Leave a Legacy

A bequest is a percentage of your estate or a specified dollar amount that is gifted to Community Forests International through your will. In addition to having a profound impact on our work, it will also reduce your estate taxes. The amount you choose to give is completely up to you, and it will not come into effect until you have passed on.

Adding Community Forest International to your will is easy! Simply add a phrase about your intention using our legal name and charitable number: BN 841459423RR0001. You can name a specific dollar amount or a piece of property, such as a woodlot. Or, you can leave a residual gift to us—a percentage of what’s left of your estate after you your loved ones are taken care of.

Donating a Life Insurance Policy can take place by transferring the ownership of a paid policy, or by purchasing a new policy.  When you transfer ownership of an existing policy, you receive a tax credit for the cash surrender value.

A gift of life insurance is an affordable way to make a real difference. A small annual premium, paid over time, can result in a significant future legacy for our shared environment.

Ways to donate life insurance:

• Transfer ownership of a paid-up policy with Community Forests International named as the beneficiary. You will receive a charitable tax receipt for the value of the policy, or you can choose to defer the tax receipt to your estate.
• Transfer ownership of a partially paid-up policy with Community Forests International named as the beneficiary. You will receive a charitable tax receipt for the value of the policy and an annual tax receipt for your continued payments of your premium.
• Take out a new policy with Community Forests International named as the owner and beneficiary, and receive an annual charitable tax receipt for on-going premium payments.
• Assign Community Forests International as the beneficiary of your individual or workplace policy. Your estate will receive a charitable tax receipt.

Affordable annual premiums will convert to a large gift and large impact to support the work of Community Forests International over time. The insurance benefit is paid directly to Community Forests International and is separate from your estate, so there are no administrative costs or probate fees. Giving in this way does not affect your estate’s assets and you will receive a charitable tax receipt that can be used in your lifetime or as part of your estate.

If you leave Community Forests International land in your will, we will protect your forest into perpetuity. We accept partial and full donations of land and, as a registered charity, also offer charitable tax receipts.

The process of leaving land involves having an appraiser determine the fair market value of the property. If the property is ecologically sensitive, it’s likely eligible to be transferred through the Government of Canada’s Ecological Gifts program. The program eliminates your capital gains tax to the property, and tax credit for the land value can be applied to 100% of the annual taxable income as well as carried forward up to 10 years. The benefits you receive will depend on your personal financial situation, and we highly recommend discussing your options with a financial advisor.

As Community Forests International focuses our Canadian work in the Maritimes, we only ask for gifts of land in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. We typically work with landowners to sever any buildings or farmland from a forest property before purchase, and prefer mature forests of at least 50 acres.

Naming Community Forests International as a beneficiary of your registered RRSP or RRIF means that you will retain the ownership and use of the funds during your lifetime, your estate will receive a tax receipt for the value of the plan, and you will avoid probate fees. You can choose whether you would like to donate all or a percentage of your retirement funds to Community Forests International, while also having the option to include your family by naming more than one beneficiary.

A donation of a Charitable Remainder Trust involves transferring property (including bonds, mutual funds, cash or securities) into a trust in which you–the donor–benefit the interest while also making a gift of the residual interest to our organization when the trust ends. This enables us to continue your legacy into the future as we champion the causes you care about most, through your donation.