You can help bring polluters to justice.

Your legacy gift to NELC can help to ensure that we continue to sue the nation’s worst polluters to make them stop and make them pay.


Bequests

We would consider it an honor to be remembered in your will.

Keeping your will or living trust updated is essential to ensure that all of your wishes will be carried out. It’s easy to remember National Environmental Law Center in your will or living trust. Your advisor can include just a few sentences to arrange for the gift.

Through a will or trust, you can give:

  • A specific dollar amount or asset, such as securities.
  • A percentage of your estate.
  • A gift from the balance of your estate after expenses have been paid and specific and general bequests have been honored.

Your gift may provide your estate with valuable tax savings.

Retirement Accounts

An IRA or 401(k) can be an efficient way to save for retirement, but it is not always the best gift to leave to your heirs. These assets can be a tax-efficient way to include National Environmental Law Center in your estate plan.

Most retirement plans are tax-deferred, meaning that you do not pay income tax on the assets in a retirement plan until they are distributed to you. Because any retirement assets that are unused during your lifetime may be subject to both income and estate taxes, these may be among the costliest assets to distribute to loved ones through your estate.

But a retirement asset can make an ideal gift to a tax-exempt charitable organization. Your estate may receive valuable tax savings.  In addition, unlike an individual beneficiary, a tax-exempt non-profit like National Environmental Law Center will not be subject to income tax on the value of the account. Consequently, leaving retirement account funds to a nonprofit can maximize the final value of your gift.

Naming or changing your beneficiary is simple. After checking with your advisors, ask the administrator of your retirement plan for a beneficiary designation form, fill it out, and return it to the administrator.

Life Insurance

In some circumstances, you can name our organization as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy.

Sometimes circumstances change, and life insurance is no longer a critical part of an estate plan. If you wish to redirect life insurance, it’s simple to do so. You can designate a charity as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, which you will continue to own during your lifetime. This may provide your estate with valuable tax savings.

Alternatively, you can assign ownership of the policy to the charity. In this case, although you will give up control over the policy, you may receive a current income tax charitable deduction. 

After consulting with your advisors about what is best for you, ask your insurance agent how to make these types of simple changes to your policy.

Securities

Donating appreciated securities will support our work and, under some circumstances, may provide a meaningful savings on your taxes. To obtain our DTC number and account number, please contact us as indicated below.

Vehicle Donation

You can donate cars, trucks, boats and other vehicles to the National Environmental Law Center through Charitable Auto Resources.  Your donation may be tax-deductible. Click here to find out more.


To find out more please email our Planned Giving Coordinator at plannedgiving@nelconline.org, or call 1-800-841-7299. Donations to the National Environmental Law Center are tax-deductible in many circumstances.’

Tax Identification Number 04-3099089

Please seek the guidance of your attorney or financial advisor when making changes to your estate plan or when planning a major gift.

Contributions or gifts to National Environmental Policy and Law Center, Inc., are deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. A full description of its programs, a copy of its latest financial report, and a list of nonprofits to which NEPLC has granted funds in the last fiscal year are available by contacting it at its principal place of business at 294 Washington St., 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02108 or 617-422-0880. MD: Documents and information submitted under the Maryland Solicitations Act are available, for the cost of postage and copies, from the Maryland Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401, 410-974-5534. NJ: INFORMATION FILED WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONCERNING THIS CHARITABLE SOLICITATION AND THE PERCENTAGE OF CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED BY THE CHARITY DURING THE LAST REPORTING PERIOD THAT WERE DEDICATED TO THE CHARITABLE PURPOSE MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY BY CALLING 973-504-6215 AND IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/charfrm.htm. REGISTRATION WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT. NY: A copy of the latest annual report of this organization may be obtained from the organization or from the State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, 3rd Floor, NY, NY 10271. PA: The official registration and financial information of National Environmental Policy and Law Center, Inc. may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement. WA: National Environmental Policy and Law Center, Inc. is registered with Washington State’s Charities Program as required by law and additional information is available by calling 800-332-4483 or visiting www.sos.wa.gov/charities.