Person smiling at their dog while patting the dog on its head

Planned giving: Leave a lifesaving legacy for the animals

Ensure a bright, safe future for generations to come by leaving a gift to the animals.

When you leave a gift to Best Friends through your will or trust, you become part of our Forever Friends family, ensuring that homeless pets know love and warmth not only today, but far into the future.

heart with paw print

Planned and legacy gifts for the animals

Gift planning helps you turn your savings into lifesaving while meeting your personal, financial, and estate-planning goals.

Here are some asset types you can use to make a current or future gift to save homeless pets.

Person smiling at a dog sitting in a chair

Will or trust

Making a gift through your will or revocable living trust is a simple and flexible way to save the lives of homeless pets for years to come.
Giving through your will or trust
Person leaning down to pet a dog

Retirement assets

You can allocate any of your unused retirement assets as a gift to our lifesaving efforts, helping to save the lives of cats and dogs.
Giving your retirement assets
Smiling person looking at two tiny kittens on a chair

Life insurance

You can name Best Friends as a primary life insurance beneficiary or as a contingent beneficiary should your other beneficiaries not survive you.
Giving your life insurance
Person looking happily at a dog resting their head on their shoulder

Charitable gift annuity

You can create both a brighter future for homeless pets and receive lifetime income at the same time.
Giving your charitable gift annuity
Smiling person kneeling next to a happy dog on the grass

Give today

Your donation will be put to immediate use while entitling you to a charitable income tax deduction for the full value of your gift.
Give today
Happy person holding a tiny puppy

IRA rollover

Make a gift to the animals by rolling over your IRA, and the distribution won't count as taxable income.
Rollover your IRA
Tiny kitten resting on the shoulder of a smiling person holding them

Stock gifts

A donation of stock is a great way to support the lifesaving of Best Friends; plus, you’ll receive a significant tax break from the IRS.
Giving your stocks
Person kneeling down in the grass to hug a dog

Best Friends’ tax ID information

Legal name: Best Friends Animal Society 

Address: 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, UT 84741 

Tax ID #: 23-7147797

Best Friends Animal Society is a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit. 

Questions? Please contact us at 435-359-9227 or plannedgiving@bestfriends.org.

Become a Forever Friend with Best Friends

Forever Friends are forward-thinking people like you who know they can make a difference for the animals by leaving a legacy.

The gifts of Forever Friends provide homeless pets love and safety long into the future.

As a thank-you for becoming a Forever Friend, you'll receive a lifetime subscription to Best Friends magazine and the Forever Friends newsletter, Best Friends lodging discounts, invitations to special events, fireside chats, and select Sanctuary activities — plus your own personal contact at Best Friends to help with all your questions.

Become a Forever Friend
Three fuzzy kittens being held

Meet the team

Our planned giving team is experienced, dedicated, and committed to working with you to make the right gift for the animals.
Meet the team

Why we give

Our donors believe that, together, we can end the needless killing of dogs and cats in shelters.

Bonita Vanderkooi holding a small brown and white dog in her arms

Bonita Vanderkooi finds the perfect fit in Best Friends

When Bonita Vanderkooi and her husband, Doug, considered who was to inherit most of the wealth they’d saved from their decades working for State Farm, there was hardly anything to discuss.
Giving it all to their favorite place
Feature
Tami and Troy

Tami Brown hits the legacy trail with Troy

Two souls in search of a better life reach new heights together.
Her will is her way of giving back.
Feature
Maryanne Dailey with Rosie

Maryanne Pagonis: Her will is her way of giving back

There is nothing Maryanne Pagonis wouldn’t do for her beloved dog Rosie — nor for Best Friends for bringing the two of them together.
Her will is her way of giving back.
Feature
Silhouette of two dogs, cat and kitten

Ensuring a lifetime of care for your pets

As you prepare your estate, you can make a plan to care for your pets even after you’re gone.

Plan for your pets
Best Friends Logo Mark

About Best Friends

Best Friends Animal Society is working to save the lives of cats and dogs all across the country, giving pets second chances and happy homes.

Just a few years ago, cats and dogs were killed in staggering numbers in this country simply because shelters didn't have the community support or the resources to save their lives. That number is now less than half a million per year, but there’s still work to do to ensure a bright future for every dog and cat in America. 

Best Friends operates the nation's largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals and is committed to saving the lives of homeless pets by working with shelters and passionate people like you. Together, we will bring the whole country to no-kill in 2025. Together, we will Save Them All.