BEVERLY KITSON LEGACY CIRCLE

Leave a bequest to the David Kitson Library and ensure a long future of impact in Nosara.

It all started when…

Beverly Kitson has spent over 30 years working to empower and support the people of Nosara and foster their love of learning and books. The David Kitson Library stands as a symbol of our continued commitment to this work. To help ensure Kitson Library continues to be a strong and effective force for good in Nosara, a group of benefactors is leaving bequests to the David Kitson Library. These generous individuals are recognized as members of the Beverly Kitson Legacy Circle.

Please consider doing the same, leaving a legacy gift to Biblioteca Kitson and joining the Beverly Kitson Legacy Circle. You can name the Kitson Library as a beneficiary in your will, retirement accounts, or insurance policy, and by doing so, you will ensure your assets support the causes that are most important to you. Including us in your estate plans means your generosity will serve future Nosareños.

If you inform us about your participation by April 30, you will qualify as a Founding Member.

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How to | Beverly’s Story | FAQ

We welcome Beverly Kitson Legacy Circle members from all over the world. Although the information below is US-centered, we are happy to work with citizens of other countries to facilitate their joining.

Below, find specific steps and instructions for a range of options, including specific suggestions for various countries, for how to include the David Kitson Library in your estate planning. And remember, when and if you do, please be sure to let us know you have done so. Sharing this decision with us will make us feel so honored, and will allow us to recognize you as a member of this special society of library supporters.

We won’t ask for any proof, confirmation, or declaration of an amount. You are our most trusted supporters, so it would be our honor to take you at your word.

(For donors living in Costa Rica, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom, visit this page for recommended language.)

STEP 1. Talk to your lawyer, accountant, or other financial professional. Instruct them to name the David Kitson Library in your estate plans as a bequest recipient, including for life insurance or retirement accounts.

Start by discussing adding the following language with your tax advisory or attorney.

“I give, devise, and bequeath to the David Kitson Library, a non-profit organization located in Nosara, Costa Rica, VIA the Amigos of Costa Rica, a non-profit in the United States with the Tax ID number of 31-1714653 and located at PO Box 748, West Chester, PA 19381, the sum of $_______________ for the benefit of the David Kitson Library and its general purposes.”

“If at my death the charity named as a beneficiary in this my Will or any Codicil hereto has changed its name or amalgamated with or transferred its assets to another charity then my Executors shall give effect to any gift made to such charity as if it had been made (in the first instance) to the charity in its changed name or (in the second instance) to the charity which results from such amalgamation or to which such transfer of assets has been made."

To avoid any possible question that your bequest is to our organization, be sure to include our full legal name and our federal tax identification number in your bequest:

David Kitson Library, via the legal entity:
Amigos of Costa Rica
located at the legal address PO Box 748, West Chester, PA 19381
Tax identification number 31-1714653.

STEP 2. Let Us Know

Your visionary support will ensure future generations may enjoy and rely on our library to continue supporting them in their educational goals.

Please let us know once you’ve instructed your attorney or fiduciary to add a bequest to Kitson Library by informing David it is in progress, so that we can thank you appropriately and include it in our long-term financial planning.

Simply send an email to David Schreiner, Executive Director at Biblioteca Kitson: bibliodk@gmail.com.

You have complete flexibility to change your bequest at any time. If circumstances change in a way that makes you want to revise your gift to us, you can.

To join or find out more about the program please contact David via email or call him at +1 310-465-5439.

Bequest Alternatives

• In addition to adding bequest language to your will, here are a few other simple ways for you to make a bequest to us:

• Make the David Kitson Library a designated beneficiary of a life insurance policy.

• Make Kitson Library a designated beneficiary of a retirement plan.

• Make Kitson Library a designated beneficiary of savings bonds.

• Instruct your bank to "pay on death" to the David Kitson Library some or all a specific bank account.

• Instruct your brokerage firm to "transfer on death" to the David Kitson Library some or all of a specific brokerage or other financial account.

Tax Benefits

Because your bequest is revocable, you do not receive an U.S. income tax deduction when you create it. Rather, your estate will receive an estate tax deduction for the full value of your bequest in the year it is made. Depending on a variety of factors, including the size of your estate and estate tax law at the time your estate is settled, this deduction may or may not save your estate substantial estate taxes.

Beverly Kitson started life in a small town outside of Boston, USA. She is a lifelong supporter of the arts, and has also been an educator, a Peace Corps volunteer, a professional dancer, a wife, and a mother. In her travels with David Kitson, she spent time and worked to help people in the Virgin Islands, the Philippines, Jamaica, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The couple eventually retired to their one-time vacation home in Nosara, a decision that would become the focus of her life and be a huge boon to Nosara.

After David’s passing, a group of friends wanted to do something in his name, and they settled on creating a library in Nosara. Beverly was already living here, so she was tasked with keeping the project alive after everyone helped get it off the ground. She was an avid reader, and eventually took to the idea, because she believed that “Books were a powerful way to help the people of Nosara see how big and amazing the world is out there.”

At the outset it was very much a small country community center, and that remains the core of the library’s spirit even until today. It was a center of learning, books, education, and equality. But libraries were completely foreign to most Nosareños (Spanish for people from Nosara), so Beverly and her team had to work to get people in the door. They held all kinds of activities in the library, including crafts, plays, games, and anything else to get the people of Nosara to overcome their trepidation.

Beverly carried the work on her shoulders, as she would do for the next 30 years, with the essential support and lifelong work of Nosara locals Consuelo and Cecilia, as well as a cadre of on-and-off volunteers lending a hand. She acquired books however she could with the help of friends, supporters, and many heavy suitcases. At the same time, she had to help locals develop a culture of loving reading and even just respecting and caring for books, as well as introducing the novel concept of borrowing from and returning books to a lending library, on a specific due date!

For Beverly, empowering locals to improve their lives, and especially, supporting women was always a significant priority. Consuelo and Cecilia were the first in a long line of women that Beverly brought together to elevate the lives of Nosareños. The focus started at books and reading, but just kept growing to include literacy, education and professional skills.

After the new library opened, they took their work as a community center to another level. When they became a part of the new national library system in Costa Rica, an initiative also organized by women, she continued her service with her special breed of headstrong, caring persistence. Nothing could stop Beverly and Consuelo. Kitson Library was at this point a pillar in the community, a physical space that foreigners and Ticos oriented around, and continues to be very important for life in Nosara today.

Through all this work, Beverly was focused on making the library feel special. The message was always, “We have to get more women and kids into the library, more people wanting to come to the library and stay there.” Close friends and longtime supporters of the library Greg and Laurie Bowles described her passionate pursuit thus. Beverly always believed that “Reading leads to education and dreaming.”

To this day, she maintains a firm, grounded belief in the power and impact of the Kitson Library. Even more important than developing a love of books or learning, young people who spend time in the library learn that they have the power, within themselves, to acquire their own education and reach a level of capability far beyond what they or their families might have envisioned for them. It’s a place that helps people open their eyes to the breadth of options they have for their futures. This is the undeniable reality that Beverly has fostered for decades, and it is the inspiration that drives our work forward still.

Is there a minimum donation amount required to join the Legacy Circle?

No. We are just grateful for your support and commitment to leaving a legacy of impact.

Do I need to disclose how much I’m leaving to the library as a bequest or other donation?

Again, no. Your private info is yours. If you want to share it, wonderful; that info will help us in our financial planning. But it’s entirely unnecessary.

May I make an anonymous bequest?

Absolutely. We are happy to honor your preferences. It would help us a great deal to know when you do begin the process, so that we can include your future bequest in our planning. And if you would prefer to remain anonymous, we will be sure you do.

What do I need to submit to the library to show that I’ve left a legacy gift?

We trust you. We only need you to send us a letter via email saying you have set up a bequest naming the David Kitson Library. Please reach out to us as you’re considering the donation and we will share specific language for this letter if you’d like.

Am I obligated to leave my will or other legacy gift planning unchanged if life circumstances change?

Absolutely not. We know legacy gifts can be revoked, and again, we want what’s best for our supporters. If you have to eliminate the bequest completely, we will appreciate letting us know if you can. But other than that, please take care of yourself and accept our gratitude for your enduring support.

Can I leave a bequest or legacy gift to Kitson Library through an IRA, a trust, or some other vehicle?

Yes. Assuming your tax advisor or attorney can help you put it together legally, we would love that.

Can my spouse and I be named together to the Legacy Circle for my gift?

Of course. We understand that donations like this are often a joint decision, and are always eager to recognize both members of a couple unless you ask us to do otherwise.

What will the library do with my legacy giving donation?

Truthfully, we don’t know when legacy giving funds will reach us to be used. We sincerely hope that such an occurrence is a long way off into the future. At your request, we can share our most recent annual report to give you insight into how our founder, Director, and board have historically put donated resources to use. In general, the best way to leverage your generosity and foresight is to focus on the library’s mission and devote as much of our resources as possible to promoting literacy and cross-cultural understanding in Nosara.