Continuing Rachel's Work
We appreciate donations of cash of any amount and now you can make a secure donation using your credit card on our website.
We provide various thank you gifts to donors of different amounts, such as the poster to the right.
There are many other ways you can help support the Rachel Carson Council - here are some ideas:
- Give a birthday or anniversary gift of a healthier world to someone special in their name
- Donate Stocks and Bonds
- Sponsor a particular program
- Donate Works of Art
- Donate a particular needed item from the wish list. Please contact RCC for current needs.
- Donate Property
- Volunteer at the Council office in Maryland or at an event
- Remember the Council in your will
- Help your employer set up a matching plan for contributions
- Set up a Charitable Remainder Trust
- Donate through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) by choosing number 1103
- Name Rachel Carson Council as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy
- Rachel Carson Council can be named as a beneficiary of Retirement Plans such as IRAs
- Create a Life Estate Reserved - donate real estate and continue to use it throughout your lifetime
- The Council greatly appreciates and acknowledges gifts in memory of deceased friends or relatives
Thank you for supporting our work!
A gift of stock can provide much-needed support for Rachel Carson Council's projects and offer you financial benefits as well.
Gifts of appreciated securities that pay little or no dividends make especially good choices for charitable contributions.- Income Tax Savings: A gift of appreciated securities owned longer than twelve months qualifies for a charitable income tax deduction of the fair market value of the donation (fair market value is described further below). Currently, you can use this deduction if you itemize your tax return.
Gifts of appreciated securities are deductible up to 30% of adjusted gross income. The deduction is available in the year of the gift. If the entire deduction can not be used in the first year, there would be a 5 year carry-over for any excess.
- Capital Gain Tax Savings: In addition to a charitable income tax deduction, neither you nor RCC are liable for any capital gain tax on the subsequent sale of those securities by the Council. This means the full value of your shares will be used for educating the public about pesticides and alternatives.
Valuation of Securities for Tax Deduction: The amount of the contribution is determined by the value of the contributed securities as of the date of the gift. Assuming that you have owned the donated securities more than twelve months, the value is calculated as follows:
- Publicly traded stocks and bonds: The fair market value is the mean of the quoted prices of the securities on the date of the gift (High + Low divided by 2 = Mean, Mean x Number of Shares = Fair Market Value).
- Mutual funds: The fair market value is its public redemption price, or net asset value ("NAV"), on the date of gift (NAV x Number of Shares = Fair Market Value).
Your broker/banker will often supply this information in connection with a donation to the Council. Rachel Carson Council will always provide you with a separate valuation letter in addition to our acknowledgment letter.
Gifts of Real Estate and Works of Art
A residence, vacation home, farm, vacant lot, commercial property, or work of art that has appreciated in value over the years may be donated to Rachel Carson Council.
In most instances, you may claim the full market value of the property as a charitable contribution and avoid the capital gains tax you would incur if you sell the property.
A qualified appraisal of the property is generally required before the gift is made.
Gifts of property, real and personal, will be sold by Rachel Carson Council with the proceeds applied to our programs unless you choose to donate it through a Life Estate Reserved plan (see below).
Estate Planning and Planned Giving
With careful planning, it is possible for donors to support Rachel Carson Council while enjoying personal and/or family financial benefits.
Please let us know if you have included Rachel Carson Council in your estate plans, so that we may thank you and add your name to our Legacy for Life Circle.
- Including Rachel Carson Council in a will is an effective way to make a gift greater than that which might be possible during a donor's lifetime. A bequest made through the individual's will is the simplest form of planned giving. The amount may be a specific dollar value or a percentage of the estate.
- A life insurance policy naming the Council as a beneficiary is another option. In many cases the premium payments can be tax deductible as well.
- Retirement Plans - Rachel Carson Council can be named as beneficiary of an Individual Retirement Plan (IRA), Keogh Plan, 401(k), 403(b) or other qualified pension plan. Payments of such benefits can avoid the combined income and estate tax liability that is often payable on these funds at the time of the donor's death.
- Charitable Remainder Trusts are most useful to donors who own highly appreciated assets that earn a low rate of return. A donor transfers the assets into an independent trust reserving an income interest for one or more beneficiaries. When the income interest ends, the trust terminates and the assets revert to charity.
- Life Estate Reserved - With Rachel Carson Council's approval, an individual may donate real estate (home farm, etc.) and continue to use it throughout his or her lifetime. This is known as a gift of remainder interest with a "life estate reserved." Such an arrangement can generate income and estate tax savings for the donor, while benefiting Rachel Carson Council at the end of the life interest.
Choose your Thank You gift from Rachel Carson Council
- $25,000: One week at Rachel Carson's Maine seaside cottage overlooking the water on Southport Island, which Rachel found so inspirational.
- $10,000: One week at Maple Hill Farm Bed and Breakfast, an ecologically friendly 8-room inn on a 130 acre active farm in Hallowell, Maine. Chosen as one of "30 Great U.S. Inns" by Travel and Leisure Magazine, June, 2002.
- $5,000: A wildlife print by renowned Canadian environmental artist Robert Bateman OR
A combination of the three ecological videos PLUS a choice of FIVE of the listed gifts in the $2,500 category - $2,500 option 1: Three ecological videos:
- The Next Industrial Revolution, produced by Wm. McDonough and Michael Braungart. Two leaders of a movement bringing together ecology and human design explore how business can work with nature and still be profitable.
- Preserving the Future, produced by Roswitha Augusta. An instructional and motivational video for teaching people of any age to love and protect the environment.
- Healthy Home and Garden - Less-Toxic Pest Control, produced by California's Central Contra Costa Sanitary District. Shows how to manage pests in the home and the garden with little or no hazardous chemical pesticide use.
- $2,500 option 2: A choice of three of the following:
- The Work of Nature, How the Diversity of Life Sustains Us, by Yvonne Baskin. "In facing a future of diminishing biodiversity, The Work of Nature elucidates why we must understand and care for the mechanics of natural life support systems." ~ Amicus Journal
- How Groundhog's Garden Grew, written and illustrated by Lynne Cherry. For children interested in organic gardening.
- Rachel: The Story of Rachel Carson, for children ages 5-8. Rachel's life in 13 one-page stories, with beautiful illustrations. Written by Amy Ehrlich, illustrated by Wendell Minor.
- The Sense of Wonder, primarily for adults, Rachel Carson's book on introducing children to the wonders of nature.
- Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson - the most recent edition.
- Rachel Carson postage stamp pin, a lapel pin based on the U.S. 17-cent commemorative stamp
- Four U.S. 17-cent postage stamps commemorating Rachel Carson
- The Rachel Carson Poster celebrating the 25th anniversary of Silent Spring
- $1000: A Choice of ONE of the following books:
- The Work of Nature, How the Diversity of Life Sustains Us, by Yvonne Baskin. "In facing a future of diminishing biodiversity, The Work of Nature elucidates why we must understand and care for the mechanics of natural life support systems." ~ Amicus Journal
- How Groundhog's Garden Grew, written and illustrated by Lynne Cherry. For children interested in organic gardening.
- Rachel: The Story of Rachel Carson, for children ages 5-8. Rachel's life in 13 one-page stories, with beautiful illustrations. Written by Amy Ehrlich, illustrated by Wendell Minor.
- The Sense of Wonder, primarily for adults, Rachel Carson's book on introducing children to the wonders of nature.
- Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson - the most recent edition.
- The Work of Nature, How the Diversity of Life Sustains Us, by Yvonne Baskin. "In facing a future of diminishing biodiversity, The Work of Nature elucidates why we must understand and care for the mechanics of natural life support systems." ~ Amicus Journal
$500: Rachel Carson postage stamp pin, a lapel pin based on the U.S. 17-cent commemorative stamp- $100: Four U.S. 17-cent postage stamps commemorating Rachel Carson (pictured to the right).
- $50: The Rachel Carson Poster celebrating the 25th anniversary of Silent Spring.
Rachel Carson Council, Inc. is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) environmental organization founded in 1965 by friends and colleagues of Rachel Carson at her behest. The Council's main focus is collecting and disseminating information on chemical pesticides and alternative methods of pest control but we also maintain a library and a historical collection of materials about Rachel Carson.
Federal Tax ID Number: 52-6072960