By making The HSUS a beneficiary of your retirement assets and cash accounts, you can make a large gift to help protect animals without any immediate out-of-pocket expenses.

When making The HSUS a beneficiary of your financial assets, we strongly emphasize that you include not only our address, but also a brief description of our organization in the appropriate documents to ensure that there is no post mortem confusion with the myriad organizations that have similar names. 

An example is: "The Humane Society of the United States (tax identification number 53-0225390), a charitable corporation organized under Delaware law now maintaining its headquarters in the District of Columbia at 2100 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20037." 

Also, please notify us about the terms and conditions of your bequest so that your gift will be managed properly and in a timely manner, as well as acknowledged appropriately via our Humane Legacy program.

You can also name The HSUS as the beneficiary of distributions from certain kinds of retirement assets, such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs), tax-sheltered annuities, and 401(k) and 403(b) plans, as well as your checking, savings, and brokerage accounts.

These accounts are often subject to income and estate taxes, but when you make The HSUS the beneficiary, the assets given to The HSUS will generate a tax deduction and, in the case of estate taxes, a tax exemption. Retirement assets can be designated so that all or a certain percentage of the funds go to The HSUS.

As with all major gifts to charities, please seek professional advice from your legal and financial advisors about how naming The HSUS as a beneficiary will impact your insurance and retirement distributions, as well as your tax liability.

Life Insurance

You can use your life insurance to support The HSUS.  Making The HSUS a beneficiary may also reduce your estate taxes.  For more information, please visit www.hsus.org/insurance.