Create Your Legacy
A gift for RAFT in your will, trust, or other plans will ensure educators and students have access to quality hands-on STEAM learning for years to come. There are many different ways you can arrange a meaningful gift to RAFT, and we have described the most common gifts below.
If you are considering a legacy gift, we would be delighted to confidentially discuss your questions. If you have already included RAFT in your plan, please let us know so that we can thank you and invite you to join our Legacy Society. Please contact Kate Ball at kball@raft.net or (408) 451-1420. Of course, we always recommend you work with your advisors to determine which gift(s) is most appropriate for you.
RAFT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and our taxpayer identification number is 77-0365627.
Easy Ways to Give
Through a Will or Trust
This is one of the most common types of legacy gifts. You can arrange to leave a specific dollar amount or asset, a percentage of your estate, or the remainder after specific gifts to loved ones have been made.
Retirement Plan or Life Insurance
You can name RAFT as the beneficiary of your individual retirement account (IRA), 401(k), 403(b), donor-advised fund (DAF), life insurance policy, or other account. These gifts are easy to arrange or modify. Simply complete a beneficiary designation form from your plan administrator to name RAFT as a beneficiary of all or part of your account. If the retirement assets are tax-deferred, the portion left to RAFT will not be subject to tax. If you are over 70.5 years or older you can reduce your taxable income by making a gift to RAFT directly from your IRA.
If you arrange this kind of gift, thank you! In order to facilitate receiving your meaningful gift in the future, please email kball@raft.net or call (408) 451-1420 (or ensure your executor will do so) with your name, account custodian, and contact information for your executor. IRA and other account administrators do not always notify the beneficiaries, and we want to make sure your gift for RAFT is received as you intended and in a timely manner.
IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD)
If you are 70.5 or older, you can transfer up to $100,000 annually directly from your IRA to a church or 501(c)3 charity as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). These gifts count towards the your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) without increasing the donor’s income.
Non-probate Assets
Do you have an IRA, 401(k), life insurance policy, or any other assets not included in your will? If so, these are called non-probate assets, and you must plan your beneficiaries for them separately.
We Want to Thank You
Have you already included a gift in your will or trust? Please use this form to let us know about your intended gift. The information you share is nonbinding and will only be used to welcome you to our Legacy Society. You can still alter your gift directly in your will or trust at any time and manage any communication that you have with RAFT.
We will be honored to include you as a member of our Legacy Society, anonymously if you prefer.
Useful Information for Advisors
Our official name is: Resource Area For Teaching
Address: 1355 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95131
Phone: (408) 451-1420
Taxpayer identification number: 77-0365627
Your Support Helps Educators
We provide recycled and low-cost STEAM learning materials, makerspace support, and professional development workshops for over 8,000 educators and their 150,000 students in the Bay Area and nationwide.