Gifts in a will or by beneficiary designation are two easy ways to help millions of children from low-income communities have the tools they need to learn and thrive for years to come—and they don’t cost anything now.
You can learn more about these special opportunities in our free brochure, How to Create or Update Your Estate Plans, and other complimentary planning resources. These resources are just a click away!
Gifts in a Will
Making a legacy gift in your will or trust is one of the easiest and most popular ways to make a lasting impact for First Book. Once you have provided for your loved ones, we hope you will consider transforming the lives of children in need by making literacy your legacy with a gift to First Book.
A gift in your will is one of the easiest ways to create your legacy and offers the following benefits:
- Lasting Impact: Your gift will create your legacy of helping close the achievement gap.
- Flexible: You can alter your gift or change your mind at any time and for any reason.
- No Cost: It costs you nothing now to give in this way.
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Four simple, “no-cost-now” ways to give in your will
General gift
Residuary gift
Contingent gift
You can mix these no-cost ways together. For example, you might consider leaving a specific percentage (such as 50%) of the residual to First Book contingent upon the survival of your spouse.
Gifts by Beneficiary Designation
It’s easy to put your bank accounts, retirement funds, savings bonds, and more to foster the love of reading in children of need—and it costs you nothing now. By naming First Book as a beneficiary of these assets, you can power our mission for years to come and establish your personal legacy of helping to build a world where all children have access to quality education.
Potential benefits of gifts by beneficiary designation:
- Reduce or eliminate taxes
- Reduce or avoid probate fees
- No cost to you now to give
- Create your legacy with First Book
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Types of Gifts
Retirement plan assets
You can simply name First Book as a beneficiary of your retirement plan to ensure children in need have access to new books, educational resources, and learning opportunities.
Life insurance policies
You can name First Book as a beneficiary of all or a portion of your life insurance policy. With this gift arrangement, First Book will receive the proceeds of your policy after your lifetime. You can change your beneficiary at any time and may reduce your estate taxes.
Bank or brokerage accounts
This is one of the easiest gifts to give and one of the most useful in accomplishing your philanthropic goals. The next time you visit your bank, you can name First Book (Tax ID:52-1779606) as the beneficiary of a checking or savings bank account, a certificate of deposit (CD), or a brokerage account. When you do, you’ll take a powerful step toward expanding access to high-quality educational materials that help children learn to read and succeed for generations to come.
Funds remaining in your donor-advised fund
How to update a beneficiary designation:
Simply contact your bank, retirement plan administrator, insurance company, or other financial institution to request a beneficiary designation form. You may also be able to log in to your account and update your beneficiaries online.
Please use our legal name: First Book
Include our tax identification number: 52-1779606
Please let us know so we can ensure that your wishes are carried out.
Share Your Legacy
If you have already included a gift in your estate plans to benefit the future of First Book, be sure to let us know so that we may best honor your wishes.
Our Team is Here to Help
Our experienced team is here to help you…
- Learn about special projects that align with your interests.
- Structure a donation that maximizes benefits for you and your loved ones.
- Stay up to date on how your gift is used.
- And more!