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Gifts that Make an Impact Tomorrow

Leave a Legacy of Learning and Discovery

By including The Discovery in your will, trust, retirement account, or life insurance policy, you can pass on your love of lifelong learning, and excitement for creating a scientifically literate community. It’s a beautiful gift that will make a powerful difference. Your thoughtful gift for the future will support The Discovery’s legacy as a community asset for learning, and will inspire generations of lifelong learners to come.

DONOR STORY
Sarah and Brett Porter

“My husband and I included The Discovery in our will because the museum has given so much to our boys and our family. We know that including The Discovery in our estate plan will help to safeguard the organization now, and in the future.”

Read Their Story

Become a Monthly Donor

A monthly donation is the gift that keeps on giving! Your support will help us as we continue to grow and welcome over 200,000 visitors of all ages, each year. Set up your monthly gift and choose between multiple payment options including automatic bank transfer (ACH) or credit card. You can change the amount or frequency of your gift anytime. Please contact Lauren Landman at llandman@nvdm.org or 775-398-5912 if you have any questions or if you’d like to learn how your generous support is making a lasting impact for The Discovery.

Set Up a Monthly Gift

Leave a Gift in Your Will or Trust

Bequests

Including The Discovery in your will or trust is a meaningful way to support The Discovery’s mission and programs for many years to come, while also fulfilling your own financial goals and objectives.

Support The Discovery’s work and retain control of your assets during your lifetime. Create a legacy that reflects your values by making a bequest through a will or trust.

Examples of Bequests:

  • Leave a specific dollar amount or asset to The Discovery.
  • Designate a percentage of your estate to be given through your will or living trust.
  • Give only the remainder, or residue, of your estate, or that which remains after bequests to loved ones have been made.
  • How it works:
    1. You designate a particular asset or a percentage of your estate to The Discovery by including a bequest provision in your will or revocable trust. You can do this while creating your will or trust, or you can amend an existing one with a simple document. The Discovery can be either a primary or a contingent beneficiary.
    2. If you plan to restrict the use of your bequest (designating to a specific area or program), you contact The Discovery while drafting your will or trust to ensure your wishes can be met. The more narrowly you restrict the use of your bequest, the greater the risk that the program you want to benefit today won’t be as vital or as relevant when we receive your gift in the future.
    3. You inform The Discovery of your commitment [hyperlink to fillable form in new window], which helps for planning and ensures your wishes can be fulfilled. This is especially important for gifts of real estate or other specialized property.
    4. The Discovery receives the gift after your lifetime and applies it to the purpose(s) you specified. At The Discovery, unrestricted charitable gifts are used to support our mission to inspire through hands-on educational programming and exhibitions centered on science.
    5. Your distribution is fully deductible for federal estate tax purposes, and there is no limit on the deduction your estate can claim. In addition, the gift is usually exempt from state inheritance taxes.
Suggested Language

The following is an example of language use can use to include The Discovery in your will/trust:

“I give and bequeath Nevada Discovery Museum dba Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum, a nonprofit corporation, organized and existing under the laws of the State of Nevada, with principal business address of 490 South Center Street, Reno, Nevada 89501, with Federal Tax ID # 61-1474845, the sum of $________________, or _______% of my estate, to be used for the accomplishment of its general purpose and mission (or for a specific purpose as indicated).”

You may designate your bequest in two ways:
  • For the general purposes of The Discovery
    An unrestricted bequest gives The Discovery the greatest flexibility in the use of funding to pursue our mission to inspire.
  • To support a particular program
    The more narrowly you restrict the use of your bequest, the greater the risk that the program you want to benefit today won’t be as vital or as relevant when we receive your gift in the future.
Additional Resources

Online resources like FreeWill.com or LegalZoom.com may help you get started in creating your will or trust.

Retirement Gifts

Name The Discovery as a beneficiary of your IRA, 401k, 403b, and other qualified retirement plan using this tax-efficient method.

You may be surprised to find that the taxes applied to your retirement plan assets are different than you imagined—in fact, using retirement assets to make your donation and leaving other assets to your heirs often enables you to give more to your heirs.

Enhance science education and take care of your heirs by making The Discovery a full or partial beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k) or other qualified retirement plan. These changes to your beneficiary usually don’t require lawyers and can help you avoid a capital gains tax by donating directly to charity. Your retirement plan administrator can help you add The Discovery as a beneficiary, and often, you can do it yourself through your account online.

Please ask your plan administrator to give The Discovery a copy of your beneficiary form for our records.

  • Here’s the process:
    1. You name The Discovery as the beneficiary of a qualifying retirement plan through a beneficiary designation form, ensuring assets will not be included in your taxable estate. An extra step may be required to designate a 401(k).
    2. After your lifetime, the residue of your plan passes to The Discovery tax-free and to any other named heirs.

Life Insurance Gifts

You can name The Discovery as primary beneficiary of your life insurance policy, or as contingent beneficiary, should your other beneficiaries not survive you.

This is an easy gift for you and your family to make, as you can usually make the change to beneficiary at any time, not just during your policy renewal period. This life insurance gift may also be given outright.

  • Here’s the process:
    1. Provide now for a future gift by naming The Discovery as beneficiary of a policy insuring your life.
    2. At death the benefits pass to The Discovery free of federal estate tax and are applied to the mission of the organization, or specific program(s) designated by the donor.

The Discovery cannot provide tax or legal advice. The material presented in this web site is intended as general educational information on the topics discussed herein and should not be interpreted as legal, financial or tax advice. Please seek the specific advice of your tax advisor, attorney, and/or financial planner to discuss your unique situation.