Planned Giving
Make a Lasting Impact on the Community You Love
Perhaps you choose to live in the Dudley area or spend time here because the sense of place inspires you? Maybe you feel connected to the land through family memories, a hiking trail, or a view of farmlands and forests from a special vantage point.
You can make a lasting impact on the land you love by making a legacy gift to the Dudley Conservation Land Trust. By supporting our work through a bequest or other gift, you’re helping to ensure the special places that inspire you are here for future generations to enjoy.
Conserve Your Land
While Planned Gifts can take many forms, they are a result of a passion for the conservation work of the land trust and an intention to leave a legacy at the end of your life. Planned gifts can be as simple as including DCLT in your will or trust, or naming DCLT as a beneficiary of a retirement account, donor advised fund or life insurance policy.
Conservation supporters who have made planned gifts have had an extraordinary impact on our work. Thanks to two legacy gifts recently secured by DCLT, we were able to become a more financially secure land trust, better equipped to steward its existing land and undertake strategic land acquisitions. Planned gifts make a vital contribution to our endowment, which helps ensure our long-term success and stability.
Types of Gifts
Here are some of the common planned gifts. We encourage you to consult with your own qualified advisors to determine how these options—and others—might affect your personal tax and estate planning objectives. We are happy to discuss these with your advisors at your request, but we cannot provide tax or legal advice to you.
When you decide to leave assets in your will to support the work of the Dudley Conservation Land Trust, you are making a bequest. You may decide to leave a specific amount or percentage of the estate to DCLT. Sample language can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions of this article. All bequests to DCLT can reduce federal estate taxes, and there is no limitation on the size of the gift.
A revocable trust is a simple way to leave a legacy while keeping full control of your assets during your lifetime. You simply name DCLT as a beneficiary in your trust document to receive a specific amount or percentage of your estate after you pass away. Because the trust is revocable, you can change or cancel the gift at any time if your circumstances change. This method is often preferred over a traditional will because it bypasses probate, allowing the charity to receive your support faster and with more privacy.
Naming DCLT as a beneficiary of your retirement plan is one of the most tax-efficient ways to give. Like a will or trust, you can designate a dollar amount or percentage to go to one or more charities or individuals. Unlike individual heirs, a nonprofit receives the funds tax-free, ensuring the full value of your IRA or 401(k) goes toward the cause rather than being reduced by income taxes. You maintain total control during your lifetime and can change the beneficiaries at any time by simply updating a form with your plan administrator. Because these assets bypass probate, the gift reaches DCLT quickly and privately after your passing.
A Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) is a tax-smart way for donors aged 70½ or older to give while they are still alive. It allows you to transfer up to $111,000 annually (in 2026) directly from a traditional IRA to a qualified charity, like DCLT. Because the funds go straight to DCLT, they are excluded from your taxable income, providing a tax benefit even if you do not itemize deductions. If you are aged 73 or older, a QCD can also satisfy your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) without increasing your adjusted gross income.
A Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) acts like a charitable savings account that simplifies your legacy giving. By naming your DAF as a beneficiary in your will or trust, you can consolidate your estate’s charitable gifts into one place, which then distributes the money to various nonprofits, like DCLT, over time. This offers great flexibility, as you can update which charities receive the funds through the DAF sponsor without having to rewrite your estate plan. It is also an excellent tool for family legacy, allowing your heirs to stay involved by recommending grants from the fund in your memory.
You may make the Dudley Conservation Land Trust the owner or the beneficiary of your life insurance policies. A number of options are available that can result in immediate income tax deductions or future estate plan deductions.
A gift of real estate that has appreciated in value can be an attractive option when considering a major charitable contribution. You incur no capital gains tax on appreciated real estate given for charitable purposes, and you benefit from a charitable deduction on your income taxes. You can also donate a remainder interest in your home to the Dudley Conservation Land Trust, retaining the right to live in it for the rest of your life. This provides you with a current charitable deduction on your income taxes, and the property will pass automatically to the Dudley Conservation Land Trust at your death.
Join Legacy Leaders Today!
Legacy Leaders are a group of special people who have made a lifelong commitment to the DCLT by including it in their estate plans. They understand the importance of land conservation and want to do something that will make a real difference in our community. As a member of this group, you will have made an important decision to include the DCLT in your plans. Your commitment will have lasting rewards for generations to come.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bequests are an important source of funds that support all aspects of the land trust mission. For many donors, a bequest is the most realistic way of making a significant gift to the land trust and provides the donor with the satisfaction of making an enduring investment for future generations.
Completely exempt from federal estate tax, bequests reduce your estate’s federal tax liability. In a large estate, the savings can be more than half the value of the bequest. Your heirs, accordingly, may benefit from the tax savings, while the land trust benefits from the full amount of the bequest. DCLT does not provide tax or legal advice. We encourage you to speak with your financial and/or legal advisors.
There is no minimum amount. A bequest may be any amount that you designate.
You may assign your gift to a particular program within the land trust, however an unrestricted gift provides us with the flexibility to use the gift where it is most needed. Please reach out to DCLT if you have a specific area of interest before you name it in your will or trust. We want to make sure we can accommodate your wishes and create the final legacy you envisioned.
A bequest should be designated to Dudley Conservation Land Trust. You may leave bequests in specific dollar amounts, in percentages of your estate or in named assets. A residuary bequest directs that the land trust receives either everything remaining in your estate or a designated percentage of your estate after all expenses and bequests are satisfied.
The following sample language can be used in your Will:
I give, devise and bequeath to the Dudley Conservation Land Trust, in Dudley Massachusetts, the sum of $__________ or _________% of my residuary estate for its general purposes without restriction.
The information is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute legal and/or tax advice. Please consult your own legal or financial advisors to determine how this information may apply to your personal situation.
The charitable giving information provided on this site should not be construed as financial, tax, or legal advice. Before making your charitable gift, please consult as needed with your financial, legal, and other advisors.