Plant Your Legacy: Planned Giving with Greening Projects
SOME GIFTS GROW. Yours can too.
A planned gift to Greening Projects isn’t a transaction; it’s a commitment that outlasts any single season of giving. It means the trees planted, the habitats restored, and the neighborhoods strengthened will keep growing in your name long after you’re gone.
WHY IT MATTERS
A gift isn’t just what you give, it’s what you make possible
Most charitable giving is cyclical: donations arrive, programs run, and the cycle repeats the next year. Legacy giving breaks that cycle. It creates a base of continuity that allows long-term ecological work, the kind that takes decades, not grant cycles, to actually finish what it starts.
For an environmental organization, that distinction is especially meaningful. Trees don’t grow on fundraising timelines. Habitat restoration doesn’t respect fiscal years. A legacy gift funds the long arc of the work, not just its next chapter.
“It’s a quiet decision with a long shadow, the kind of thing you do because you believe in something beyond your own lifetime.”
A legacy gift funds the long arc of the work, ensuring that our community plazas, street canopies, and neighborhood pathways are not just built, but permanently protected and cared for across generations.
HOW DONORS CONNECT
It usually starts with one moment
Most legacy donors didn’t set out to include Greening Projects in their estate plan. They showed up for a tree planting or a neighborhood cleanup and felt something shift, a sense of ownership over a place they’d only ever moved through before. That feeling became a return visit. Then a volunteer shift. Then a gift. Then something deeper: the recognition that this mission had become part of their own.
A planned gift is often the natural end of that journey, not a new decision, but the formal expression of something already true. It’s the moment a supporter says, “I’m not just a donor.” I’m part of this story, and I want the story to continue.
WAYS TO GIVE
Three paths. One lasting impact.
BEQUEST IN A WILL OR TRUST
The most common legacy gift. Designate a dollar amount, a percentage, or a residual share. Revocable at any time, your plans can change as your life does.
BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION
Name Greening Projects on a retirement account, IRA, or life insurance policy. These assets often carry heavy tax burdens for heirs, and none for nonprofits.
OTHER PLANNED GIFTS
Charitable remainder trusts, gift annuities, and other vehicles can align giving with income, tax, and family goals. Your advisor can help find the right fit.
Did you know? Leaving retirement assets (such as an IRA or 401 (k)) to heirs can trigger significant ordinary income tax. Passing those same assets to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit is 100% tax-free. It’s often the smartest, most impactful way to protect your family while securing the future of our local environment.
HOW TO BEGIN
Start with intention, not paperwork
Before you talk to an attorney, take five minutes to answer one question: what do you want your gift to say? Some donors want to support Greening Projects broadly, trusting future staff to use funds where they’re needed most. Others want to fund a specific project, such as a tree-planting endowment, a habitat corridor, or a community stewardship program.
There’s no wrong answer. A flexible gift gives the organization room to respond to a changing world. A directed gift ensures your values are embedded in something you can point to. The choice should reflect what you actually care about, not what seems most charitable in the abstract.
Questions to ask before you finalize:
What is the full legal name of Greening Projects?
Answer: Greening Projects is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our EIN: 501(c)(3), TIN 92-0613879
Can my gift be directed toward a specific program or purpose?
Answer: Yes. Donors can choose to leave an unrestricted gift to support general urban sustainability and greening efforts across San Francisco, or explicitly direct their legacy gift to a permanent endowment for a specific site or initiative (such as the César Chávez Greenway, Ogden Avenue Gardens, or Bernal Heights Rec Center Plaza).
Who should I contact to document my intentions?
Answer: You can connect directly with our leadership team to ensure your wishes are fully understood and properly documented before finalizing your estate plans.
Mike Doherty, Chief Development Officer
415-218-5352
SAMPLE LANGUAGE
Simple words. Lasting effect.
Attorneys often appreciate having a starting point. Here’s language commonly used for a general bequest — straightforward and flexible enough to adapt to most situations:
“I give [dollar amount, percentage, or residue of my estate] to Greening Projects, a nonprofit organization located in [city/state], for its general charitable purposes.”
If you’d like to direct the gift toward a specific program, your attorney can add a clause naming it, along with guidance on how to proceed if that program no longer exists. This “gift over” provision ensures your gift is used meaningfully even if circumstances change.
READY TO START A CONVERSATION?
Let’s start a conversation. If you have already included us in your estate plans or would like to discuss how to direct a future gift to a specific neighborhood project, please reach out to us. Your inquiry is completely confidential and carries no obligation.
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Greening Projects is a dedicated nonprofit organization focused on transforming urban environments into vibrant, sustainable community spaces. By converting underutilized urban land into public parks, community gardens, and native habitat corridors, the organization works to enhance local biodiversity and climate equity.
Through collaborative efforts with community members and donors, Greening Projects aims to create lasting, multi-generational legacies of environmental health and beauty.