Planned Giving & Donation of Stocks

A gift left in your will or trust or by designating the Secular Student Alliance as a beneficiary shows your commitment to fulfilling the important mission of the Secular Student Alliance and supporting thousands of secular students across the country. Your dedication to secular students can be a part of your legacy.

The Secular Student Alliance can accept gifts of stocks to offset your annual earned income.

There are a number of ways you can help guarantee that the future of the Secular Student Alliance remains strong for years to come. Whether you choose to support the Secular Student Alliance through your will or living trust, a life insurance policy, or retirement plan, we are here to help.

Please contact us directly with any questions by sending an email to legacy@secularstudents.org

Ways to Give

There are a number of ways to ensure that your legacy gift to the Secular Student Alliance has the greatest impact while keeping you in complete control.

  • You can choose to make a bequest in your will;
  • You can designate the Secular Student Alliance as a beneficiary of your retirement accounts or other financial accounts;
  • Or, you can designate the Secular Student Alliance as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy.

No matter how you choose to support the Secular Student Alliance, your gift will leave a legacy of activism and passionate support for our shared values. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let us know by emailing legacy@secularstudents.org

Bequests

A bequest in your will is one of the most popular ways forms of planned giving. You are in control of your assets during your lifetime and you are free to change your beneficiaries or the distribution of your assets at any time.

Making a bequest through your will can be as simple as adding a few sentences. You can make a lasting impact on our work while still providing for your loved ones or other nonprofit organizations. Your support ensures the continued success and growth of the Secular Student Alliance no matter how modest your gift.

You can support the Secular Student Alliance through your will in these ways:

  • A general bequest leaving the Secular Student Alliance with a specific sum of money or percentage of your will or trust.
  • A residual bequest for a percentage of the “rest, residue, and remainder” of your estate once you have made all of your specific bequests and all debts and taxes have been paid.
  • A contingent bequest that leaves the Secular Student Alliance with a share of your estate only if a named beneficiary does not survive you.
  • A life income bequest whereby after your death, income is paid to another individual for his/her lifetime, and the Secular Student Alliance receives the remainder.

Specific bequest language is below:

General Bequest

Include an general bequest of an amount of money or specific property (stocks, bonds, etc.) to the Secular Student Alliance using the following clause: “I give, devise, and bequeath to the Secular Student Alliance, located at PO Box 411477, Los Angeles, CA 90041, the sum of $_____ (or describe the specific property you intend to bequeath) to be used for its general purposes.”

Include a percentage bequest in your estate using the following clause: “I give, devise, and bequeath to the Secular Student Alliance, located at PO Box 411477, Los Angeles, CA 90041 _____ percent of my estate, both real and personal property, of whatever kind and wheresoever situated to be used for its general purposes.”

Residual Bequest

Include a residual bequest for the remainder of your estate once you have made all of your specific bequests, using the following clause: “I give, devise, and bequeath to the Secular Student Alliance, located at PO Box 411477, Los Angeles, CA 90041 all (or _____ percent) of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, both real and personal property of whatever kind and wheresoever situated to be used for its general purposes.”

Contigent Bequest

Include a contingent bequest should one or more named beneficiaries not survive you, using the following clause: “If any one of the above-named beneficiaries should predecease me, I hereby bequeath his/her share of my estate to the Secular Student Alliance, located at PO Box 411477, Los Angeles, CA 90041 to be used for its general purposes.”

Life Income Bequest

Include a life income bequest whereby after your death, income is paid to another individual for his/her lifetime. After that individual’s lifetime, the Secular Student Alliance will receive the remainder. This type of bequest is often arranged to provide for elderly parents, family members, or friends in special circumstances. Because it can be adapted in a variety of ways to meet your specific needs and circumstances, an attorney should always be consulted when considering a life income bequest.

Note: Each person’s legal and financial situation will differ and the laws applicable to estates and trusts vary from state to state. Accordingly, please consult with an attorney with respect to any gifts you may wish to make in your will.

Retirement Plans

You may designate the Secular Student Alliance as the final beneficiary of a company pension or profit-sharing plan or of a private fund such as an IRA or tax-sheltered annuity.

If you are over the age of 59, you may find it advantageous to make an annual charitable gift to the Secular Student Alliance from your retirement plan to receive a tax-deduction and save yourself and your heirs costly income and estate taxes. This may be especially attractive if you are over the age of 70 and are required by law to begin withdrawing these retirement funds.

Because the Secular Student Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we are exempt from paying the taxes that would otherwise be owed by you or your other beneficiaries.

Simply designate to the Secular Student Alliance, Tax ID (EIN): 41-1967141, located at PO Box 411477, Los Angeles, CA 90041, as the beneficiary of your retirement plan, IRA account, or other financial account. 

Please contact us with any questions or to let us know that you have designated the Secular Student Alliance as a beneficiary of your retirement plan or financial account.  legacy@secularstudents.org

Life Insurance Plans

You may decide to include the Secular Student Alliance as a beneficiary of a life insurance plan you already have. To do this, you need to contact your insurance company and formally designate the Secular Student Alliance as a beneficiary of your policy.

You may have purchased a life insurance plan that is now fully paid that you no longer need. By transferring ownership and beneficiary status to the Secular Student Alliance you can receive an immediate income tax deduction and make a significant gift to the Secular Student Alliance.

You may wish to purchase a new insurance policy naming the Secular Student Alliance as a beneficiary or co-beneficiary. This may be a convenient way of making a special gift that is much larger than its cost to you. If ownership and beneficiary status are transferred to the Secular Student Alliance your annual insurance payments are tax-deductible.

Major & Matching Gifts

The Secular Student Alliance relies on the generosity of major donors to make some of our most important work happen. For example, anonymous donors have previously issued matching grant challenges that would match all contributions to support our mission and secular students across the country.

Matching gift challenges are a great way to ensure that the Secular Student Alliance has the resources for student leader scholarships, educational programming, endowed awards, and the future of the organization.

If you would like to discuss issuing a matching gift challenge, please contact Kevin Bolling:  kevin.bolling@secularstudents.org

Combined Federal Campaign

CFC logo

The Secular Student Alliance is a registered Combined Federal Campaign Approved Charity. During the annual Combined Federal Campaign, federal employees can donate to the Secular Student Alliance by writing the Secular Student Alliance on your pledge card and using our CFC number: 47452.

Please ensure that you indicate that the CFC can share your name, mailing address, and email address with your donation so that we can thank you for your gift and apply it toward membership (if you would like).

Pledges can be made by federal civilian, postal, and military donors during the annual campaign season, September 1 to December 15.