Planned Giving
Planned gifts, or “legacy gifts” allow you to give larger gifts than might be possible during your lifetime. These types of gifts have a siginificant impact on our mission of land conservation, leaving a legacy as timeless as the land itself. While leaving bequests in a will is a common way to leave a legacy gift, there are many different types of planned gifts that can be made. We invite you to view our planned giving guide, which gives a few ideas of gifts to consider. Below you can see how one woman solidified her own legacy through her gift to Nebraska Land Trust.
Have additional questions about giving to NLT? Contact us!
Hannah Sidel | hsidel@nelandtrust.org | 402-438-5263
*Please note, the information in our planned giving guide provides examples of different giving options. Nebraska Land Trust is not a tax advisor. You should consult your tax attorney to help determine how planned gifts or other types of gifts apply to your specific situation.
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Gift of Farm Creates Double Legacy
Like native grass on the prairie, Lynne Egger’s roots in Nebraska run deep, firmly grounded in the Saunders County farm where she was raised by her parents, Herman and Frances. Just as prairie roots solidify an attachment to the soil, Lynne’s memories solidify her attachment to the land.
Growing up with her brother George, they played outside making roads, bridges and racetracks to ride their bikes on. There are memories of being pulled behind Herman’s tractor through snow tunnels created by plows on the county road and taking lunch to her father in the field. She fondly recalls their two large white draft horses, Kate and Judy and riding make-believe horses with George. There are memories of the Omaha stockyards, where they would take their longhorn cattle to market and get treated to breakfast. “There are millions of wonderful memories,” says Lynne, “living with lots of space out in the country…we liked working on the land. We appreciated our rural life. We all liked working outside with plants, animals and nature.”
Lynne Eggers
Eventually Lynne moved away, but she never lost her attachment to the farm and began to think about its future. Ultimately, she decided to donate the farm to a conservation organization because “I wanted to keep this land as farmland.” Given its proximity to Omaha, Lynne worried that it might eventually be used in a manner that would harm the farm and environment. So, she decided on permanent conservation to honor her father, mother and brother who loved it as much as she did.
This led Lynne to donate the 74-acre farm to the Nebraska Land Trust (NLT) in 2021, with an understanding that its prime farmland would be protected by a conservation easement, then sold back into private ownership so the proceeds could endow NLT’s work throughout Nebraska. “I selected NLT because an easement will impose some limits on how the land can be treated and how it must be cared for,” Lynne explains. “Additionally, I am happy to protect our farmland and contribute to the protection of land across the state through NLT’s ongoing work.” Her motives for supporting NLT are also tied to the natural world, because she knows that when farms and ranches are conserved, so are the natural areas that come with them.
In Lynne’s view, growing up in rural Nebraska was a gift that shaped her life. Support for conservation of agricultural, historical and natural resources in the state was a way to give something back. In making her gift, Lynne has created a double legacy. She has permanently conserved her family heritage of prime farmland, so it will always be available to grow food in a region projected to have 2,000,000 people by the year 2050. In addition, her gift will generate an endowment that supports NLT’s work throughout the state. Like a rock thrown into a pond, her generosity will continue to ripple outward, touching many people and landscapes over time.
Lynne’s story here.