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Legacy Giving with the Evergreen Society

Join our Evergreen Society by supporting the Vallarta Botanical Gardens with planned giving. Legacy gifts allow you to align your charitable intentions with your estate planning goals while often providing valuable tax advantages.

The Vallarta Botanical Gardens accepts charitable donations in the USA a registered US 501(c)(3), Friends of Vallarta Botanical Gardens A.C., and in Canada via a partnership with a registered T3010 charity.

Types of Gifts

Bequests

A bequest is the most common form of Legacy Gift and involves simply remembering the Vallarta Botanical Gardens in your will or trust. Bequests are easy to arrange and can be changed at any time should your circumstances change. You may choose to leave a specific amount of money, a piece of real estate, a percentage of your overall estate, or what remains after other gifts have been distributed.

If you are planning to leave a bequest to the Garden as part of your estate, or have already done so, please contact giving@vbgardens.org so we can thank you for your generosity and include it in our own long-term planning. 

Donor Advised Funds (DAFs)

A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a charitable investment account created to support the causes and organizations you care about most.

When you contribute cash, securities, or other assets to a DAF managed by a public charity, for example Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable or Vanguard Charitable, you likely qualify for an immediate tax deduction. The funds in your account can then grow tax-free, and you can recommend grants to any eligible public charity recognized by the IRS, which includes the Vallarta Botanical Gardens!

Note: the Gardens do not ourselves sponsor a DAF, but we will happily accept gifts from them

IRAs and Retirement Assets

If you are like most people, you probably will not use all of your retirement assets during your lifetime. You can make a gift of your unused retirement assets to help further our mission.

By making a gift from your retirement funds, you maintain full control and use of those assets during your lifetime, while helping your heirs avoid taxes on their transfer. Because retirement accounts are often the most heavily taxed assets in an estate, they can be an excellent choice for a planned gift. Without such planning, assets in qualified retirement plans—such as IRAs, 401(k)s, and Keogh accounts—may be subject to combined income and estate taxes exceeding 70%.

If you are 70½ or older, you can make a tax-free donation directly to the Vallarta Botanical Garden from your IRA, which also counts toward your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). 

 Life Insurance Policies

A charitable donation from your life insurance policy can support the Gardens in our mission, both while you’re living and after you’ve passed away. You can donate the entirety of your policy, name the Gardens as a beneficiary while retaining ownership of the policy, or use any policy dividends as regular gifts. You may also choose to transfer ownership of the policy to the Garden, making it both the owner and beneficiary—an arrangement that can qualify as a tax-deductible charitable gift.

Another option is to purchase a new life insurance policy, naming the Gardens as both owner and beneficiary, while making annual contributions to cover the premiums. These payments are generally eligible for an income tax deduction.

Appreciated Securities
(Stocks & Bonds)

Through the donation of long-term appreciated securities—such as stocks, bonds, or mutual funds— the Vallarta Botanical Gardens receive the full value from their sale, while you may avoid capital gains taxes on the appreciated amount. By giving securities instead of cash, or selling them yourself and donating the after-tax proceeds, you may be able to increase both the value of your gift and your potential tax deduction – a win-win for you and the Gardens!

Next Steps

We are deeply grateful you are considering joining the Evergreen Society with a legacy gift in support of the Vallarta Botanical Gardens. Please let us know your plans by filling in the short form below, and our Head of Development, Chris Jacobs, will be in touch.

 Alternatively, send us an email at giving@vbgardens.org or call +52 322 223 6182.

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Please note that the Vallarta Botanical Garden does not provide tax, legal, or financial advice of any sort, including regarding planned giving and estates. We strongly encourage you to seek counsel from your own legal and financial advisers.

The Evergreen Society

Your love for nature can flourish long into the future. By joining the Evergreen Society, you ensure that the Vallarta Botanical Garden continues to conserve and celebrate the unique plant biodiversity of western Mexico, inspiring future generations, and nurturing a living sanctuary for all who visit.

A legacy or planned gift—of any size—helps safeguard this place of beauty and learning, so that the orchids, birds, and forests you cherish today will thrive for generations to come.

Evergreen Society Members
  • George and Mary Ellen
  • Holstein
  • Ralph Osborne
  • Betty Price
  • George and Mary Ellen
  • Holstein
  • Ralph Osborne
  • Betty Price
  • George and Mary Ellen
  • Holstein
  • Ralph Osborne
  • Betty Price