Legacy Circle

Legacy gifts — also known as planned gifts — involve designating the GLBT Historical Society as a beneficiary in your estate planning. A planned gift provides tax advantages to the donor, just as it benefits the GLBT Historical Society.

Designating the GLBT Historical Society for a planned gift makes you a member of our Legacy Circle, a select group of supporters who demonstrate their long-term commitment to the society and its renowned work in the field of queer public history. Legacy Circle members who wish to be named publicly are honored on our website and on our video wall at the GLBT History Museum.

Legacy Circle members may designate their planned gift to be used in multiple ways, including:

• Maintaining our regular operations. Your gift will directly support the operations of the GLBT Historical Society, including running the archives, the museum and additional programs. 

• Growing our Annual Fund. Your gift will be wisely invested and the proceeds of the fund used to support the work of the Society, including special projects such as our planned New Museum of LGBTQ History and Culture in San Francisco. 

There are many ways to become a member of the Legacy Circle and ensure the GLBT Historical Society’s future through your estate planning:

• Make a bequest by naming the GLBT Historical Society in your will or living trust. This gift can be for a specific dollar amount or for a percentage of your estate.

• Leave a specific asset to the GLBT Historical Society to be sold and the proceeds used to support the society. Such assets may include real estate, stocks and bonds, high-value artwork or collectibles.

• Name the Society as the beneficiary of all or a percentage of the proceeds from a life insurance policy or annuity. This is typically easily arranged through your insurer or their agent.

• Name the GLBT Historical Society as the beneficiary of all or a percentage of your IRA, 401(k) or other retirement accounts. There are substantial tax benefits associated with such gifts, as retirement funds are usually taxable when withdrawn by the owner or the owner’s heirs, but are not taxed when left to charitable organizations.

• Make a gift through a tax-advantaged structure such as a charitable lead trust or charitable remainder trust. Your tax preparer or estate planner can advise you on these options.

• Designate a gift to the society through a donor-advised fund, where you make a contribution to the fund and immediately realize the tax deduction, then direct gifts to charities from the fund over time. Such funds are easily set up through many foundations and brokerage firms.

Part 1: Archival Estate Planning

The items we collect and produce over a lifetime tell a unique story about who we are, what we value and the impact we have had over the course of our lives. The first event in a two-part series offering estate-planning tools and resources, this workshop focuses on how to prepare personal papers, photographs, objects, ephemera and other materials for possible donation to archives. Archivists at the GLBT Historical Society will share recommendations on preparing and organizing your personal archival materials and provide an overview of the considerations involved in intellectual-property transfer, focusing on areas of particular concern for LGBTQ people.

Speakers

Kelsi Evans is director of the Dr. John P. De Cecco Archives and Special Collections of the GLBT Historical Society. She previously served as project archivist at New York University’s Fales Library and at the University of California, San Francisco Archives and Special Collections, where she worked on the AIDS History Project. She is active in professional organizations including the Society of California Archivists and the Society of American Archivists.

Isaac Fellman is the reference archivist at the GLBT Historical Society. He has a master’s degree in library science, and specializes in helping researchers at the Historical Society, as well as back-end work that improves our services. 

Part 2: Financial Estate Planning

Speaker

Alma Soongi Beck is a partner in the Trusts and Estates Group at Lakin Spears LLP and is certified by the State Board of Legal Specialization as a specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law. Prior to joining Lakin Spears, Alma was principal and founding attorney of the Beck Law Group, P.C. Her estate-planning practice focuses on revocable living trusts, wills, and powers of attorney, which includes Medi-Cal and long-term care planning, IRA inheritance trusts and beneficiary-controlled irrevocable trusts. For unmarried and same-sex couples, she also offers consultations on the legal and tax implications of domestic partnership, marriage and property coownership. Read more here.

The following language may help you and your attorney when drawing up a bequest that meets your needs.

General Gifts in a Will

General gifts in a will are the most valuable, as they allow the GLBT Historical Society to apply your gift wherever the need is the greatest. Examples of general bequests include:

SPECIFIC GENERAL BEQUEST

“I give to GLBT Historical Society, a California nonprofit corporation located in San Francisco, CA, or its successor organization, the sum of $ _________ (or % of my estate), (or other personal property herein described) to be used for its general support and charitable purposes without restriction.”

RESIDUARY GENERAL BEQUEST

“I give to the GLBT Historical Society, a California nonprofit corporation located in San Francisco, CA, or its successor organization, (all or a % of) the residue of the property owned by me at death, real and personal and wherever situated to be used for its general support and charitable purposes without restriction.”

“GREATER OF” RESIDUARY GENERAL BEQUEST

“I give to the GLBT Historical Society, a California nonprofit corporation located in San Francisco, CA, or its successor organization, the greater of _____ % of my estate or $_______ to be used for its general support and charitable purposes without restriction.”

Contingent Gifts in a Will

It is possible that the primary beneficiary or beneficiaries of your estate may not be there in the future. In such case, a contingent bequest naming the GLBT Historical Society as a contingent beneficiary can provide a meaningful alternative.

“I give the residue of the property owned by me at my death, real and personal and wherever situate, to _____________________, if he/she survives me. If he/she does not survive me, I give to the GLBT Historical Society, a California nonprofit located in San Francisco, CA, or its successor organization, the residue of the property owned by me at death, real and personal and wherever situated to be used for its general support and charitable purposes without restriction.”

Bequest Restricted for a Specific UsE

Some donors desire their gift to support a specific project or program. Restricted bequests are welcome, although it is important they provide for some flexibility to adapt to changing needs and programs.

“I give to the GLBT Historical Society, a California nonprofit located in San Francisco, CA, or its successor organization, the sum of $_________ (or % of my estate), (or other personal property herein described) to be used for (designated purpose*). If at any time it becomes impossible or impractical for my gift to be used for the above designated purpose, the GLBT Historical Society shall use my gift for a purpose and in a manner that it determines most closely meets the above designated purpose.”

*If you are interested in supporting a specific project or program, it is best to discuss your plans with our planned giving professionals before completing your bequest language to confirm your wishes can be met by the GLBT Historical Society.

Please fill out the form below if you have made a provision for the GLBT Historical Society in your estate plan. To discuss your plans, or for additional information, contact us via email or at (415) 777-5455 ext. 4.

Randy Alfred

William Alverson

Gary Bailey

Daniel Bao

Neil Austin & Tom Burtch

Frederick J. Baumer

Kevin Dowling

Tomlinson Holman & Friederich Koenig

Larry Lare Nelson

Adrian Shanker

Michael Christopher Simones

Brian Turner

Andreas Weigend

To learn more about the Legacy Circle and planned giving, please contact us via email or at (415) 777-5455 ext. 4.

Note: The GLBT Historical Society does not provide legal or tax advice. We strongly suggest that you contact your attorney and tax advisor regarding your best options for estate planning and planned giving.

Founded in 1985, the GLBT Historical Society is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our Federal Tax Identification Number is 94-2989004. This form is nonbinding and does not constitute a legal promise of any future donation to the GLBT Historical Society. We understand that bequests are revocable and that your estate plans may change.

Banner: Concerned Republicans for Individual Rights at a Pride event, ca. 1978; photograph by Henri Leleu, Henri Leleu Papers (1997-13), GLBT Historical Society.