Legacy Circle
Join Surfrider in leaving a legacy of protecting our coasts for all to enjoy, for generations to come.
Planned Giving is an impactful and strategic way to support Surfrider's work and protect our coasts.
By including Surfrider in your estate plans, you can make a meaningful difference in the protecting of our ocean, coasts, and beaches for future generations. The gifts can give you confidence in the stewardship of your favorite places, may be more significant than your annual giving level, and, with the guidance of your estate attorney or advisor, may be a tax-savvy way to prevent additional tax burden for your family and other beneficiaries.
Your Legacy with Surfrider
The Legacy Circle is the group of generous supporters who have chosen to include Surfrider in their estate plans. In addition to knowing that you will make a meaningful difference in our work to protect our coasts, benefits include a welcome letter, special event and webinar invitations, opportunities to connect with other Surfrider Legacy Circle members, and annual recognition of your commitment to the future of our coasts.
If you've already included Surfrider in your estate plans and would like to join the Legacy Circle, let us know.
“The coast is never saved. It’s always being saved.”
- Peter Douglas, Executive Director of the California Coastal Commission (1977-2012)
Join the Legacy Circle
Whether just starting your support of Surfrider, a culmination of years of commitment, or a reconnection to our work — and whether your gift feels like a drop in the bucket or an ocean — all are warmly welcome to join the Legacy Circle.
To join, include Surfrider in your estate plans and then simply let us know that you have. There are many ways to include Surfrider in your planned giving, including as beneficiary of your will, retirement account, donor-advised fund account, life insurance policy, revocable trust, or charitable trust.
Click below to learn more about planned giving with Surfrider and how you can make an impact for future generations.
Impact of the Legacy Circle
Gifts from Legacy Circle members have helped endow work in regions special to our donors and given us greater flexibility to adapt to ever-evolving threats to our coasts.
Getting to know our Legacy Circle members helps us understand the priorities of our community members who may not be able to give and direct as significant of a gift today.
To read about Surfrider's work and the legacy that you can be part of, check out our latest posts at the link below.
Beach Cleanups
A Surfrider Foundation program to tackle the ocean litter issue – primarily caused by plastic pollution - through education for action, community science, and campaigns. We are all part of the solution and together we can restore our coastlines, one beach at a time.
Beach Guardian Program
The Surfrider Foundation Beach Guardian Program empowers everyday people to take action where it matters most—on their local beaches. Through cleanups, coastal monitoring, and community science, Beach Guardians are helping protect our ocean while shaping real policy change.
Ocean Friendly Hotels
Surfrider’s Ocean Friendly Hotels program helps hotels reduce single-use plastic and make more sustainable choices for the ocean. The result is a community of like-minded hotels that we can promote, support, and lift up as examples of success to influence behavior change in the hospitality industry and partner with to pass plastic reduction legislation.
Ocean Friendly Restaurants
The Surfrider Foundation’s Ocean Friendly Restaurants program tackles plastic pollution at its source. One restaurant, one customer at a time, it increases awareness, drives behavior change, and ultimately creates scalable impact to reduce our plastic footprint.
More About Planned Giving and the Legacy Circle
New to Planned Giving?
In short, Planned Giving means strategically including charitable giving in your estate plan or will.
There are a wide range of ways to include charities as beneficiaries of your estate. These donations can be as small or large as you choose, and often times allow you to make a more significant gift that you would during your lifetime. The donations could be gifts of cash, retirement account proceeds, assets like stocks or property, and more. Planned giving can give you confidence that you will have a meaningful impact in your chosen charities and can be a tax-smart method to limit tax burden for your heirs. To learn more about these methods and strategies, visit our planned giving hub.
We always encourage you to start by talking to your financial advisor or estate attorney, if possible. Another great step is to create a will. Platforms like FreeWill offer you the ability to create a will for free.
If you'd like to request sample language for including Surfrider in your will, to learn more about what types of Planned Gifts we are able to accept, or to talk about the areas of our work where your gift could have a meaningful impact, email us at legacy@surfrider.org.
Legacy Circle
The Legacy Circle recognizes donors for the gifts they will or have given to Surfrider through their estate planning. To join the Legacy Circle, simply let us know by filling out this form or emailing us that you have included Surfrider in your planned giving.
We would love the opportunity to welcome you, thank you, and keep you update on the programs or regions special to you. We respect all requests for anonymity, as desired.
Our Legacy Circle is both supporters who have not yet made a gift to Surfrider in their lifetime, to former and active volunteers, and current donors.
If you have any questions about the Legacy Circle, please reach out to us at legacy@surfrider.org.