Getting Started

There are many different ways to help Regent through legacy giving, and lots of ways you and your family can benefit in the process. Every person’s situation is unique, so it’s worth taking some extra time to explore your options. That’s why we always recommend talking to a financial or legal professional about legacy giving and other long-term financial plans. An expert can help you make a gift that meets your unique needs and goals.

Regent College can’t offer you financial or legal advice (again, you’ll want an expert for that!), but here are a couple questions to consider as you think about legacy giving.

Financial benefits. Like any other type of charitable giving, legacy giving can offer significant tax benefits. Many people reduce the tax owed on their estates by making legacy gifts in a will or other instrument. It’s also worth considering how legacy giving might benefit you during your lifetime. Whether by providing income tax credits or actually paying you an income, some types of charitable gifts will get to work for you immediately.

Caring for your loved ones. People often worry that the choice to make a legacy gift will come at the expense of their children or other heirs. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be the case! It’s very simple, for example, to make a gift in your will that draws only on assets left over after your primary heirs are taken care of. And depending on your circumstances and priorities, you may be able to make a gift that significantly reduces the taxes your heirs will have to pay on your estate, or even a gift that pays a loved one income over time. A qualified financial planner can help you figure out how to use your estate to care for the various people and causes close to your heart.


Most legacy donors simply want to help Regent’s mission and community flourish, so they leave gifts that can be used wherever the funds are most needed. These gifts are incredibly valuable because they help Regent follow God’s leading amid changing circumstances, while also safeguarding the core functions of the College. Throughout Regent’s history, these “where most needed” gifts have played a pivotal role in helping the College meet its regular financial obligations while also investing in new projects that make a real difference in the lives of students and our broader community. If you visit Regent College and take a quick look around, chances are good that you’ll see something legacy donors made possible!

Occasionally, donors prefer to leave specific instructions about how they would like a legacy gift to be used. If you have something specific in mind for your legacy gift, please get in touch with us! We’d love to help you express your intentions in a way that achieves your goals and maximizes the amount of good you can do for the Regent community.


Making a Gift in Your Will

Making a gift to Regent in your will is usually as simple as including a couple of sentences that explain your intent. Here are a couple examples:

  1. I give the sum of $_________ to Regent College (5800 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T 2E4) for its general purposes.
  2. I give ______% of the residue of my estate to Regent College (5800 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T 2E4) for its general purposes.

Note: To prevent any confusion about which organization should receive your gift, be sure to include Regent College’s full name and address in your will. You can also reference Regent College’s CRA charitable number: 10788 1039 RR0001.

American taxpayers can use similar language to make a legacy gift to Regent College Foundation, our US-based partner organization. (See Information for Americans for more details.)

For additional information and sample language for your will, download a printable tip sheet.

Making Other Types of Gifts

Gifts from a life insurance policy or retirement savings account are usually extremely simple. They generally don’t require any special documentation: simply name Regent College as a beneficiary of the policy or account. This can usually be done by contacting the policy administrator, or even making the update yourself.

Gifts that pay income and other specialized types of legacy gift usually require professional assistance to set up and manage, so plan on having a conversation with a financial planner. We also invite you to get in touch with Regent’s Advancement team to make sure the College is able to receive the type of gift you’re looking at.

Sharing Your Legacy Giving Plans

If you’ve already included Regent in your will or estate plans, thank you! We’re incredibly grateful when anyone chooses to include Regent in their legacy giving plans. We’re also incredibly grateful when donors choose to let us know that they’ve included Regent in their legacy giving plans. 

You can share your plans using a Declaration of Intent form.

If letting Regent's Advancement team know about your legacy giving plans feels like a strange idea, we understand! But we hope you'll consider the following.

First, you’ll help Regent do a better job of predicting, planning, and preparing for the future. Having a general sense of what kind of legacy gifts the College might receive over the next several decades will help enormously as we work to ensure Regent’s long-term financial sustainability. Second, we’ll be able to share our appreciation and keep you up to date about how God is working in and through the Regent community.

Letting us know about your current plans does not create any kind of commitment. You remain free to change your plans at any time, for any reason. Finally, we’ll always be careful to respect your wishes regarding confidentiality and anonymity, and you never need to share more than you’re comfortable with.

We're here to help

If you're thinking about legacy giving, Regent's Advancement team would love to hear from you. You can also sign up to get more information delivered straight to your inbox.