Grow Your Legacy

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden plays a vital role in the Richmond community. It showcases native plants, offers peaceful spaces, highlights cutting-edge horticulture, and creates cherished traditions like strolling through holiday lights. The Garden also preserves open spaces, promotes environmental education, and celebrates creativity through art and music. Visitors like you come to enjoy its beauty, tranquility, and connection to nature. By including the Garden in your financial or estate plans, you help secure its mission for future generations.

In 1926, Grace Arents envisioned a botanical garden that would enrich lives in central Virginia. Her generous bequest made this vision a reality. As a nonprofit, we are deeply grateful for the thoughtful benefactors who have built on her dream. Thanks to their generosity, the Garden continues to grow and inspire future generations of nature lovers. Thank you for considering a planned gift to the Garden—your support ensures its legacy will thrive for years to come. 


WAYS TO GROW
YOUR LEGACY

Make a Gift in Your Will

An easy and straightforward way to receive potential tax saving for your estate is to include the Garden in your will or trust. The bequest can be for a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or another type of provision. We especially appreciate unrestricted requests, as they allow the Garden maximum flexibility to deploy funds where they are needed most. 

Retirement Plan Assets

Retirement accounts can be subject to double taxation. In planning your estate, consider leaving your retirement plan assests to the Garden, and leave more favorably taxed assests to your loved ones.

Life Insurance

Life insurance allows donors to leverage their resources while providing an extraordinary legacy gift to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. You can donate your existing policy by making the Garden the owner or name the Garden as a beneficiary.

Donor Advised Funds

Consider setting up a Donor Advised Fund (DAFs) to strategically manage your charitable giving. DAFs are easy to set up and receive immediate tax benefits upon contributions. Once set up, you can recommend grants to support Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

Charitable Gift Annuity

To establish a charitable gift annuity, a donor makes a gift of cash or appreciated assests to the Garden. In exchange, the donor is eligible to receive a charitable income tax deduction and receive periodic payments for life. After the lifetime of the last annuitant, the balance of the annuity will pass to the charity.

Charitable Remainder Trust

A charitable remainder trust allows individual beneficiaries to receive payments from the trust for life or for a term of years. At the end of the lifetime or term of years the assets pass to the charity.

Charitable Lead Trust

A charitable lead trust allows the donor to arrange for the chairty to receive payments from the trust. At the end of the trust term, the assets pass to the donor or loved ones. This structure provides a tax-advantaged method of supporting the Garden for life or a set number of years, with a potentially significant future tax-free distribution to family and other heirs.

Qualified Charitable Distributions

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) allow individuals aged 70-and-a-half or older to make tax-free distributions from their Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) directly to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. The QCD is an excellent way to show your support for the Garden and maximize tax benefits.

Publicly Traded Securities

Publicly traded securities held for more than one year such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds are an easy donation to transfer to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. This gift option potentially eliminates the capital gains tax you would incur if you sold the assets yourself and donated the proceeds.  

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Honor a Loved One with a Tribute Gift

Gifts can be made to the Garden in honor, memory or recognition of special people and moments in your life.

Make a gift

Gifts to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, are tax-deductible as permitted by law. Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Inc.’s tax ID number is 54-1273467. 

For gifts of stock, the Garden’s DTC# is 0226 and Brokerage Firm is National Financial Services. 

For more information about these and additional giving options, please contact:

Chelsea Mahaffey, Director of Planned and Leadership Giving
804.262.9887 x221
[email protected]