Plan Your Legacy

By including the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in your legacy gift planning, you can achieve the goals that are important to you and your family, while sustaining the mission and future of an organization that you value and believe in.

A legacy commitment to the AACR ensures a lasting impact on scientific discovery and innovation in the treatment and prevention of cancer for generations to come.

Dr. Bayard D. Clarkson Legacy Society

The Dr. Bayard D. Clarkson Legacy Society gratefully acknowledges and celebrates those individuals who have made an inspiring legacy commitment to the AACR through an arranged estate, endowed, or other planned gift in support of our mission to prevent and cure cancer.

Bayard Clarkson
Bayard D. Clarkson, MD, FAACR

Dr. Clarkson’s association with the AACR began in 1962, when he first became a member. His leadership, scientific expertise, and service over the years have aided the expansion of AACR programs and activities, and helped to advance the important work of AACR’s scientists around the globe. Recognizing the need for sustained funding to support groundbreaking innovation and discovery in cancer research and prevention, Dr. Clarkson championed the creation of the AACR Foundation, becoming its Founding Chair in 2001. Since its inception, the AACR Foundation has raised significant funds in support of the AACR and its initiatives to advance lifesaving cancer research.

Please consider joining the Dr. Bayard D. Clarkson Legacy Society today by making a legacy commitment to the AACR.

There are a variety of opportunities for making your legacy commitment to benefit the AACR’s mission:

  • Include the AACR as a beneficiary in your will, exempting the gifted assets from estate tax.
  • Designate the AACR as a beneficiary of your retirement plan; a gift made from a tax-deferred retirement account means 100 percent of your gift can be used by the AACR without reduction of value of the account from taxes that would be incurred otherwise.
  • Make the AACR the beneficiary and owner of an existing insurance policy after its original intended need has become obsolete.
  • Fund an AACR Charitable Gift Annuity, if 60 years of age or older, utilizing appreciated securities held long-term (one year or longer) to avoid capital gains tax, enjoy a charitable tax deduction, and provide yourself with income for life.
  • Fund an AACR Deferred Charitable Gift Annuity, if younger than 60 years of age, to immediately avoid capital gains tax on the gifted appreciated property (e.g. securities or real estate), enjoy an immediate tax deduction as allowable by law, and provide yourself with an income flow deferred until your retirement age.
  • Make a planned gift of appreciated, accepted real estate to the AACR.

If you have already included the AACR in your will and estate plans, please let us know so that we may acknowledge your kind support right away, and enroll you in the Dr. Bayard D. Clarkson Legacy Society.

For your convenience, a confidential form may be used to notify the AACR about your legacy commitment. We will respect your wishes to remain anonymous if that is your preference and all communication is completely confidential.

Free Will Service

One of the most powerful ways to support the cancer research mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is through a gift in your will.

The AACR has partnered with FreeWill to provide you with the ability to write your legally valid will for free. Visit the link below to get started today.

Please let us know if you have included the AACR in your will so we may thank you.

Make Your Will Now

Estate Planning Guide

The AACR Estate Planning Guide is a free resource that provides helpful information and resources to prepare you for conversations with your estate planning professional. The guide is meant to assist you in the planning necessary to ensure an orderly transition of your assets in the future and provide information about ways to include the AACR in your legacy gift planning.

Download the Guide

Contact information

Call toll-free: 844-385-2064
Email: [email protected]

The purpose of this web page is to provide information of a general character only. The AACR is not engaged in rendering legal or tax advisory service. Advice from legal and tax counsel should be sought when considering these types of gifts.

Not available in all states. A charitable gift annuity is not regulated by the Oklahoma Insurance Department and is not protected by a guaranty association affiliated with Oklahoma Insurance Department. Charitable gift annuities are not regulated by and are not under the jurisdiction of the South Dakota Division of Insurance.