Support The NSA
You remain an important part of a small, elite force. Since the smokejumper program began in 1939, only some 5,000 men and women have risked their lives leaping from aircraft to protect our nation's precious natural resources. We take justifiable pride in our fire fighting and rescue accomplishments. But we're also proud of what we in the National Smokejumper Association are continuing to do, preserving our smokejumper heritage and our wild lands.
This may surprise you: Only one entity, the NSA, is concerned with preserving our smokejumper heritage. Volunteer members have spent thousands of hours compiling the only consolidated list of all smokejumpers, living and dead. We've established on our web site the only compilation of smokejumpers killed in the line of duty, and we're constantly updating it as we learn more about those dead heroes. As resources permit, we're also gathering records, photos, movies and videos; compiling a video history; and rescuing or duplicating historical equipment from the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service. It's the only collection of its kind.
We rehabilitate wilderness trails. Our first project was in Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness, and it was so successful we intend to adopt other trails and work in other areas as resources permit.
Our volunteers have done a terrific job, but now it's time for professional help. Your gift to the National Smokejumper Association will help ensure that artifacts and documents are properly preserved, archived, cataloged and eventually displayed and accessible to researchers. It will also provide rented pack stock so that your fellow jumpers, volunteers all, will be able to maintain more trails more efficiently by moving camps as their work progresses.
The NSA is a non-profit organization. Thus, your gift may result in sizeable tax savings for you or your heirs. Talk it over with your family and your tax consultant. If a gift to your fellow jumpers and to all who use our forests makes financial sense, please consider the NSA in your estate plans. Here are some samples of how you can help.
Outright Gift
Cash
Gifts of cash are the most common way of supporting the NSA. Outright gifts are fully tax deductible.
Securities
Gifts of securities offer distinct advantages to the donor. For example, gifts of appreciated stock are tax-deductible for the full market value of the gift if it is long-term gain, while the capital gains tax on the stock's increased value is eliminated. A stock which has declined in value can also offer tax advantages if the donor first sells the asset to establish a loss (used in turn to offset other gains) and contributes the cash proceeds instead of stock.
Other Assets
Other assets may be used to make an outright gift, such as:
Real Estate Antiques
Homes Stamp or Coin Collections
Farms Insurance
Jewelry Paintings
Each may offer particular advantages depending on your financial circumstances.
Gift Through Will or Bequest
A bequest to the NSA can help you substantially reduce the cost of inheritance taxes to your children, grandchildren, or other heirs. There are a number of will provision gift options:
A Specific Bequest of cash, securities, real estate, life insurance policies or other property provides 100 percent federal estate tax deduction.
Many choose to give a Percentage of their Estate to the NSA. You can choose to endow your important annual gift, and thus continue your support forever.
A donor may choose to include a trust in his or her will to benefit family members during their lives with the principal eventually providing for the NSA. This Twofold Bequest saves estate taxes, thereby providing an increased income for the surviving family members.
A trust that provides an important annual gift to the NSA for a specific number of years with the principal then going to beneficiaries can be an excellent Estate Tax Saver. The trust saves estate taxes thus preserves the estate for family members.
Gift from which you and/or your heirs receive income.
Charitable Remainder Trust
An independent trustee whom you choose individually manages a charitable
remainder trust. There are two types:
Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust, which pays you or your beneficiary a fixed dollar income every year on a quarterly basis.
Charitable Remainder Unitrust, which pays you or your beneficiary an annual fixed percentage of the fair market value of the trust assets, which are revalued annually.
Both provide income for life for you and a beneficiary, are tax deductible in part and eliminate capital gains tax.
Charitable Lead Trust
A charitable lead trust enables you to preserve assets for your beneficiaries
while providing an annual gift to the NSA. The lead trust is individually
managed and pays an annuity of fixed percentage of the assets to the Association
for a specified number of years. At the end of this period, the assets
are passed on to your beneficiaries.
A charitable lead trust can help you dramatically reduce gift and estate tax cost on assets transferred to heirs. It enables you to transfer the fully appreciated value of assets to beneficiaries with little or no further gift and estate tax at termination of the trust.
For most of us, "smokejumping was the greatest job I ever had." Stay with the program. Invest in our heritage.