Gifts That Cost You Nothing Now
Gifts in a will or by beneficiary designation are easy ways for you to show your support of WGBH Educational Foundation‘s mission to promote educational equity, delight its audiences and inspire everyone to engage with the world around them for years to come — and these options don’t cost anything now.
If you have already included a gift in your estate plans to benefit the future of WGBH Educational Foundation, be sure to let us know so that we may best honor your wishes.
Gifts in a Will
Making a legacy gift in your will or trust is one of the easiest and most popular ways to make a lasting impact for WGBH Educational Foundation. Once you have provided for your loved ones, we hope you will consider enriching other people’s lives through programs and services that educate, inspire, and entertain, as well as foster citizenship and culture. Make this part of your life story through a legacy gift.
A gift in your will is one of the easiest ways to create your legacy and offers the following benefits:
LASTING IMPACT
Your gift will create your legacy of enriching people’s lives.
FLEXIBLE
You can alter your gift or change your mind at any time and for any reason.
NO COST
Costs you nothing now to give in this way.
Four simple, “no-cost-now” ways to give in your will
General gift
A general bequest is a gift of a specific amount.
Residuary gift
A residuary gift is a gift of all or a percentage of the remainder of your estate after specific bequests and expenses have been paid.
Specific gift
A specific gift is a gift of a particular piece of property. For example, real estate, funds in a bank account or shares of a corporation.
Contingent gift
A contingent gift takes effect only if the primary beneficiary or beneficiaries do not live longer than you. In other words, your gift is contingent upon whether or not they survive after you.
You can mix these no-cost ways together. For example, you might consider leaving a specific percentage (such as 50%) of the residual to GBH or your local council contingent upon the survival of your spouse.
Gifts by Beneficiary Designation
It’s easy to put your bank accounts, retirement funds, savings bonds, and more to use in educatimg, inspiring, and entertaining, fostering citizenship and culture, the joy of learning, and the power of diverse perspectives— and it costs you nothing now.
By naming WGBH Educational Foundation as a beneficiary of these assets, you can power our mission for years to come and establish your personal legacy of developing robust programs and resources for the public.
Potential benefits of gifts by beneficiary designation:
Reduce or eliminate taxes
Reduce or avoid probate fees
No cost to you now to give
Create your legacy with GBH
Types of Gifts
Retirement plan assets
You can simply name WGBH Educational Foundation as a beneficiary of your retirement plan to support innovative programs that are accessable to all.
Life insurance policies
You can name WGBH Educational Foundation as a beneficiary of all or a portion of your life insurance policy. With this gift arrangement, WGBH will receive the proceeds of your policy after your lifetime. You can change your beneficiary at any time and may reduce your estate taxes.
Bank or brokerage accounts
This is one of the easiest gifts to give and one of the most useful in accomplishing your philanthropic goals. The next time you visit your bank, you can name WGBH Educational Foundation (Tax ID: 04-2104397) as the beneficiary of a checking or savings bank account, a certificate of deposit (CD), or a brokerage account. When you do, you’ll take a powerful step toward enriching programs and services that educate, inspire, and entertain, fostering citizenship and culture, the joy of learning, and the power of diverse perspectives for generations to come.
Funds remaining in your donor-advised fund
What remains in a donor-advised fund is governed by the contract you completed when you created your fund. When you name WGBH Educational Foundation as a “successor” of your account or a portion of your account value, you enable us to develop robust programs and resources for the public.
How to update a beneficiary designation:
Simply contact your bank, retirement plan administrator, insurance company, or other financial institution to request a beneficiary designation form. You may also be able to log in to your account and update your beneficiaries online.
Please use our legal name: WGBH Educational Foundation
Include our tax identification number: 04-2104397
Please let us know so we can ensure that your wishes are carried out.