Donor Stories

Hear the stories of friends who have made an impact through their acts of giving to our organization.

Legacy Giving Stars: Leslie Thomas

Leslie Thomas loves the natural world and wants her legacy to benefit local organizations that connect people — especially children — to nature. Meet Leslie in her garden, where she explains how her love and knowledge of food and wine relates to her passion for gardening and the outdoors.

Legacy Giving Stars: Mark A. Cooper

"This Museum has been part of my life almost from day one," says Mark A. Cooper, who grew up in Santa Barbara and has vivid memories of his Museum experiences, including marveling at our dioramas, "pushing the rattlesnake button," and learning from our early curators Waldo Abbott and Phil Orr in the field. Mark shares his memories and explains the importance of planned gifts to a nonprofit's ability to plan for the future and invest in infrastructure to benefit future generations.

Leaving a Legacy of Neighborly Love

Hebe (Lila Anne) Bartz and her husband Jack decided to leave half of their charitable trust to the Museum. Hebe, a longtime donor, docent, and neighbor, said that she and her late husband had taken care of their children and had enough to leave a gift to the Museum that they loved so much. "I can't think of a better place for our money than to support an organization for which we have so much trust and admiration." Listen to her memories of visiting the Museum for the first time in the 1930s, and her involvement with our education programs as one of our first docents.

Gifts made from your estate by will, trust or beneficiary designation

Bequest

Joe and Anna have been faithful supporters of our organization. They believe it is important to help further our mission.

Using a Beneficiary Designation to Make a Gift

Joanne and her late husband Hal had been longtime supporters of our organization. Recently, Joanne's children encouraged her to update her estate plan.

Gift of a Bank Account When No Longer Needed (POD)

Keith has been a faithful supporter of Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and makes regular gifts to support our work. Recently, Keith talked to our staff and expressed his interest in naming Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History as a beneficiary of his estate, but he wanted to keep the process as simple and inexpensive as possible.

Transferable on Death (TOD) Gifts

Harold and Jeanne married after meeting at an event Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History held for our donors. They wanted to leave a legacy gift that would support our mission and ensure that we remain financially strong well into the future.

A Bequest to Further Good Work

Nancy and David were dedicated volunteers. Over the years, they had seen many individuals helped by the good work of their favorite nonprofit organization. They wanted to create a legacy to provide future resources to continue its mission.

Bequest of Insurance

Marla and Wayne purchased a life insurance policy many years ago to create security for their children's future. As the children grew up, married, found good jobs and accumulated significant assets, the insurance was no longer needed for its original purpose.

A Bequest to Save Taxes

Thomas was a widower who had a great love for our organization. As an individual who had directly benefited from our work, Thomas wanted to thank us with a gift from his estate.

Using a Blended Gift to Reach Your Charitable Giving Goals

Jay and his wife Amy wanted to support our organization with a significant gift of $100,000. They wanted to spread this gift out over several years but also wanted to make a gift of $25,000 this year.

Tax-Free Sale

Howard and Lynn were both age 55 when they purchased some vacant land a few miles outside of town. They thought real estate would be a good investment that could be sold later for a profit.

Gifts that provide you and your loved ones with income and tax benefits

Fixed Income for Retirement

After working for decades as a pediatrician in a small town, Patricia is ready to retire. Patricia has enough saved for retirement, but she is concerned about the impact a drop in the stock market would have on her retirement savings.

Capital Gains Tax Bypassed

Peter and Gail were nearing retirement. Over the years, with the help of their financial advisor, they made solid investments in securities and built a sizable portfolio. While their investments increased substantially in value, their potential capital gains tax bill was rising.

Peace of Mind Gift Annuity

Many years ago, Clara bought a home. Since she was very pleased with her home, she bought stock in the company that built the home. Over the years, Clara's stock has increased in value.

Sale and Unitrust

Gene and Carol purchased stock in a small medical service company several years ago. The company has done well. A larger company is now discussing the possibility of buying the smaller company. This sale would require that Gene and Carol sell their stock, subjecting them to capital gains. Gene and Carol are looking for a way to save taxes.

The Retirement Unitrust

Mary grew up on a farm. When her parents passed away, she and her husband Bill inherited the farm. When Mary was a child, the farm was out in the country. Now that the city has grown, the farm is within the city limits. Several developers would like to build homes on the farmland.

Property Turns Into Income

Miranda lived in the family home where she and her spouse had raised their three children. After her spouse passed away, Miranda found it increasingly difficult to care for her property.

Flexible Deferred Gift Annuity

Luis is a 54-year-old executive at a large healthcare company. He purchased company stock during years when the stock price was low, and now the stock has grown substantially in value.

Deferred Gift Annuity

Several years ago, Larry and Allison invested $30,000 in what they believed to be an attractive stock. It turned out to be a very wise decision, as the stock increased in value to $100,000 within three years. Though they were not in need of additional income at the time, the couple decided to cash in on this growth.

Gift Annuity for Real Estate

Jonathan purchased his home many years ago for $80,000. The home is now worth $420,000. Jonathan wants to sell his home and buy a condo for $130,000. If Jonathan were to sell the home and use his one-time $250,000 home exclusion, he could offset part of the gain but would still have to pay capital gains.

Give It Twice Trust

While visiting her favorite nonprofit's website, June came across the idea of a give it twice trust. She contacted the organization for more information. The nonprofit's gift planner explained that a give it twice trust would allow her to first give income to children through the trust, and then the trust would later transfer the trust balance to charity.

Testamentary Charitable Remainder Unitrust: Have Your Cake and Eat it Too!

We have all heard the saying, "You can't have your cake and eat it too." This phrase describes a situation where we want two good things at the same time when that isn't possible. Karen and Stephen felt this way when they were establishing their estate plan. They wanted to pass their estate to family, but they also had a place in their hearts for our charitable mission.

Gifts that support our cause and save you taxes

Reduce Your Taxes with an IRA Charitable Rollover Gift

Margaret was a retired librarian. She volunteered at her favorite nonprofit several times a week and also made several donations each year. Margaret saw that her taxes were increasing and wondered how she could continue to do extra things like make charitable gifts with lower income.

Endowment Gift

Pat and Shelly were recently married. They both had been dedicated volunteers at their favorite nonprofit for many years. They wanted to make certain the organization's programs continued even after they were gone.

An Easy Way to Help Our Work with Your IRA

Daniel was a retired businessman who volunteered for our organization. When we decided to add a new program, he was excited to help in a significant way.

Part Gift and Part Sale

Susan and Kevin bought a vacant lot along Lake Michigan many years ago. They had planned to build a second home so that their family could spend their summers along the lake. However, as time went on, Kevin's job kept him in town and the children grew up before Susan and Kevin had the financial resources to build on the land.

Current Gifts

As is the case with many families, there are times each year when Jim and Sharon focus their attention on gift giving. For years, they have created a gift list that includes family members, friends and loved ones. Last year, Jim and Sharon made an addition to their list and began including their favorite charity.

What Will You Do With Your Unspent Retirement Savings?

Michael and Kelly were retired engineers with two adult children. They owned a home, some stocks and IRAs. They met with their financial advisor to discuss a plan to provide for their family and for some of their favorite nonprofit organizations.

Leading for the Future

Luke and Cynthia spent many years volunteering and supporting their favorite nonprofit organization. They wanted to give back in a way that would help fulfill its mission. At the same time, they were looking for a way to care for their family in the future.

Providing for Our Children's Future

Ron and Kathy worked for many years building their nest egg for retirement. While they felt their savings and investments would cover their needs, they wanted to make sure that their three children were provided for in the future.

IRA Rollover: A Gift with Substantial Benefits

Mark was a retired attorney with a significant IRA and substantial income from investments. He had made IRA rollover gifts to his favorite nonprofit organization several times in recent years.

Avoiding Tax on a Business Sale

Albert was the founder and sole shareholder of a small technology company that he started 30 years ago. At 65 years of age, he began thinking about selling the business.

Maximizing Mineral Income

Walter and May recently retired and moved south to a new retirement community. They still own their 250-acre ranch. Because the ranch has very valuable subsurface mineral rights, Walter and May have been approached several times about entering into a mineral lease that would allow for the production of oil and gas.

Gift for a Loved One with Special Needs

Richard is a successful business owner. His younger brother, Robert, was born with special needs. For the past 10 years, Richard has supported Robert, including paying the costs for Robert's adult care facility.