Bequest Language

Bequests are gifts through a will or living trust and include transfers of cash, securities, or other property. They are made by including language in your will or living trust that leaves a portion of your estate—either specific or residual—to EDF.

Bequests are a simple and flexible way to leave an environmental legacy for future generations and are the most common way to give a future gift to EDF.

A Specific Bequest names a fixed dollar amount in your will or living trust as a gift to EDF. This gift is paid from the general pool of assets in your estate or trust, so your estate doesn't necessarily need to have cash or securities to cover the gift amount (as long as the value of all of your assets is sufficient).

A Percentage Bequest distributes a percentage of the value of your estate assets. Because the value of personal assets can rise and fall, it is often simplest to express these bequests as a percentage of your estate. This ensures that if your estate changes, your gifts will remain proportional to each other.

A Residual Bequest distributes all or a portion of the remaining balance of your estate after all other bequests are paid.

When your lawyer draws up your will or trust, we suggest using the following language:

I give to Environmental Defense Fund, Incorporated, a nonprofit membership organization incorporated by the laws of the State of New York, having as its principal address 257 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010, [the sum of $____ or ____% of my estate or residuary estate] to be used for its general purposes.

If you wish for your gift to be used for a specific purpose, we can work with you and/or your attorney to help draft appropriate language.

Our tax ID number is 11-6107128.

For more information please call us toll-free at 1-877-677-7397, email us at legacy@edf.org, or visit edf.org/legacy.

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