Life insurance is one valuable method to support nonprofit causes such as The Vegetarian Resource Group. You can designate as a beneficiary one organization, many organizations, or a mixture of organizaitons and your family and/or others. Many people who obtained life insurance to make sure the mortgage is paid or kids would make it through college change the designation once the family is older and those responsibilities are completed. To change the beneficiary with the insurance company, you only need the charity’s name, address, and federal tax number.

Beyond life insurance, any of the following assets can have a charity named as a beneficiary: 401(k) employer retirement plan; 403(b) employer retirement plan (for example TIAA/CREF plan); individual retirement accounts of all types such as Roth, traditional IRA, SEP, and Simple; commercial annuities, checking and savings accounts; and brokerage accounts.

Please obtain personal tax and legal advice from your own accountant, lawyer, or other professional.