Your Legacy, Your Promise to Girls

Since you first held up the fingers on your right hand and proudly recited the Girl Scout Promise, you pledged an oath to each other and to the future. Girls’ tomorrows depend on what we do today. By leaving your legacy to Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast, you continue your promise to Girls.

Your Legacy provides a place for girls to practice the skills they’ll need to lead in every aspect of their lives.
Your Legacy helps girls see that their potential is unlimited.
Your Legacy encourages girls to pursue their dreams.

Fulfill Your Promise

How to Make a Will

Communicate Your Promise

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Creating a Girl Scout Legacy can be simple as well as impactful. Here are options that you can complete yourself:

Add Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast as a beneficiary to an existing account or life insurance policy. Bank accounts, retirement accounts, investment accounts, and life insurance policies offer you the ability to designate the assets to “Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast, EIN 54-1158412.”
Add a simple statement to your Will, “I gift to Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast, EIN 54-1158412, ____.” This can be an amount or a percentage of your estate. A residual bequest directs a portion or whatever remains in your estate after all of your other required amounts are paid, “I gift the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate to Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast, EIN 54-1158412.”

Discuss other ways to establish your Girl Scout Legacy with your financial professional. Many professional tools provide you with a variety of benefits, including tax benefits since Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast is a Federally recognized nonprofit organization.

Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast
912 Cedar Road, Chesapeake, VA 23322

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First, you have some basic decisions to make.

Decide what property to include in your Will. This can include real estate, vehicles, personal items, etc.
Determine who will inherit your property. You can designate your assets to a variety of individuals and others, like the Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast, by assigning a dollar value, a percentage, or the remainder of assets.
Select an executor for your estate. This is a person who you trust to carry out the directions that are outlined in your Will.
Choose a guardian for your child(ren). Consider the children’s best interests and the guardian’s ability to provide for their needs.
Select someone to manage your children’s assets. This can be the guardian or another person who manages the finances of the minors until they reach the age of maturity.

Second, make your Will.

A Will can be simple, that you handwrite, or it can be more complicated based upon you, your family, and types of assets. Many people hire an attorney to prepare the document, or others use online tools.

Girl Scouts is partnering with FreeWill, a completely FREE online platform that creates a valid will in either Virginia or North Carolina. The step-by-step process is easy to use and provides an option to complete your promise to local girls. The guided site asks all of the necessary questions, and you fill in the blanks based upon the state where you live.

Third, print your Will and sign it in front of witnesses.

The witness must be at least 18 years old, of sound mind, and should not benefit from your will. During this process, let them know that they are signing your original will. You do not need to provide them with a copy.

Fourth, store it in a safe location.

A safe location varies person-to-person. Some have a safety deposit box. Others use a box in the attic that is labeled “Important Papers.” The most important aspect is that your executor knows where it is and can access it when it’s needed.

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Many times documents will say who to direct funds to, yet not necessarily how to use them.

You have our promise that we will use your donation as directed, which is why we request that you complete and submit the Juliette Gordon Low Society form. This is not a legally binding document, rather it provides guidance on how you want to be recognized and states what you want to accomplish.

By submitting the form, you become a member of the Juliette Gordon Low Society which is a group who shares your values and a common promise to Girl Scouts. You can be active or remain anonymous; the choice is yours.

You can modify the document if you change your mind.

If your Legacy is valued at $25,000 or more, you have the option to create an endowed fund that bears your name, your family’s name, or the name of a loved one. Your fund will be securely invested and annually generates funds in support of your specified purpose.

Girl Scouts’ founder, Juliette Gordon Low, offered her promise to girls. Juliette promised the first legacy gift in the Girl Scout Movement. After converting the carriage house of her home into the first Girl Scout national headquarters, she gifted the property to Girl Scouts in her will.

When you add your Legacy Promise to Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast, you join an elite group of Girl Scouts who extend our promise into helping girls achieve a lifetime of leadership and building positive change.

Girl Scout Promise

On my honor, I will try:
To serve God* and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

*Members may substitute for the word God
in accordance with their own spiritual beliefs.

Girl Scout Law

I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong,
and responsible for what I say and do,
and to respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place,
and be a sister to every Girl Scout.

GSCCC has earned a Platinum Seal of Transparency.
View our nonprofit profile at Candid/GuideStar.

Tax Exempt No. 54-1158412

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