How you can help

The Annual Fund

The Legacy Society

Corporate Sponsorship

Monthly/Quarterly Giving

Ways of Giving

Online or By Mail

Corporate Matching

Donor Advised Funds

IRA Tax-Free Distributions

Gifts of Stock

Memorials & Tributes

Other Ways of Giving

How You Can Help

Your gifts to Forever Maryland’s Annual Fund provide vitally needed resources to support the programs and services offered across the state throughout the year. With your support, we are able to sustain our focus on advocacy, education, and outreach.

Your commitment to support Forever Maryland by a bequest or other gift in your financial or estate plans helps ensure the vitality of Forever Maryland for years to come.  Such gifts are greatly appreciated.  You would be recognized – this year – as a Charter Member of the Forever Maryland Legacy Society.

Forever Maryland is reaching the state’s urban, suburban and rural areas through its communications, website, conference, webinars, and other programs.  More and more people are turning to Forever Maryland as the source for conservation-related news and information.  For this reason, corporate sponsorships are becoming more and more popular among corporations looking to make a difference.

For many donors, the opportunity to make recurring gifts on a monthly or quarterly basis – at whatever amount is appropriate for the donor – is an attractive and efficient way to support Forever Maryland.  These regularly scheduled payments can be easily set up on the online giving form.

Ways of Giving

There are a variety of ways available to you as you consider a gift in support of Forever Maryland.  As a §501(c)(3) public charity, all charitable contributions to Forever Maryland offer you tax-related advantages. 

The most direct and convenient way to make a gift is by credit card online.  Click here to make your gift today.  Online giving to Forever Maryland is fast and secure, and can be done using Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express. You may also mail a check, payable to Forever Maryland Foundation, to:

Forever Maryland
2331 Rock Spring Road
Forest Hill, Maryland 21050

Many workplaces have programs to match their employees’ charitable contributions. Some matching gifts programs include gifts by retirees.  If you or your spouse work for a matching gift company, please request a matching gift form (from your Human Resources office) and enclose it with your gift.  It’s a great way to double the value of your gift to Forever Maryland.

Gifts from your Donor Advised Fund offer an easy way to support Forever Maryland. You simply need to share our Federal ID Number and contact information (Wendy Stringfellow, President - 2331 Rock Spring Road - Forest Hill, MD 21050 – 443-640-1034) with the administrator of your Donor Advised Fund when you recommend a grant to Forever Maryland.

For donors who are 70 ½ and older, the U.S. IRS allows you to make a distribution directly from your IRA to Forever Maryland for up to $100,000 per year.  For married couples, the limit is $200,000 per year.  Many donors do this each year as a way to satisfy the IRA’s Required Minimum Distribution rules.

Gifts of stocks, bonds and mutual fund accounts may provide considerable tax advantages when used to fund a charitable contribution to Forever Maryland.  Gifts of appreciated – and depreciated – assets offer tax-related advantages.  For details on how to arrange for a gift of stock or other type of investment account, please click here.

Gifts to Forever Maryland offer a special way to honor or remember family member and friends for whom support of land conservation reflects an important cause in their lives.  You can indicate a desire to commemorate a special occasion (such as a memorial, a birthday, a wedding) by using the online form (Click here) or by including the appropriate information with a contribution mailed to:

Forever Maryland
2331 Rock Spring Road
Forest Hill, MD 21050

There are a variety of other ways to support the mission and work of Forever Maryland.   Through creative gift planning, you can make a gift that offers both significant tax advantages and opportunities to create new income streams for life. These gift ideas offer a chance to make immediate gifts or long-term commitments that align with your financial and estate plans.   

You may have a life insurance policy that you purchased earlier in your life to protect your family and may no longer need.  There are several ways to use a life insurance policy to support Forever Maryland.  The ultimate insurance proceeds can fund a special commitment to land conservation in Maryland.  You may:

• Designate Forever Maryland as the beneficiary (or partial beneficiary) of a life insurance policy. This offers no income tax benefit but it does offer estate tax advantages.   

• Donate a paid-up life insurance policy by naming Forever Maryland as the owner and beneficiary.  This offers optimal tax advantages based on the policy’s cash value.   

• Give a policy that still requires premium payments.  In this case, the premium payments can be converted to annual – tax deductible – gifts to Forever Maryland.  

A simple provision in your Will or Trust in which you provide for a special gift from your estate to support Forever Maryland.

Sample Bequest Language
The suggested language for a bequest to Forever Maryland: 

“I <Name> of <City, State, Zip> give to Forever Maryland <a specific amount or a specific percentage of the estate or a description of the specific property to be given>, to be used for <the unrestricted use of Forever Maryland to advance its mission or for the specific restricted purpose described here (please include a description of your specific purpose)>.

A Charitable Gift Annuity is a simple arrangement in which you would transfers cash (or other assets) to Forever Maryland in exchange for a commitment by Forever Maryland to pay you (or other beneficiaries) a guaranteed amount each year for a specified term or for life.  Then, at the death of the beneficiary, Forever Maryland will put the principal to work to advance its mission in accordance with the terms of the gift.

Charitable Trusts are relatively simple ways to either benefit you now and Forever Maryland later or benefit Forever Maryland now and you (or your family) later.  You may:

• Transfer cash or other assets (such as, appreciated stock) to be held in a charitable trust that would provide payments to you (or other beneficiaries), at least quarterly, amounting to five percent (or more) of the principal in the trust.  Then, at the death of the beneficiary, the remaining balance would transfer to Forever Maryland to fulfill your intended purpose.

• Create a charitable trust that makes payments to Forever Maryland for a set number of years (or for your life) – according to your wishes – and then, after this period of payments concludes, the remaining balance would be distributed either back to you or to beneficiaries you name in the trust document.

If you have a question or would like more information about ways to give to Forever Maryland, please call Wendy Stringfellow at 443.640.1034 (ext. 1140) or e-mail wendy@forevermaryland.org.  Thank you for your support of Forever Maryland.