Planned Giving Legacy Society

What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? Our Legacy Society was established to thank our generous supporters who include Peace Ridge Sanctuary in their estate planning. By making a bequest to Peace Ridge Sanctuary, you’ll be leaving behind a legacy of compassion for all animals.

Considering a Bequest to Peace Ridge Sanctuary

There are many different ways you can include PRS in your estate planning, here are some samples of planned giving that will help sustain our lifesaving work and ensure your visionary, compassionate legacy:

  • Monetary Gifts – a fixed dollar amount, percentage of your total estate, residuals after other bequests are distributed, or another designation that suits your personal giving preferences
  • Real Estate Gifts – residences, farms, unimproved land, and other real estate holdings
  • Personal Property Gifts – automobiles, antiques/collectibles, artwork or household items to be sold in our sanctuary benefit store or auctioned/sold to benefit our work
  • Designating PRS a Beneficiary – gift PRS life insurance policies, individual retirement accounts, pension plans, 401(k) plans, bank or brokerage accounts (savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts), or name PRS a direct beneficiary of other funds
  • Loving Legacy Program – we have designed this program as a special way to help provide security for your own companion animals by setting up a legal trust or other agreement in exchange for our care of your animals – note, arrangements must be approved in advance.

Having a prepared will is important to do today because it ensures that whatever assets remain when you pass away are distributed according to your wishes. A will is a legal document and you will need to consult with a lawyer in drafting and/or modifying your will. Every state has specific policies and procedures for wills and the distribution of estates that must be followed or your will could be deemed invalid. Without a will, or if your will is invalid, your property and life savings will be distributed according to the laws of your state and without regard to your desires – so planning today is the best way to make sure that your wishes are honored after your passing.

If you have any questions about planned giving, please call 207-722-3035 or email melissa@peaceridgesanctuary.org

Sample Text for Legal Designation

Your attorney may wish to use the following language when making a bequest to Peace Ridge Sanctuary:

“I give, devise, and bequeath to Peace Ridge Sanctuary, federal tax identification number 51-0476924, 1111 Littlefield Road, Brooks, ME 04921 the sum of: $_______________________ (or describe the real or personal property, portion of the estate, etc.) to be used for its general purposes.”

Note: you may also describe a specific way you would like your bequest used, toward our endowment, etc., but by designating general purposes allow us to use fund in whatever way leadership deems best for the short-term and long-term success of the organization.

Monetary Gifts

As part of your estate planning, donating a fixed dollar amount, percentage of your total estate, residuals after other bequests are distributed, or another designation that suits your personal giving preferences is a powerful way to help support PRS’s mission. Your generous gift will support our programs – rescuing animals from cruelty/neglect situations, providing life-long care, and supporting our education and outreach efforts or for whatever earmarked purpose you designate.

Real Estate Gifts

Real estate gifts are a powerful way to help support our lifesaving work and can be given before or after your passing. These gifts can include personal residences, investment properties, farmland or farmsteads, or undeveloped land.

Perhaps you have an estate farm that would be a perfect location to open a satellite location for PRS, we would love to talk to you more about the possibilities for leveraging your landholding to benefit animals!

Should your property not be something PRS could feasibly occupy, we would still be able to leverage your real estate gift to benefit animals, either through rental income or the sale of your property – in either situation, 100% of the proceeds would go into our endowment fund or general operating fund (depending on our greatest need at the moment) unless you specifically designate an earmarked purpose for your gift.

Personal Property Gifts

Perhaps you have valuable physical items that you would like to gift, now or in your passing, that can be leveraged to help with our lifesaving work at PRS. Some examples of personal property gifts include automobiles, antiques/collectibles, or artwork. We also accept donated goods to sell in our benefit store, The Farmhouse, located in Penobscot, Maine.

Designating PRS a Beneficiary

If supporting Peace Ridge Sanctuary’s lifesaving work after you pass is an important goal to you, consider designating PRS as a beneficiary for a life insurance policy, individual retirement account, pension plan, 401(k) plan, bank or brokerage account (savings account, certificates of deposit, money market account) or other policy.

Donating a life insurance policy can allow you to make a larger gift than you might otherwise be able to leave, while generating tax benefits today. By doing so, you are entitled to an immediate charitable deduction for income tax purposes as well as deductions for future premiums you pay. Your financial advisor can advise you further on this powerful strategy for leveraging a life insurance policy for charitable purposes.