Help ensure the future of the Garfield Park Conservatory & Gardens. Your gift through the Perennial Society ensures a lasting legacy. The Perennial Society is the Conservatory’s planned giving program to help Conservatory lovers can ensure the continued vitality of this beloved treasure on Chicago’s West Side.
The Garfield Park Conservatory was established in 1907 to provide all visitors with year-round access to the beauty and rejuvenating powers of nature. There’s an important role for each of us to play in helping ensure that the restorative experience of a visit to the Conservatory continues to be available for the benefit of all Chicagoans and beyond.
A simple way to support our future is with a gift that you can make at any point in your life and allow to grow over time like the beautiful plants in the Conservatory’s collection. We can help you with information about these opportunities offered through our Perennial Society.
Perennial Society Giving Options
A bequest is the transfer of cash, securities, or other property through your will or living trust. Bequests can be a specific amount, a percentage of your estate, a percentage of your residual estate or specific property. A bequest is private and you may change it at any time. Giving by bequest costs nothing now, and may give you a great deal of satisfaction to know that your generosity to the Conservatory continues into the future.
You can name the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance as a beneficiary on the beneficiary designation form for your retirement plan. This may be the most tax efficient way to give a gift to the Conservatory; many retirement assets may be taxable for income and estate tax prior to being paid to an individual beneficiary. Seek advice from financial planner about including the Conservatory in your retirement plan.
Naming the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance the beneficiary of your life insurance policy provides you the satisfaction of making a generous donation and leveraging the value of your policy. Options include:
- Naming Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance as the beneficiary of an existing policy
- Transferring ownership to the Conservatory of an existing policy
- Purchasing a new policy naming Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance as the owner and beneficiary and donating premium payments
A Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) is a contract between the donor and the Alliance. In exchange for an irrevocable gift of cash, securities or other assets, the Alliance agrees to pay one or two named annuitants a fixed sum each year for life. The rate of payout is based on age and set by the American Council on Gift Annuities. You provide generous support to the Alliance while receiving a steady income stream. You may also realize additional tax benefits with this option.
A Charitable Lead Trust is an excellent way to transfer assets to heirs at a reduced transfer tax rate. With this type of trust, the Alliance is the recipient of the income stream from the trust for a specified term after which the trust assets pass to the remainder beneficiary, most often the heirs.
Questions
If you have questions on how to get started or have already included the Conservatory in your estate plan, please contact Marie Stringer, Director of Development & Communications:
- Call: 773-638-1766 x 22
- Email: [email protected]
We look forward to discussing how your gift can help ensure the future of the Garfield Park Conservatory.