Translate your passion for the natural world into a gift that provides a legacy for future generations.

If you would like to help support the critical work of The Nature Conservancy but feel you cannot make a significant gift today, your solution may be a charitable bequest.

Leave a Conservation Legacy

From the Rocky Mountains in Montana to the rich seas of the Coral Triangle, and from the mighty waters of the Mississippi River to the lush tropical rainforests of the Amazon—these are just a few of the many precious natural places around the world that bequests from our Legacy Club members have supported.

By making your wishes known through a charitable bequest to The Nature Conservancy, anyone can make a lasting difference to Earth's lands and waters. And like the couple below, the expression of your individual values will have a real impact on the natural world for future generations.

Wide Open Spaces

For Val Schnabl, the importance of conservation always comes back to three words: “wide open spaces.”

He and his wife, Sheri, have a view of the ocean from their home in Playa del Rey, California, and being able to see all the way to the horizon is so important to them. If they look in the other direction, all they see are houses and buildings.

Val and Sheri have always enjoyed getting out into nature, whether in their own back yard or when traveling across the country.

The beach outside their home offers a refuge from the bustle of the Los Angeles area, and trips to national parks have provided hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities. Sheri’s interest in conservation extends into the realm of horticulture and preserving varied plant communities. The diversity of plant life is also an inspiration for her watercolors.

The Legacy Club

The Schnabls have remembered The Nature Conservancy through a generous bequest commitment that will ensure that more wide open spaces remain that way.

By notifying the Conservancy of their intention, the Schnabls joined more than 16,000 Conservancy supporters in The Legacy Club. The Schnabls cite the Conservancy’s “workable approach” as a reason for choosing the Conservancy.

“What I like about The Nature Conservancy is that they are very reasonable and thoughtful about how they go about preserving land,” Sheri says. “They don’t just buy any land — they choose the unique areas that are most important to maintain.”

Val appreciates that the Conservancy works with government agencies, not against them, to further its conservation goals. “They’ve got their act together,” Val concludes.

Image Credits (left to right): © Lynn Mc McBride (Pacific Ocean coastline of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary near Monterey, California); Image courtesy of Val and Sheri Schnabl (Val and Sheri Schnabl)