describing the established fund or copy the text into the document]"

Donors are requested to obtain the text of a particular fund from CNPS staff. If donors do not use existing language, it may not be possible to accept the gift. Please contact CNPS staff if you are considering making a restricted gift. CNPS has established several funds. These funds are:

• The Clark Conservation Endowment Fund (conservation, land stewardship, conservation science, and plant science)
• The Natural Heritage Endowment Fund (all CNPS operations, programmatic and administrative).
• The Horticulture Endowment Fund (horticulture using native plants, including education and promotion).

The Board of Directors of CNPS prefers to establish a new endowment fund only if the donation exceed $100,000. Proposals to establish separate endowments with donations under $100,000 will be considered on a case by case basis.

Please note that this is general information and is not presented as specific legal or tax advice. You should consult with your attorney for such advice.