1939 SOCIETY

You can ensure that the memories of the game’s greatest moments and players are preserved by making a legacy gift as part of your estate planning.

1939 Society Logo

The 1939 Society recognizes those who have committed to preserving the history of our National Pastime by including the Museum in their estate plans. Named in honor of the year the Hall of Fame opened, the 1939 Society is a group of like-minded individuals who share a passion for ensuring that baseball history is preserved for generations to come.

Members of the 1939 Society will enjoy special recognition opportunities and events, so all of us at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum may celebrate the extraordinary commitment these individuals have made through their estate plans.

Members of the 1939 Society exhibit exceptional foresight. Their generosity will provide essential support for the Museum's mission by helping us to collect, preserve, and share the rich history of baseball. They, along with our wonderfully generous annual donors and members, comprise a powerful triumvirate of supporters, whom play a critical role in safeguarding the stories, artifacts, and memories of the game. Together they enable us to continue inspiring and educating fans, young and old, about the impact of the game on culture.

WAYS TO MAKE AN ESTATE GIFT

Make a gift (bequest) through your will to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum to ensure future generations of fans always have a home to celebrate the history of baseball. A bequest is one of the simplest ways to make a significant impact. In as little as one sentence, you can update your estate plans with this type of gift.

TYPES OF BEQUESTS

• Specific Bequest: A gift of a specific dollar amount or specific assets (i.e. securities, real estate or personal property) that you arrange for the Museum to receive.

• Percentage Bequest: Instead of a fixed gift amount from a specific bequest, a percentage bequest designates a set percentage of your estate to support the Museum.

• Residual Bequest: This type of bequest gives all or a portion of the balance of your estate to the Museum after the payment of expenses and any gifts to other beneficiaries.

• Contingent Bequest : A contingent bequest gift is made to the Museum only if the bequest designated to the primary beneficiary or beneficiaries cannot be met.

BENEFITS

• There is no cost to you now.

• A bequest is flexible if you need to modify or update your will.

• It allows you to provide your heirs with specific gifts, while also supporting the Museum.

• A charitable bequest may minimize or eliminate your estate tax - maximizing the work of your gift.

• Your gift will have a significant impact, helping to preserve baseball history and creating a lasting and personal legacy for you in Cooperstown.

SUGGEST BEQUEST LANGUAGE

A retirement account can be a powerful and simple way to support the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

WAYS TO GIFT FROM A RETIREMENT ACCOUNT

Name the Museum as a beneficiary of your account: This method of giving is as simple as updating your beneficiary designation for your retirement account. You can designate the Museum as the primary or secondary beneficiary for a percentage or specific amount. The Museum could also be designated as a contingent beneficiary.

BENEFITS

• Designating the Museum as a beneficiary of your retirment acount is generally easy to do.

• It allows you to provide your heirs with specific gifts, while also supporting the Museum.

• Your gift will have a significant impact, helping to preserve baseball history and creating a lasting and personal legacy for you in Cooperstown.

A charitable remainder trust is a gift plan defined by federal tax law that allows you to provide payments to yourself or others while making a generous gift to the Museum. The payments may continue for the lifetimes of the beneficiaries you name, a fixed term of not more than 20 years, or a combination of the two.

When the trust term ends, the trust's principal passes to the Museum. 

Charitable remainder trusts can offer tax benefits. Please consult a tax qualified tax advisor for more information. 

The final distribution of contributions remaining in your donor advised fund (DAF) after your lifetime can be designated when you create or update your fund. You can contact your DAF administrator and complete a beneficiary designation form naming the Museum as a beneficiary of your fund.

A life insurance policy is a versatile financial planning tool that can also be a powerful and simple way to support the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

WAYS TO GIFT LIFE INSURANCE

Name the Museum as a beneficiary of your policy: This method of giving is as simple as updating your beneficiary designation form with your insurance company. You can designate the Museum as the primary or secondary beneficiary of your life insurance policy for a percentage or specific amount. The Museum could also be designated as a contingent beneficiary.

BENEFITS

• A gift of life insurance is generally easy to make.

• It allows you to provide your heirs with specific gifts, while also supporting the Museum.

• Your gift will have a significant impact, helping to preserve baseball history and creating a lasting and personal legacy for you in Cooperstown.

If you are 70½ or older, you can make a tax-free distribution from your traditional or Roth IRA to the Museum, known as an IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) or IRA Charitable Rollover. Benefits include:

  • The IRA rollover amount is excluded from your taxable income.
  • You may roll over up to $100,000 every year from your IRA as a QCD.
  • If you are age 73 or older, the QCD can also count towards your required minimum distribution (RMD).

 

Making Your IRA Gift To make an IRA QCD gift to the Museum, please direct your IRA administrator to mail a check payable to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum to the address below. 

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Attn: Development Office, 25 Main Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326

Please note that IRA administrators frequently do not include the donor’s name on IRA QCD checks.  Please alert the Museum if you are planning or have initiated a QCD gift so that we may promptly and correctly acknowledge your generous donation by contacting us at 607-547-0310.

Please consult a qualified advisor before making an IRA gift.

Your attorney can help you design an estate plan that protects your family, preserves your property and benefits the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. This information should be helpful if you intend to include the Museum as a beneficiary in your will or living trust or as a beneficiary of your life insurance policy, bank account, brokerage account or retirement account.

LEGAL NAME:

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

ADDRESS:

25 Main Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326

FEDERAL TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER:

15-0572877

NEXT STEPS

1. Please consult with your tax, legal and financial advisors.

2. If you have included the Museum in your estate planning please download, complete and return a Declaration of Intent form so that you can be recognized as a member of the 1939 Society

QUESTIONS?

Please contact our Development Office at:

(607) 547-0310

or

development@baseballhall.org

 

EXPLORE MORE WAYS TO SUPPORT THE MUSEUM

Featured Story

Aaron’s legacy preserved through his gift to the Hall

Hank Aaron pledged nearly his entire collection to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.