Long Haul Legacy Circle

Let the land, kids, critters, and life-affirming work of Sacred Earth Foundation,

Ekone Ranch, and White Eagle Memorial Preserve be a part of your earthly legacy!

Thank You for considering making Sacred Earth Foundation a beneficiary of your estate. This is a wonderful way to support all the work that takes place on this land! Planned gifts have the potential to support transformative work at Ekone ~ land acquisitions, equity and reparations, innovative stewardship work in a changing climate, facilities investments, and ensuring the thrival of this organization for many generations into the future.

Now is a particularly wonderful time to plan a gift ~ we have a generous donor offering a $5,000 cash gift to SEF for each of the first 10 members of the Legacy Circle who make a planned gift commitment before the end of the year!

Ways to Make a Planned Gift

These are the most common and simplest forms of planned giving.

Bequest of a specific dollar amount. This may be the simplest way to benefit SEF in your will, avoiding probate and other complications.
Bequest of a percentage of your estate. Another excellent option, depending on how settling your estate after death goes.
Stocks & Securities. There can be significant tax benefits to donating these assets, now or through your will.
Retirement Fund. Designating SEF as a beneficiary of your retirement fund is really easy (a simple form) and can have significant tax benefits for you too.
Life Insurance. Designating SEF as a beneficiary of your life insurance is usually really easy too.
Bequest of personal property. Perhaps an item we could use, or an item of value we’d sell ~ please contact us to ensure that it meets our Gift Acceptance Policy.
Bequest of real estate. Depending on the property we may steward it or sell it as best serves SEF’s mission ~ do contact us to be sure that we can accept this gift.

Please Tell Us!

Each planned gift commitment unlocks a $5,000 cash gift from our Legacy Circle Cornerstone donor!

You aren’t required to tell us when you’ve added Ekone to your will, and we do like happy surprises! But to unlock this match and for planning purposes, we’d sure love to know. You or your attorney can contact us to share your plans by phone, email, or mail. You can also complete this short, friendly pledge form to alert us!

The Best Next Step

Make an appointment with your financial advisor or estate attorney today! Bring this printable document to your appointment, and talk through these (and other) options for uplifting your values, long after you’ve departed.

We also be grateful to know your plans ~ let's chat! Contact Shonie Schlotzhauer, Executive Director, 509-250-1034 cell, shonie@ekone.org, or complete our short pledge form and we'll reach out.

Key Information & Sample Language

The essential information to include in your will to make a bequest is just the organization’s name, address, and tax ID number. Here’s ours:

Sacred Earth Foundation ~ 401 Ekone Rd, Goldendale, WA 98620 ~ Tax ID 26-2272458

And here’s an example of what language you can include in your will.

I bequeath $______ from my residuary estate to Sacred Earth Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation, located at 401 Ekone Rd, Goldendale, Washington, tax ID 26-2272458, to be used as determined by the board to further the mission of the organization.

Recognition

We're building a Legacy Giving Garden on the west side of the Cabin in the Ekone valley, facing the gorgeous sunset over the horse pasture, surrounded by the summer camp play field, visited often by White Eagle families. The Legacy Giving Garden will include a simply-carved stone with the name(s) of each member of the Long Haul Legacy Circle (character limit tbd), and a tall engraved Cornerstone for each donor who provides a $10,000+ cash match to inspire Legacy Gifts. We'll landscape and tend the Garden with seasonal flowers, as an enduring symbol of the commitment and legacy of this visionary circle of supporters.

We'll also recognize Long Haul Legacy Circle donors on our website and in emails, and in other creative, authentic ways as they arise! We’re also happy to keep your gift anonymous or make it “in honor of” another.

Are you the next Cornerstone?

A cash match is a powerful incentive for planned giving! We are deeply grateful to Andy Cranfill for serving as our first Cornerstone donor, with his pledge of a $5,000 cash gift to Ekone for each of our first ten planned gift commitments in 2022, and to Tere Carranza and Therese Charvet, for their current Cornerstone support.

Would you consider becoming our next Cornerstone, and with a cash match for the next 10+ planned gifts? Let's chat!

What Your Legacy Gift Makes Possible!

Planned gifts will be instrumental in our ability to do Big Things in the future, like acquire key properties in the watershed, engage in equity and reparations initiatives, invest in innovative stewardship projects for a changing climate, add vital new staff positions, and improve Ekone's facilities, like adding a hay barn at Heavenly Heights, a covered horse training arena, or a gazebo shelter for White Eagle visitors and burial attendees. We have so many ideas and plans!

Immediately ahead of us ~ planned gifts could be instrumental in paying off the 55-acre North Woods parcel adjacent to the cemetery. We took out a $160,000 loan in 2021 to save this property from imminent logging, going out on a financial limb to avert this disaster. The loan is due in full in 2026, and we're counting on supporters who love this place to make it happen. We're also working with a bridge buyer to secure the Confluence parcel, 140 spectacular, pristine acres at the confluence of Ekone Creek and Rock Creek. Planned gifts may also allow us to permanently protect this vital property!

Our preference is always for gifts designated as unrestricted ~ this gives us the most flexibility to meet emerging needs. We also understand that some donors are passionate about supporting a particular aspect of our work; we welcome gifts designated for the Conservation Fund or Scholarship Fund. Other gift restrictions must be discussed and meet our Gift Acceptance Policy.

Please reach out with any questions, we’d always love to hear from you.

Contact: Shonie Schlotzhauer, Executive Director, 509-250-1034 cell, shonie@ekone.org, or use our short pledge form to tell us of your plans!

Every situation is really different, and we can’t provide you with tax or legal advice, so we made this overview to plant seeds for a conversation with your advisors! You can also talk with your advisors about more complex options like Charitable Gift Annuities, Charitable Lead Trusts, Charitable Remainder Trusts, and more ~ options abound, and we have only included the simplest, most common ones in this overview.