LEGACY GIVING
& BEQUESTS.

A gift in your will is the one donation that costs you nothing today. It lets you protect whale sharks, manta rays, and the ocean they depend on beyond your own lifetime — and it funds the kind of patient, decades-long science that annual budgets rarely reach. Our whale shark research in Mozambique has run continuously since 2005; legacy gifts are how work like that keeps running.

What is a charitable bequest?

A bequest is a gift written into your will or living trust. It can be a fixed sum, a specific asset such as property or stock, or a percentage of what remains of your estate after other gifts. Nothing changes during your lifetime: you keep full control of your assets, and you can adjust or revoke the gift at any time if your circumstances change.

Depending on where you live, a charitable bequest may also reduce the tax owed by your estate. Your attorney or financial advisor can confirm what applies to you.

How to leave a gift to MMF in your will

1. Talk to your attorney or financial advisor about adding the Marine Megafauna Foundation to your will or trust. In many cases it takes as little as two sentences — see the sample language below.
2. Give them our legal details:
   • Legal name: Marine Megafauna Foundation
   • Address: 7750 Okeechobee Blvd Ste 4-3038, West Palm Beach, FL 33411, USA
   • Federal Tax ID (EIN): 46-0645082
3. Tell us your plans at [email protected]. This is entirely optional, but it lets us thank you properly and make sure we understand your wishes.

Sample bequest language

For an unrestricted gift — the most useful kind, because it lets us direct funds to the most urgent work — consider language like this, adapted by your attorney:

“I give to Marine Megafauna Foundation (Tax ID: 46-0645082), a not-for-profit corporation with its principal offices at 7750 Okeechobee Blvd Ste 4-3038, West Palm Beach, FL 33411, (the sum of $______ or ___% of my residuary estate) to be used for its general purposes. This gift is to be used as the Marine Megafauna Foundation Board of Directors, in its discretion, believes to be appropriate to further the mission of Marine Megafauna Foundation.”

Other ways to leave a legacy

A will is not the only route. In the US, you can also name the Marine Megafauna Foundation as a beneficiary of a retirement account (IRA, 401(k)), a life insurance policy, or an investment account. These designations sit outside your will, are usually a simple form with your plan provider, and can be especially tax-efficient — retirement assets left to charity avoid the income tax an individual heir would pay. Ask your plan administrator for a change-of-beneficiary form and use the legal details above.

What your legacy gift protects

The Marine Megafauna Foundation is a US 501(c)(3) charitable organization with Platinum-level transparency on Candid (GuideStar). Our scientists led the research behind the whale shark’s Endangered listing on the IUCN Red List, described new species of manta ray, and run long-term studies in Mozambique, Tanzania, and beyond. A legacy gift extends that work — the surveys, the ranger training, the government submissions — into the decades when it will matter most.

If you have questions, or you’ve already included MMF in your plans, we would genuinely love to hear from you: [email protected]. Contact person: Sarah Butchers (Chief Operating Officer), [email protected].

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Please consult your attorney or financial advisor about your own situation.