Naming VBCTF in Your Estate: A Conversation Guide for Virginia Donors and the Advisors Who Serve Them
If you or your client is considering including the Virginia Blue-Collar Tool Foundation in an estate plan, this page is a reference document. Print it. Keep it in the client file. Share it with the estate planning attorney. It answers the practical questions and has the information needed to draft language correctly.
Why VBCTF as an Estate Beneficiary
VBCTF is a public 501(c)(3), EIN 41-4536968, incorporated in Virginia, with a current determination letter searchable at apps.irs.gov. Gifts by bequest or beneficiary designation are deductible for estate tax purposes. Retirement assets passed to VBCTF are not subject to income tax. The organization is structured to exist for the long term.
Option 1: IRA or Retirement Account Beneficiary Designation
This is typically the most tax-efficient estate giving option available — and the simplest to execute.
When retirement assets (traditional IRA, 401(k), 403(b), SEP-IRA) are passed to a non-spousal heir, those assets are subject to income tax as they’re distributed. A $500,000 IRA passed to a child or other heir may generate $150,000+ in tax liability, depending on the heir’s income and distribution timing.
The same $500,000 passed to a qualified 501(c)(3) generates no income tax liability at the charity level. The full amount reaches VBCTF. Zero shrinkage from income tax.
For clients who want to leave both taxable and tax-efficient assets to a mix of heirs and charities, the optimal structure is almost always: retirement accounts to charities, taxable accounts to heirs. The after-tax value is maximized because charities don’t pay income tax and the heirs receive assets with a stepped-up basis.
To implement: contact the IRA or plan custodian and request a beneficiary designation change form. Name:
Virginia Blue-Collar Tool Foundation
EIN: 41-4536968
7307 George Washington Memorial Highway, Suite 2 #780, Yorktown, VA 23692
No attorney required. Update the designation form. Done. You can name VBCTF as primary, contingent, or partial beneficiary (e.g., “20% to Virginia Blue-Collar Tool Foundation, EIN 41-4536968”).
Option 2: Specific Bequest in a Will or Revocable Trust
Language for a specific dollar bequest:
“I give the sum of [$_______] to Virginia Blue-Collar Tool Foundation, a Virginia 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation with EIN 41-4536968, located at 7307 George Washington Memorial Highway, Suite 2 #780, Yorktown, VA 23692, to be used for its general charitable purposes.”
Option 3: Residual Bequest
“I give [___%] of the residue of my estate to Virginia Blue-Collar Tool Foundation, EIN 41-4536968, for its general charitable purposes.”
Option 4: Charitable Remainder Trust
A CRT pays income to one or more non-charitable beneficiaries for a term, then passes the remainder to a designated charity. The donor receives a partial charitable deduction in the year the CRT is funded. CRTs can be structured to pay income to the donor during their lifetime, then pass the remainder to VBCTF. This structure is more complex and requires an attorney — but for donors with highly appreciated assets who want an income stream and a charitable legacy, it’s worth discussing.
If the Donor Wants to Let Us Know
We don’t have a formal legacy society or recognition program — those require staff overhead we don’t have. What we do have: if a donor tells us they’ve included VBCTF in their estate plans, Neal will acknowledge it personally, make sure we have current contact information, and keep them updated on the organization’s progress. That’s it. No events. No plaques. Just a genuine relationship with the organization they’ve chosen to support.
neal@vbctf.org · 757-256-3432
→ Full giving options at vbctf.org/ways-to-give
