Join the growing group of donors who are making planned gifts to Grand Canyon Youth (GCY). By including GCY in your estate planning, you can leave a lasting legacy that will benefit youth for generations.
Grand Canyon Youth’s planned giving program, GCY Futures, provides many options to make a legacy gift. And including GCY in your estate plan is easier than you might think.
Name GCY as a beneficiary in your estate plan by simply including our full name “Grand Canyon Youth, Inc.” and our tax ID number 86-0905180. You can designate a percentage or specific amount of assets or your estate as whole to GCY by naming GCY as a primary or contingent beneficiary in your will or living trust.
If you don’t yet have a will or living trust, there are many other ways to give to GCY:
You can designate a gift of stock, bonds, or mutual funds to GCY. When you transfer appreciated securities that you’ve held for at least one year, there are immediate financial benefits to both you and GCY. Your gift is greater than if you sold the stock yourself and donated what remained after paying capital gains tax.
Another way of giving to GCY is by gifting us real property, either purchased or inherited. Please note that all gifts of real estate are subject to review by GCY’s Executive Committee.
You can easily name GCY as a percentage beneficiary on your IRA, 401(k), life insurance account, or other qualified retirement plan by completing the beneficiary designation form provided by the plan administrator. Normally, distributions from a qualified, tax-deferred retirement plan are treated as 100% taxable income to you. The same is true when you leave qualified retirement plan assets to your heirs. However, if you leave those assets to GCY, there is no tax paid, by either you or GCY and the distributions avoid probate.
If you are 70 ½ or older, or are the beneficiary of an inherited IRA, you can make a direct contribution to GCY from your IRA. In lieu of taking a required minimum distribution (RMD) out of your IRA each year, you can make an annual qualified charitable distribution in that same amount to GCY. You’ll also save on taxes, even if you don’t itemize deductions.
If you are taking steps to financially plan for the future, you can create a charitable remainder trust or donor-advised fund and allocate annual donations to GCY. These tools help simplify your charitable giving while facilitating your strategic philanthropic goals.
A charitable remainder trust (CRT) is a gift of cash or other assets to an irrevocable trust; you receive an income stream from the trust while living, and GCY receives the remaining trust assets after. The CRT’s investment income is exempt from tax.
→As always, consult with your financial advisor before making a charitable gift.
It is never too early to be thoughtful and deliberate who you want to donate to in the future. Regardless of your age or the size of your estate, you can make a significant impact on the lives of young people through a planned gift to GCY.
Grand Canyon Youth, Inc.
2131 North First Street
Flagstaff, AZ 86004
Tax Identification Number: 86-0905180
Fiscal Year Ending: December 31st
Date of Incorporation: February 15, 2000
Grand Canyon Youth, Inc. is a tax exempt, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
All unrestricted charitable gifts are used strategically to support top organizational priorities. Your support will help give the gift of the river to future generations. If you are interested in making a restricted gift, please discuss with our Planned Giving team (below).
To request further details about GCY Futures and help with making a bequest to Grand Canyon Youth, please contact GCY’s Development Team. Our philanthropy team is more than happy to provide any additional information that might be helpful to you and your attorney as you consider including us in your estate planning.
If you have already named Grand Canyon Youth as a beneficiary, please reach out to our team to let us know. We would like to thank you, ensure your wishes are met, and welcome you as a member of GCY Futures. Thank you!
Clare Magneson
Development Director
Mary Ellen Arndorfer
Finance Director
Emma Wharton
Executive Director
Reach us at:
928.773.7921
Certain forms of gifts or donated properties may be subject to prior review by GCY and/or legal counsel. Examples include, but are not limited to: tangible personal property, life insurance, real estate, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, restricted or non-marketable securities or gifts that could result in GCY violating its organizational charter, compromising its status as an IRC 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, or are otherwise antithetical to GCY’s mission.
Hometown: Halfway, Oregon
Year started at GCY: 2009
Justin did his first trip with GCY as a participant in 2007. They haven’t been able to get rid of him since. River running has become his passion, sharing the power of outdoor learning with youth on rivers throughout the desert west. He’s worked as a river guide, a wooden boat builder, and outdoor educator. He’s excited to be helping GCY run things behind the scenes in the warehouse, food room, and vehicle yard.
“I have always been unsatisfied with life as most people live it. Always I want to live more intensely and richly. Why muck and conceal one’s true longings and loves, when by speaking of them one might discover one’s self?” – Everett Ruess