Ideas and Action for a Better City

Out of the ashes of the great 1906 earthquake and fire, SPUR’s founders brought together the best minds in San Francisco to envision a path forward for a devastated city. Now, more than 100 years later, the Bay Area is a world economic center and SPUR is at the table for major planning decisions across San Francisco, San José, Oakland and the region.

SPUR’s impact can be seen around the Bay Area — in district plans that reclaim neighborhoods for humans, not cars, and transit expansions that connect people to jobs and opportunity. We’ve gone under the hood to improve the inner workings of public agencies. We’ve upgraded buildings to survive earthquakes and re-planned shorelines to survive climate change. But there is much more to do. The civic engagement of the Bay Area community will be essential in the coming decades.

SPUR Legacy Society

We are grateful to those who remember SPUR through a bequest, life income plan, or other type of planned gift. Your support strengthens and ensures the future of SPUR and the Urban Center.

And, we are honored to welcome you to membership in the Legacy Society. Legacy Society members are invited to an exclusive annual gathering and invited to join the Urban Leaders Council — our major donor society — which gathers several times a year to hear from noted experts about urbanism, planning and the future of our region.

We hope you’ll tell us when you have named SPUR in your will. We would very much like the opportunity to thank you for your generosity.

Leave SPUR in Your Estate Plans

There are many ways to include SPUR in your estate plans — including, but not limited to, leaving SPUR in your will. Here are some of the simple, yet elegantly sufficient basics for including SPUR in your estate plans:

“I give, devise and bequeath to SPUR, the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association, a nonprofit corporation of the State of California, located at 654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, ____ % of my estate.”

“I give, devise and bequeath to the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), a nonprofit corporation of the State of California, located at 654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105,

Choose one:

1. The sum of $________________.”

2. _______________ shares of stock in ____________________ Company.”

3. My real property commonly known as _____________________________.”

IRAs, 401(k) plans, life insurance, deferred compensation plans and annuities can all be used to gift assets to SPUR. Simply list "SPUR" as a beneficiary, either with a percentage of the total value or as a contingent beneficiary (if you are choosing someone else as the primary beneficiary).

Ensuring Your Legacy

Please contact us for more detailed information about how to include SPUR in your estate plans in a way that best fits your needs today and deepest commitments in perpetuity.

Should you name SPUR in a planned gift, we would welcome a copy of the legal document or section of document that accompanies your gift. This can make estate administration easier when your gift is received.

Thank you for considering SPUR through a planned gift. Should you have any questions please contact SPUR’s chief development officer, Heather Olinto, at 415.644.4281 or [email protected].

SPUR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with tax ID# 94-1498232. All contributions to SPUR are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

Contact Us

Should you have any questions, please contact SPUR Chief Development Officer Heather Olinto at 415.644.4281 or [email protected].