Bequests & Planned Giving

Planned giving explained

What are planned gifts?
Wills, trusts and estate plans are all ways that you can leave a planned gift and help preserve the future of the zoo.

How do planned gifts help the zoo?
All gifts are a show of support and ensure the continual development of your zoo as an institution helping to create a sustainable future for wildlife. Your planned gift can help build our endowment to ensure a stable financial future for your zoo.

How I benefit by making a planned gift?
Donors who make any gift to Woodland Park Zoo receive the satisfaction of knowing they have contributed to enhancing the continual development of the zoo and supporting wildlife conservation and environmental education. In most cases, planned giving donors receive one or more of these benefits:

• Reduced estate, gift and/or current income taxes
• Reduce or eliminate taxes on capital gains at the time of the gift
• Secure income stream for the rest of your life
• Provide additional income for heirs

 

You also become a member of the LionHearts Club, an honorary membership group of donors who have named Woodland Park Zoo in their will or estate plans. We understand that you may want to keep estate plans private, but we would appreciate having the opportunity to acknowledge and recognize your generosity. We encourage you to share you planned giving intentions with us.

What are the different types of planned gifts?
There are many different methods of giving available. Please contact us for more information.

 

Planned Giving Contact Information

The zoo will be happy to give you more information and explain how planned giving can work for you. Please contact Anne Knapp at anne.knapp@zoo.org or 206.548.2443.

You may write to us at: Woodland Park Zoo, 601 N 59th St., Seattle, WA, 98103.

 

LionHearts Club

When you add Woodland Park Zoo to your will or estate plans, you become a member of a very special donor group, the LionHearts Club. With your permission, we will list your name among the growing number of LionHearts Club members who have provided for future gifts to the zoo and who, by example, encourage others to take this important step.

As a member of the LionHearts Club you receive the following benefits:

• Recognition in our Annual ReportA copy of @thezoo, our quarterly magazine
• An invitation to the annual thrive! dinner
• Invitations to exhibit openings and other special preview events at the zoo
• A personalized certificate in honor of your thoughtfulness and generosity

 

Additional Resources

The following groups can help you plan your planned gift to Woodland Park Zoo.

Leave a Legacy of Western Washington is a public awareness campaign, to educate and inspire people of Western Washington to make charitable gifts in their wills and estate plans. They have many resources to help you learn about making a planned gift.

The Seattle Foundation was established in 1946 to create an endowment to improve the quality of life for the people of the Puget Sound region. The Foundation facilitates and acts as a catalyst for charitable giving and administers charitable funds, trusts, gift annuities, and bequests.

The information included here does not constitute legal or financial advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. Woodland Park Zoo encourages you to seek professional legal, estate planning, and financial advice before deciding on a course of action. All information submitted will be held in confidence.