Legacy Giving

Leave a Lasting Gift  

Pass on your passion for a clean energy future through a bequest of money, securities, or personal property. Legacy gifts ensure the NW Energy Coalition’s future by building the NWEC Endowment. The principal of this fund is held in perpetuity. Some of the interest generated each year by the fund helps support our work and keeps us out front as one of the Northwest’s most influential public-interest voices on energy policy. 

Legacy Gifts Can Be Complex 

Speaking with reputable financial or legal advisors is essential to help you decide which gift is best for you and your family. Please contact NW Energy Coalition for a confidential discussion of your legacy giving options. 

Let Us Know 

If you complete your estate plan and include NWEC, please let us know. While we are honored to acknowledge your contribution, we also respect any desire you may have for anonymity. 

Legacy Gift Contact Information 

Beth Brooks, Development Director 

206.621.0094 ext. 109 

beth@nwenergy.org 

Ways to Leave a Lasting Gift: 

  • Gifts Through Your Will  
  • Retirement Plan Assets: IRA’s and more 

Gifts Through Your Will 

Bequests are as simple as including the following language in your will: 

Unconditional bequest 

“I hereby bequeath to NW Energy Coalition, a nonprofit charitable organization with headquarters at 811 First Avenue, Suite 305, Seattle, WA, the sum of $_____ to be used for the NW Energy Coalition Endowment.” 

Conditional bequest 

“I hereby bequeath to NW Energy Coalition, a nonprofit charitable organization with headquarters at 811 First Avenue, Suite 305, Seattle, WA, the sum of $____ to be used for the specific purpose of _______; however, if in any event the specific purpose should no longer be necessary or appropriate, I give the Board of Directors the authority to use the sum of money however it deems best.” 

Other Gift Options 

Through guided estate planning, you and your financial advisors can create a life-income gift that provides estate tax benefits to you and your family, while supporting the future of clean, equitable, and affordable energy in the Northwest. 

For information on planned giving options that include income for life, please contact us about Charitable Remainder Trusts and Charitable Gift Annuities. 

Residue bequest 

“I hereby bequeath to the NW Energy Coalition, a nonprofit charitable organization with headquarters at 811 First Avenue, Suite 305, Seattle, WA, after specific bequests have been fulfilled, all of the rest and remainder portions of my estate and property, real and personal, to be placed in the NW Energy Coalition Endowment.” 

Securities and Personal Property 

To bequeath securities and personal property, simply substitute in place of “the sum of $____” in your will, both 1) the name of the securities or of the personal property, and 2) the number of shares or other descriptors (such as real estate address, artist’s name, serial numbers and so on). Appreciated securities bring even greater benefit by dramatically reducing the capital gains taxes to you and your estate.

Retirement Plan Assets: IRA’s and more 

You can choose to give to the NW Energy Coalition’s Endowment Fund (or any charitable 501c(3) organization) from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) during your lifetime, after you turn 70 ½. You can also choose to make the NW Energy Coalition’s Endowment Fund a beneficiary of your IRA or other retirement account in your will; or designate us as a beneficiary with the financial institution where you hold the account. 

Making Charitable Gifts from your IRA:   

If you have a traditional (non-Roth) IRA, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires that you start making annual distributions from that account starting when you are 70 ½ years old (according to the new Secure 2.0 Act, that was passed in 2022). Unfortunately, these distributions (called Required Minimum Distributions) are taxed as income at your current tax rate when you take them. However, if you make part or all of this distribution to NW Energy Coalition’s Endowment Fund (or another charitable organization), the portion that goes to charity is tax-free! Distributions from your IRA going to charity are called Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD’s), and you can donate up to $100,000 (for an individual with an IRA account) or up to $200,000 (for a couple, if each is distributing from their own IRA) each year.

 

Talk to your advisor to make sure this approach is right for you. Once you are ready, contact your IRA institution for their Qualified Charitable Distribution form.  

You may need this information when filling out the QCD form: 

  • Organization: NW Energy Coalition Endowment Fund 
  • Federal Tax ID: 91-1144122 
  • Contact: Beth Brooks, Development Director 
  • Direct Phone: 206.621-0094 ext. 109 
  • Direct email: beth@nwenergy.org  
  • Address: 811 First Avenue, Suite 305, Seattle, WA 98104