Bequests – A Simple and Powerful Way to Ensure Our Work Carries on for Future Generations

Deciding how to divide your assets among your heirs and charity is usually a matter of the heart. It involves decisions about your personal financial independence, your family legacy, and the investment of your social capital. The easiest and most common way for you to make a gift to GreenUP is through a bequest in your Will or Revocable Living Trust. The tax laws encourage charitable bequests, so it is an excellent way to support our programs while reducing your estate taxes.

A will is a statement about what matters most in your life. By making a will you can clearly express your intentions on how you wish your life’s work distributed. Your executor will follow your wishes in administering your estate. Without a will, the intestate laws of your state will divide your assets.
After providing for family and friends, consider a meaningful gift to GreenUP to continue your lifetime of support. Bequest gifts can take many forms such as a specific gift amount, a specific gift type, a percentage of the estate, a percentage of the residue of an estate, or the entire residue considering all other provisions of your will. Or a bequest can be contingent, that is, taking effect only after other provisions cannot be satisfied.

“When I volunteered as a director at GreenUP, I had the opportunity to witness the potential of the organization but also its financial constraints. The organization has done so much for the Peterborough community over the past twenty years. This December, I just really wanted to make a difference…so I included GreenUP in my will, as did my late mother, Florence Cragg. I could not be more satisfied and confident knowing my gift will positively impact people’s lives right here in the Kawarthas.”
Paul Cragg, MD, Peterborough

Percentage Bequest

The donor gives GreenUP a percentage of the estate.

Example: Jacques Fontaine leaves 25 percent of his estate to GreenUP and the balance (75 percent) is divided between his brother and sister.
Sample language: “I give to GreenUP, a Canadian registered charity, in Peterborough, Ontario, twenty-five percent (25%) of my estate for its general endowment or for other general purposes.”

Residue of the Estate

The donor, after providing several specific bequests to family and friends, leaves 100 percent of the residue to GreenUP.

Example: Yun Zhao leaves his nieces and nephews $200,000 in several specific bequests and instructs his executor to distribute the balance of his estate to GreenUP to establish a scholarship in his family’s name.
Sample language: “All the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, of whatsoever kind and wheresoever situate, shall be distributed to GreenUP, a Canadian registered charity, in Peterborough, Ontario, to be used to establish the Zhao Family Scholarship Fund, income to be used annually to provide scholarship assistance for students with financial need.”