Use your will power. Without a valid will, state laws can determine how your assets are distributed. You can best ensure that your intentions or wishes are followed by creating a valid and enforceable will. By naming the Sacramento Zoological Society in your will, you leave a legacy for the future. You may leave the Sacramento Zoo a percentage of your estate, a specific dollar amount, or specific property such as stocks, bonds or real estate.

Sample Bequest Language – Percentage of Estate
I give __% of my estate to the Sacramento Zoological Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, for its general uses and purposes. Sacramento Zoological Society is located at 3930 West Land Park Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95822.

-or-

Sample Bequest Language – Specific Gift
I give $______to the Sacramento Zoological Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, for its general uses and purposes. Sacramento Zoological Society is located at 3930 West Land Park Drive, Sacramento, CA 95822.

Sacramento Zoological Society’s Federal Tax ID Number: 94-2861667

Please notify the Sacramento Zoo of your estate plans.

Naming the Sacramento Zoological Society as beneficiary and owner of a new or existing life insurance policy may provide a charitable income tax deduction. Contact your life insurance company for a beneficiary form to include the Sacramento Zoo. It is simple and rewarding.

A trust is often a good supplement to a will for those who wish to avoid the time and expense of probate.

There are many kinds of trusts for many different purposes. But they all have one thing in common: they are a means of assuring that your property will be handled, and ultimately passed on, in the way you wish for your heirs and/or a charitable organization like the Sacramento Zoo. Please consult your financial advisor or attorney for which type of trust(s) best meets your needs.

We have enjoyed the Sacramento Zoo for many years. We’ve participated as members, zoo parents, donors, as a docent and we’ve included the zoo in our trust.

By joining the Wildlife Heritage Guild and including the zoo in our estate plans, we are helping to ensure the financial future of our zoo. It is obvious that the staff at the zoo truly care about the animals and how the zoo participates in animal conservation and preservation of species. The staff are obviously proud of our little inner-city zoo. It is a Sacramento gem. All reasons that helped us to choose the zoo to benefit from our estate planning.

-Tim and Linda McKenna

I consider the Sacramento Zoo my “happy place.” When I am at the zoo volunteering as a docent or just walking the grounds as a visitor, I am constantly reminded of what a special place our zoo is.

It is for countless reasons, coupled with our family desire to help our zoo move forward that we chose to include the Sacramento Zoo in our estate planning. We wanted to do our small part to help assure the zoo remains on its path to continue to meet its mission daily while growing and developing far into the future.

My wife and I urge anyone who can to consider including the Sacramento Zoo in their estate plans. It is easy, makes you feel great and will do great good for the animals and for the community for many years to come.

-Walt and Sharon Hess

Retirement finally gave me time to explore the Sacramento Zoo, and I realized I had found a little oasis in the middle of our capital city. I was inspired to become a volunteer – first in events, then in horticulture, and finally as a docent. It was during my docent training that I discovered the passion and commitment all staff demonstrates toward the betterment of our zoo animals and toward conservation and preservation issues relating to animals throughout the world. For these reasons, I have made the Sacramento Zoo a beneficiary in my living trust, and I am honored to provide a legacy gift that supports the continued efforts to honor animals in our community and around the world.

-Teresa M. Kahl