Join the PRAIRIE RIVERS NETWORK LEGACY SOCIETY by giving to our Endowment today or setting up your planned giving and leave a legacy of clean water and healthy rivers.
Illinois has an abundance of fresh water. 120,000 miles of rivers and streams provide us with drinking water, protect us from floods, give home to countless wild species, and provide flowing waters for recreation and navigation. The benefits of rivers are truly innumerable. Rivers are the lifeblood of Illinois, and we must protect them.
You can help ensure that Prairie Rivers Network has the continued resources to protect water, heal our land, and inspire change across Illinois with a gift to our Endowment and/or a planned giving gift to Prairie Rivers Network.
Prairie Rivers Network Endowment
The Prairie Rivers Network Endowment is a permanent investment fund to enhance and sustain the work of Prairie Rivers Network
Prairie Rivers Network Endowment Funds
Our Endowment funds offer you an opportunity to safeguard our rivers and streams for generations to come:
Eric T. Freyfogle Endowment for the Environment
PRN’s principal endowment fund with gift and assets to be held permanently; earnings are used to support operations. This Endowment fund was established with a gift from William Van Hagey to honor the lifetime work of Eric Freyfogle for his teaching and scholarly work focusing broadly on humans and nature with particular emphasis on private property rights in land and natural resources and on environmental thought.
Board-Designated Fund
Quasi-endowment to support long-term operations; board reserves power to draw upon the fund principal under narrow circumstances.
Named Endowment Funds
Permanent or quasi-endowment fund created in honor or memory of a person; donor may set guidelines governing uses of funds. Current named endowment funds include:
- The Charles Goodall Memorial Fund – This Endowment fund was established by Carol Goodall Wock with her donation of 220 acres of organic farmland, in honor of her brother, Charles William Goodall, who was deeply committed to organic farming. This fund also honors her grandfathers, several generations of farming ancestors, and all farmers since the dawn of agriculture 12,000 years ago who farmed organically until after WWII.
- The Charles Goodall Fund – This quasi-endowment fund established by the Board of Directors and Goodall family members to honor the commitment and contribution Charles Goodall had to the governing of Prairie Rivers Network.
- The Clark Bullard Advocacy Fund – This quasi-endowment fund was established by the Board of Directors to lift up the extraordinary, still continuing conservation work of PRN Board member Clark Bullard over the past half century. It similarly emphasizes the vital importance to the conservation movement of citizen-led efforts to push for policy and legal reform at all public levels.
Read more about the Prairie Rivers Network Endowment in our Board resolution creating the PRN Endowment.
Planned Giving
Planned giving is way for you to make a large, meaningful gift to Prairie Rivers Network that will make an impact for decades to come:
- Bequests can be a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or a percentage of the residual (what is left over after specific bequests are made).
- Bequests may be in cash, securities, real or personal property, life insurance proceeds.
- You can name a charitable organization as a contingent beneficiary. A contingent beneficiary provides for unforeseen events when the original beneficiary is unable to accept the gift.
- Gifts by will or living trust are simple and revocable. You may change your estate plans as your circumstances change.
- A charitable gift by will or living trust can often provide significant estate tax savings.
- Contributions from an IRA or other retirement account may also provide particularly significant tax savings.
- Charitable gift annuities can provide a lifetime income stream to the donor, while also offering an immediate tax deduction.
A bequest is easy to arrange and does not alter the resources you need for your current lifestyle. A bequest can be easily modified if your plans change.
Below is sample language you can use to designate a planned gift for Prairie Rivers Network. An attorney or tax advisor can help you make sure your plan is based on your specific circumstances.
Residual Gift Language
A residual bequest comes to us after your estate expenses and specific bequests are paid:
I give and devise to Prairie Rivers Network (Tax ID 37-6085905), located in Champaign, IL, all (or state a percentage) of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, both real and personal, to be used for its general support.
Specific Gift Language
Naming Prairie Rivers Network as a beneficiary of a specific amount from your estate is easy:
I give and devise to Prairie Rivers Network (Tax ID 37-6085905), located in Champaign, IL, the sum of $___________ (or asset) to be used for its general support.
Contingent Gift Language
Prairie Rivers Network can be named as a contingent beneficiary in your will or personal trust if one or more of your specific bequests cannot be fulfilled:
If (insert name) is not living at the time of my demise, I give and devise to Prairie Rivers Network (Tax ID 37-6085905), located in Champaign, IL, the sum of $ _______ (or all or a percentage of the residue of my estate) to be used for its general support.
Retirement Plan Distributions — IRA, 401(k), 403(b)
One of the best ways to support organizations such as Prairie Rivers Network is to make gifts to it directly out of a retirement account, either while the donor is alive or upon death. The tax consequences vary considerably based on the type of the retirement account, so it is wise to know the rules to avoid unnecessary taxes, either for the donor or the donor’s beneficiaries.
In general, donors are best served by donating assets to a charity from a taxable retirement account such as a regular (non-Roth) IRA. Distributions from such accounts are taxable to the recipient—including a beneficiary—unless the distribution goes directly to a charity. IRA holders who are at least 70 ½ years old are required to take minimum annual distributions; when these go directly to a charity, the distribution is not taxable income and no charitable deduction is needed. Such gifts are therefore not subject to limits on charitable deductions. Taxes are avoided even if a person takes the standard deduction and does not itemize on annual tax returns, and some donors end up in lower tax brackets.
Rules for 401(k) and 403(b) accounts are a bit different. Holders may need to convert them to a regular IRA in order to take advantage of this tax benefit. Your plan administrator can likely explain the needed steps.
A cash gift to Prairie Rivers Network can be sent directly to its office. Here is the information needed for other gifts (for instance, of stocks or mutual funds):
Prairie Rivers Network
1605 South State Street, Suite 1
Champaign, IL 61820
Federal tax ID number: 37-6085905
PRN E*Trade brokerage account for transferring stocks:
https://us.etrade.com/home
PRN account number at E*Trade is 227298539
DTC # for E*Trade is 0015
You may also name Prairie Rivers Network as a beneficiary of a retirement account upon death. The assets in the account then go directly to Prairie Rivers Network without any delays for probating a will. Again, tax benefits are often maximized when assets are donated from a taxable account such as a regular IRA, rather than using other assets that the donor holds. With Prairie Rivers Network named as a beneficiary of retirement account, the donor still maintains complete control over the account while live, including the power to change beneficiaries at any time.
Making a charitable gift from your retirement plan is easy and should not cost you any attorney fees. Simply request a change-of-beneficiary form from your plan administrator. When you have finished, please return the form to your plan administrator and notify Prairie Rivers Network.
Please Contact us about Your Legacy Gift
We would be happy to talk with you to discuss your legacy interests, goals, and gift.
When you make a planned gift, you’ll be welcomed into Prairie Rivers Network’s Legacy Society. Even if you wish to remain anonymous, please let us know about your planned gift to help us plan for the future.
Please contact our Executive Director, Maggie Bruns, at (217) 344-2371 x202 or at mbruns [at] prairierivers.org.
