Created to honor the spirit of philanthropy and excellence in education, we have created the BCD Society to inspire, connect, and recognize alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends who continue to look to the School’s future and invest in it.

The BCD Society recognizes individuals who have arranged for gifts to Berkshire Country Day School to arrive after their deaths. Whether BCD is named in your will, trust, insurance policy, or as a beneficiary of an IRA, we hope you will let us know so we can thank you for your vision and welcome you as a new BCD Society member. Membership is honorary, and all are welcome to join. Members are not required to disclose the terms of their bequest plans, although any information that is shared with the Advancement Office is helpful.

Please consider your own enduring legacy and contact the Advancement Office at BCD to begin the conversation and realize your philanthropic goals. And if you have already included BCD in your estate plans, please reach out and let us know so we can enroll you in the BCD Society and express our gratitude.

WHY

When you include Berkshire Country Day School in your estate plans, you are emphasizing your own legacy while ensuring the financial strength and stability of BCD. Independent schools rely on the power of endowments to create stability and sustain growth into the future. Planned giving is a powerful way to support the School into the future.

This means that the mission, vision, and values of BCD that are near and dear to your heart remain possible for generations of students to come.

HOW

Making a gift in your will or living trust can sustain your philanthropic impact for generations of BCD students to come. When you include BCD in your will, trust or as beneficiary of a retirement plan, life insurance policy, or donor advised fund, you become a member of the BCD Society in perpetuity. Your gift can be unrestricted, allowing BCD to utilize the funds for greatest impact, or restricted, for a specific purpose or program. Your financial advisor is the best resource for determining the form of your legacy gift.

Bequests are perhaps the best-known and most widely understood planned gift arrangement. A gift done through one’s will is a classic way to express one’s dedication to Berkshire Country Day School. Such a gift is simple to arrange, satisfying to complete and beneficial to BCD.

Types of Bequests:

  • Unrestricted Bequests:  Used for general purposes, this type of bequest is especially appreciated because it can be put to immediate use in the areas of greatest need at the School.
  • Restricted Bequests:  This is a bequest that instructs Berkshire Country Day School to use the gift in a specific manner.

Both restricted and unrestricted bequests are made in the following ways:

  • Specific Bequest:  A specific asset or collection of assets in the form of cash, securities, or other property is bequeathed to the School. You may designate a specific amount or a percentage of the property.
  • Residuary Bequest:  You may bequest all or a percentage of what remains of your estate after all specific legacies have been satisfied and debts and expenses have been paid.
  • Contingent Bequest:  If a named beneficiary is not alive when you die, all or a portion of your estate in the event will go to Berkshire Country Day School. This type of bequest can avoid costly litigation or prevent property from reverting to the state for lack of heirs.

A primary or vacation residence or other property may be used to fund a charitable gift. Donors may choose to continue to live in a house or to give a home outright. Investment property may be gifted as well.

Many people own outdated or unneeded life insurance policies. One’s circumstances may change: children leave home, a couple moves to a smaller home, or an individual receives an inheritance. Consider donating an unneeded insurance policy to Berkshire Country Day School and receive a charitable tax deduction while you are making a special gift.