Did you know you can support the Community Foundation of Washington County MD's mission by leaving us a bequest in your will, living trust or with a codicil? Making a gift by bequest allows you to continue using the property you will leave to charity during your lifetime. You can also leave a lasting legacy by creating a named endowment to support your charitable goals.

Types of Bequests

We have many ways you can make a bequest to the Community Foundation of Washington County MD.

Specific Bequest. A specific bequest involves making a gift of a specific asset such as real estate, a car, other property or a gift for a specific dollar amount. For example, you may wish to leave your home or $10,000 to Community Foundation of Washington County MD.

Percentage Bequest. Another kind of specific bequest involves leaving a specific percentage of your overall estate to charity. For example, you may wish to leave 10% of your estate to Community Foundation of Washington County MD.

Residual Bequest. You can make a residual bequest from the balance of an estate after the will or trust has given away each of the specific bequests. A common residual bequest involves leaving a percentage of the residue of the estate to charity. For example, you may wish to leave 30% of the residue of your estate to Community Foundation of Washington County MD.

Contingent Bequest. You can make a contingent bequest to charity only if the purpose of the primary bequest cannot be met. For example, you could leave specific property, such as a vacation home, to a relative, but the bequest language could provide that if the relative has passed away at the time of your death, the vacation home will go to Community Foundation of Washington County MD.

Bequest Benefits

A bequest is generally a revocable gift, which means it can change at any time. You can choose to designate a bequest for a general or specific purpose so you have peace of mind knowing your gift will be used for its intended purpose. Bequests are exempt from federal estate taxes. If you have a taxable estate, the estate tax charitable deduction may offset or eliminate estate taxes, resulting in a larger inheritance for your heirs.

Bequest Language

In order to make a bequest, you should first speak with your attorney. You can make a bequest for a specific purpose or to support the Foundation's unrestricted grants program. We want to work with you and your attorney to help you identify ways to give and meet your charitable objectives and craft the right language that will accomplish your goals.

If you make a restricted bequest, we recommend your attorney include the following provision to give Community Foundation of Washington County MD flexibility should it no longer be possible for our Foundation to use your gift as you originally intended:

If, in the judgment of the Board of Directors of Community Foundation of Washington County MD, it shall become impossible for Community Foundation of Washington County MD to use this bequest to accomplish the specific purposes of this bequest, Community Foundation of Washington County MD may use the income and principal of this gift for such purpose or purposes as the Board determines most closely relates to the restricted purpose of my bequest.

The following is some basic bequest language to assist you and your attorney:

1. Specific Bequest

If you want to make an outright bequest to Community Foundation of Washington County MD, we recommend the following language:

2. Percentage Bequest

If you would like to make a bequest of a percentage of your estate to Community Foundation of Washington County MD, we recommend the following language:

I hereby give, devise and bequeath ____ percent (___%) of my total estate, determined as of the date of my death, to Community Foundation of Washington County MD, a nonprofit organization located at 37 S. Potomac Street, Hagerstown, MD 21740, Federal Tax ID #______________________, for Community Foundation of Washington County MD's purpose of ___________________________________________________________________________.

3. Residual Bequest

I hereby give, devise and bequeath to Community Foundation of Washington County MD, a nonprofit organization located at 37 S. Potomac Street, Hagerstown, MD 21740, Federal Tax ID # _________, ALL OR A PERCENTAGE of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate to Community Foundation of Washington County MD for the purpose of _____________________________________________________________________________.

4. Contingent Bequest

If (primary beneficiary) does not survive me, then I hereby give, devise and bequeath to Community Foundation of Washington County MD, a nonprofit organization located at 37 S. Potomac Street, Hagerstown, MD 21740, Federal Tax ID # _________, DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY to Community Foundation of Washington County MD for the purpose of _____________________________________________________________________________.

Contact Us

Please contact us if you have any questions about how to make a bequest to Community Foundation of Washington County MD or to request any additional information that might benefit you and your attorney as you consider making a bequest to us.

If you include a bequest for Community Foundation of Washington County MD in your estate plan, please contact us to let us know. We would like to thank you and recognize you for your gift.