Leave A Legacy
Gifting and Leaving a Legacy for Scouting
Download the Scouting Guide for Major Gifts RecognitionDocuments to Leave a Legacy
Your support can make an enduring impact on the lives of young Scouts in the Mobile Area Council, ensuring they have the resources to grow into future leaders. By making a legacy gift, you help secure the programs, opportunities, and adventures that define Scouting for generations to come. Download the provided documents to explore how you can establish a legacy gift and make a lasting difference today.
Memorial Giving
The Mobile Area Council has a Memorial/Tribute Fund established for its Scouters and supporters to make living and lasting tax deductible contributions to the Scouting program. Contributions may be made for any amount as a living memorial or lasting tribute to a departed relative or in honor of someone. Encouraging gifts to the endowment fund is one of Scouting’s highest priorities. It is one of the best ways to ensure that the Mobile Area Council can continue to offer the outstanding programs it now has long into the future and also grow to meet the needs of the youth and communities it serves.
Condolences, recognition, or congratulations may be expressed through the use of the Memorial/Tribute Fund, when material gifts or remembrances may not be desirable or appropriate. Upon receipt of a contribution, the Council will mail a nice card to the family or group in whose memory or honor the gift is made and send an acknowledgement to you.
If you would like to make a contribution to the Mobile Area Council In Honor or In Memory of someone, please contact [email protected] or 251-476-4600. Thank you for your support.
Planned Giving
Most of us have heard of the term endowment, but what does it really mean? An endowment is a fund held in perpetuity to provide interest and dividend earnings for the benefit of a charitable cause. That is the textbook definition, but in reality, an endowment is the life preserver of a charitable organization. To be healthy and stable, the Mobile Area Council needs to meet its current operating budget, without exerting 100% of its energy on fundraising. 10% of the operating budget should be provided from investment income,. For more information on planned giving contact our Scout Executive, William Bryant at 251-476-4600.
In its gratitude for such support, the Boy Scouts of America nationally offers two distinct endowment recognition awards which are all a part of the Heritage Society.
Heritge Societies
The James E. West Fellowship
This award is named after James E. West who was the first Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America. Dr. West exemplified Ralph Waldo Emerson’s observation that “an institution is the lengthened shadow of one man.” Scouting today is the “lengthened shadow” of more than three decades of the farseeing and dedicated leadership of Dr. James E. West. Those who are recognized by the James E. West Fellowship Award will cast their own “lengthened shadow” as they help ensure the Scouting legacy for future generations of young people and create the financial stability of the program for the Mobile Area Council.
Qualifications
The James E. West Fellowship Award is a national recognition for individuals who contribute $1,000 or more in cash or marketable securities to the Council’s Endowment Trust Fund. This gift must be in addition to and not replace or diminish the donor’s annual Friends of Scouting support. Many individuals and organizations make these gifts on behalf of someone else such as in honor of an Eagle Scout, Silver Beaver recipient, Scoutmaster, Cubmaster, a retirement, a special accomplishment, or anniversary or in memory of a special individual. The James E. West Fellowship Award is recognized with a personalized certificate, a distinctive lapel pin and an exclusive knot for the uniform and are all presented at a special recognition program. The recipient will also be included in special Atlanta Area Council events and mailings in the future.
Second Century Society
An outright gift of $25,000 or more payable over five years, or a deferred gift of $100,000 or more, to a local council, BSA Foundation, high-adventure base, or any BSA entity for operating, capital, or endowment. Donors making outright gifts of $100,000 or more are designated as “Members with Distinction.” Donors making deferred gifts of $500,000 or more are designated as “Legacy Members.” Members in these categories receive special recognition and opportunities provided by the BSA Foundation. Second Century Society members are recognized with a member lapel pin and certificate. Members giving at least $100,000 also receive a framed Rockwell print and a Custom Second Century insignia item.
Good Turn Society
The Good Turn Society of the Boy Scouts of America recognizes generous benefactors who are passionate about preserving the mission, vision, and values of Scouting. The BSA is deeply grateful to Scouters and other investors who desire to “do a Good Turn” to ensure the future of Scouting through their generous financial gifts. We are stewards of these legacy gifts representing the devotion of Scouting’s benefactors and the importance of their extraordinary investments in the future of the Scouting movement.
Members of the Good Turn Society exemplify all that is most admirable about Scouting, including a commitment to service above self, a drive to go above and beyond to achieve an important goal, a willingness to be a model for others, and the courage to demonstrate leadership through their investment in Scouting. Good Turn Society members are truly heroes of Scouting.