The Desert Stars

Create a lasting impact for future generations by joining MDLT’s planned giving society, The Desert Stars!

Planned giving is any gift that is not a current cash gift. Many planned gifts are simple bequests. Other types of gifts include real estate, stocks, IRA distributions, and life-insurance proceeds. If you are interested in making a planned gift, we would be honored to work with you and your advisors to carry out your wishes.

Please email donations@mdlt.org for more information, to let us know that you would like to join The Desert Stars, or if MDLT is already included in your estate plans.

You are eligible to join The Desert Stars if you have arranged for one or more of the following planned gifts: 

  • Bequests & Wills – see below for language to include in your codicil or will

  • Charitable Trusts

  • Life Insurance

A planned gift to MDLT is a way to continue your support for desert conservation and preservation. Such a gift can provide tax advantages to you and your estate.

Bequests & wills

One of the most popular and easiest planned gifts is the bequest. Many donors choose to make their ultimate gift through their will. If you already have a will, it is not necessary to rewrite your entire will to make a bequest to the Mojave Desert Land Trust. You can simply instruct your attorney to prepare a codicil (an amendment) to your current will.

A bequest can also specify how the gift is to be used, such as: for general purposes, for educational outreach, for land acquisitions, for the Mojave Desert Seed Bank, or for plant conservation.

At right (or below, if you’re on mobile) are several examples of bequests and their appropriate language. We cannot provide you with legal advice and these examples are provided for educational purposes only, to demonstrate how simple it is to designate the Mojave Desert Land Trust as a beneficiary in your will. Please consult with a qualified attorney as to the best way to accurately and effectively document your testamentary wishes. Thank you for considering a gift to the Mojave Desert Land Trust.

  • “I give ___________dollars to The California Desert Land Conservancy dba the Mojave Desert Land Trust, a California nonprofit corporation, whose address is 60124 Twentynine Palms Highway, Joshua Tree, California.”

  • “I give ____________% of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate to The California Desert Land Conservancy dba the Mojave Desert Land Trust, a California nonprofit corporation, whose address is 60124 Twentynine Palms Highway, Joshua Tree, California.”

  • “If ____________(Name) is not living on the ninetieth day after the day of my death, I give all the rest of the property I own at my death to The California Desert Land Conservancy dba the Mojave Desert Land Trust, a California nonprofit corporation, whose address is 60124 Twentynine Palms Highway, Joshua Tree, California.”

  • Consider adding this sentence: “This bequest should be used at the discretion of the Executive Director(s) and President of the Board.”

  • Consider adding the sentence: “The purpose of this bequest is to ____________  (Describe purpose). Should it not be possible to use this bequest as devised, they may be expended at the discretion of the Executive Director(s) and President of the Board.”

Why I’m donating my estate

Volunteer and donor Patty Domay shares how she fell in love with the desert and why she's decided to join the Mojave Desert Land Trust's planned giving society, the Desert Stars.