You are the difference between a mountain lost and a mountain saved.
For more than 50 years, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy has protected the mountains, farms, and streams that make this region extraordinary.
Think about your connection to these mountains. The quiet of a morning hike. The peace beneath a canopy of trees. These moments exist because people like you choose to protect them.
Your gift makes the difference.
It helps us conserve critical lands before they’re lost, care for places already protected, and ensure future generations experience the same wonder we feel today.
Together, we’re protecting high mountain ridges, rare habitats, clean streams, and working farms—the lands that connect and sustain us all.
Give today to keep the Southern Appalachians wild, beautiful, and alive.
Make a Gift Online
Mail a Check
Thank you for choosing to make a gift via mailed check to SAHC, helping protect the places you love.
Checks should be made payable to “SAHC” or “Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy” and mailed to:
SAHC or Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy
372 Merrimon Ave
Asheville, NC 28801
Donor Advised Fund
Thank you for making a gift to SAHC’s campaign through your Donor Advised Fund. Please provide your fund manager with Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy’s non-profit tax ID number – 62-1098890.
Questions? Contact Development Director Anna Kuhlman at anna@appalachian.org or Finance Director Lisa Fancher at lisa@appalachian.org
IRA Giving
You can give to SAHC, making a permanent impact on conservation in East TN and Western NC, directly from your IRA!
Donors age 70 ½ or older to donate up to $108,000 from their IRA as an individual or $216,000 as a couple without having to recognize the distribution as income.
We advise that before taking any actions you should consult with a qualified tax advisor, but if you’re receiving taxable income from retirement plan assets there are a number of tax-advantaged ways to make these assets work for you and qualified nonprofits like SAHC.
Here’s an example: If your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) is $20,000 and you give a $5,000 Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) to SAHC only $15,000 of the IRA distribution will be reported as part of your income.
If this is applicable to you – it’s easy to do. To take advantage of the IRA charitable distribution, the distribution must be sent directly from your IRA manager to SAHC. Contact your IRA manager and ask them to make a transfer directly to SAHC, 372 Merrimon Ave. Asheville, NC 28801.
SAHC’s non-profit tax ID# is: 62-1098890.
Questions? Contact Development Director Anna Kuhlman at anna@appalachian.org or Finance Director Lisa Fancher at lisa@appalachian.org
Gift of Stock
To make a gift of stock, please supply the following information to your financial advisor:
SAHC’s Brokerage Firm: Wells Fargo Advisors
SAHC’s Wells Fargo DTC# 0141
Wells Fargo Address: Wells Fargo Advisors, One North Jefferson Ave, St Louis, MO 63103
Wells Fargo ACC# 4205-3519
Wells Fargo ACC NAME: Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC)
SAHC’s non-profit tax ID# is: 62-1098890
Our mailing address is:
Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy
372 Merrimon Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801
Please contact Lisa at 828-237-3631 if you need assistance or have any questions.
Legacy/Planned Gift
Including Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy in your estate planning is the perfect way to make a lasting impact on the region, for future generations, forever. By including SAHC in your will, you can help build the long-term financial strength of SAHC and continue protecting the places you love. A planned gift is a flexible and creative way to be philanthropic while meeting your personal, family or financial goals.
Bequests and Estate Plan Gifts
The most popular and easiest method of leaving a legacy gift is to include the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy in your will or living trust. By making a bequest to SAHC (a bequest is a gift from your estate—a transfer of cash, securities, or other property made through your estate plans) you will need to include language in your will or living trust leaving a portion of your estate to SAHC.
To assist you in preparing your bequest, here is sample language you can use: Estate Planning Language – SAHC
Other Planned Giving Options Include:
RETIREMENT PLAN GIFTS
Your estate can save both on income taxes and estate taxes if you name SAHC as the beneficiary of your IRA, 401k or other qualified retirement plan. This is a simple and tax-efficient way to benefit the work of SAHC.
REAL ESTATE GIFTS
Tax benefits for gifts of appreciated real estate are virtually identical to those for gifts of appreciated securities. Real property such as personal residences, undeveloped land, or farms may be transferred by deed with no liability for income or estate taxes on the appreciated value. Land trusts are in a unique position to accept gifts of real estate – we can guarantee permanent protection of special lands, or we can accept gifts of “trade lands” – property donated with the intention it will be sold to preserve significant conservation properties elsewhere. Discuss your wishes with us before making your gift.
LIFE INSURANCE
Making a beneficiary designation through your life insurance plan is an easy and affordable way to support the work of SAHC. By naming SAHC as the beneficiary of an individual or group term life insurance policy, the benefits from your policy pass to us free of federal estate tax after your lifetime. You could purchase a new policy or donate a policy that you currently own but no longer need. Check with your insurance agent for the details.
CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITIES
You can guarantee a fixed income for your life and your spouse’s life by transferring cash or appreciated securities in exchange for a Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA). With a CGA, you can support the work of SAHC now while retaining secure, fixed payments for life. A CGA accomplishes two goals—preserving the landscapes you cherish through a gift to SAHC and retaining income through fixed payments to you and/or your loved ones. You may also receive an immediate income tax deduction.
CHARITABLE REMAINDER TRUSTS
You can fund a charitable remainder trust with cash or appreciated property and receive income from the assets for your lifetime, qualify for charitable deductions, and save capital gains and estate taxes. Upon your death and/or that of a loved one, the trust assets would be distributed outright to SAHC.
CHARITABLE LEAD TRUSTS
Under this arrangement, you transfer assets to a trust that makes payments to SAHC for a specified number of years, after which time the assets are transferred to your heirs. The charitable lead trust allows you to pass assets on to your children and grandchildren with little or no estate and gift taxes. It can make good sense for anyone in the top estate and gift brackets.
Stewardship After the Storm
A story of impact, resilience, and ecological restoration in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
A year ago, Helene caused widespread damage across the Southern Appalachians, altering ecological conditions, severely impacting many of the lands protected and managed by SAHC, and forever changing the lives of everyone in our region. To mark the one year anniversary of Helene, SAHC has published an interactive GIS StoryMap that enables you to walk through our team’s challenges and storm response over the past year through maps, video, slider tools, and imagery. We invite you to take a moment to journey through the past year of SAHC’s work, and celebrate the incredible strength of our community, partners, and team members with us. This work highlights the critical role land trusts can play in disaster response, adaptive stewardship, and climate-informed land management in the Southern Appalachians.
Thank you to our partners, donors, supporters, and Appalachian community for holding us through one of the most difficult chapters of our organization’s history. We look forward to ongoing restoration work and upholding our forever promise to protect and steward the natural resources of the Southern Appalachians for generations to come.
YOUR Gifts At Work
Since 1974, SAHC has conserved more than 90,000 acres of the Southern Appalachians. This past year, your support helped:
- Protect 2,820 more acres through 20 new land and conservation-easement acquisitions—from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Highlands of Roan—preserving water quality, wildlife corridors, and productive farmland.
- Manage globally rare grassy balds habitat at Round Bald and Grassy Ridge.
- Improve public access by transferring seven tracts totaling 1,200 acres to public ownership in the Roan, Mount Pisgah, Panthertown Valley, and other popular destinations.
- Respond to Hurricane Helene by upgrading technology to monitor lands, assess storm damage, repair access, and support regional recovery efforts.
- Connect communities to farmland protection, sustainable agriculture, and habitat restoration through programs at the SAHC Community Farm.
When you give to SAHC, you help preserve and restore the places we all depend on. Join us today to continue this vital work.
“What excites us most about SAHC is the quality of their land protection work. We have really enjoyed getting involved through trail work, the Grassy Ridge Mow-Off, and events like the June Jamboree. These activities are a great way to connect with others who care about these mountains while experiencing firsthand the places SAHC works so hard to protect. The staff is also so helpful and welcoming, whether you are a volunteer or simply curious, which makes being part of SAHC even more meaningful.”
Join us in protecting the places we cherish. Together, we’ll ensure future generations walk these trails, hear the call of birds, and feel the same connection we do.
