Planned Giving

Pardee Legacy Circle1

Many individuals have invested in the future of the Society and the geoscience community through meaningful commitments to the GSA Foundation. The Foundation honors those who have included GSAF in their estate plans through bequests, retirement plan designations, charitable trusts, or other deferred gift arrangements with the Pardee Legacy Circle, gratefully acknowledging the foresight and dedication demonstrated by these thoughtful donors to the GSA.

An Invitation to Join the Pardee Legacy Circle

If you would like to include the Geological Society of America Foundation in your estate plans, please let us know so we can ensure that your intentions are accurately understood and documented. Once you complete your estate plans, please fill out our online profile form or downloadable PDF to inform us of your objectives. We would like to thank you for your generosity by including you in the Pardee Legacy Circle, the GSA Foundation’s bequest and estate plan recognition society.

Geological Society of America Foundation
3300 Penrose Place
Boulder, CO 80301
Attention: Gift Planning

Benefits

Your commitment to the Pardee Legacy Circle involves no dues, obligations, or solicitations, but it does allow us to thank and recognize you for the plans you have made, and it may inspire generosity in others. If you prefer, your recognition may remain anonymous. Benefits include special acknowledgment, invitations to special events at the GSA Annual Meeting, and a complimentary subscription to our GSAF Insider newsletter.

The most important benefit you will receive from joining the Pardee Legacy Circle is the satisfaction of making a lasting contribution to help ensure the continued vitality of GSA and the greater geoscience community that it serves.

Planned Giving Options

Bequests provide a way for you to remember the GSA Foundation in your will and help GSA programs and services remain viable for generations to come. Your will can designate gifts of cash, securities, or other property, or a percentage of the remainder of your estate payable either when you pass away or after both you and your loved one pass away.

Gifts of Retirement Plan Assets can be arranged through naming the GSA Foundation as a beneficiary of your retirement plan or IRA (sample bequest language). Retirement assets can also be placed in charitable trusts maximizing your financial and estate planning benefits.

Life Income Gifts can be made through charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and charitable gift annuities. These arrangements offer substantial tax savings while providing an annual income to you, your family, or others. When appreciated assets or property are placed in these arrangements, the assets are reinvested and diversified and may produce a greater yield for you or your beneficiaries.

Gifts of Life Insurance can be made in the form of a new policy or an existing policy. Premiums paid by you on a donated life insurance policy qualify for charitable tax deductions. If an existing policy is paid in full, your charitable contribution is generally the replacement value or the cost basis of the policy.

1The Pardee Legacy Circle is named in honor of Joseph T. Pardee (1871–1960) due to the $2.7 million bequest from the estate of Pardee’s daughter, Mary Pardee Kelly (1905–1994). Joseph Pardee spent his entire career as a USGS geologist in the Pacific Northwest and is best known for his work on Glacial Lake Missoula. The Pardee-Kelly bequest ranks as the second largest in the history of the GSA, bested only by the Penrose bequest in 1931 of nearly $4 million.

Neither the Geological Society of America nor the Geological Society of America Foundation are engaged in rendering legal or tax advisory services. The above language is intended solely for general information purposes. For advice and assistance in specific cases, legal counsel should be obtained.

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