Planned Giving is The Wild Center's future

People who make bequests will join the Museum’s Franklin B. Hough Society, (pronounced Huff). The Society honors those supporters whose generosity will underwrite the Center far into the future. It also honors Hough, who championed the idea that science could inform wise decisions about how humans and nature coexist.

Born on the edge of the Adirondacks, Hough is recognized now as the first important advocate for the protection of forests in the United States. Hough is not universally known despite the critical part he played in creating the modern Adirondacks. In naming the bequest society for Hough, The Wild Center recognizes that the Adirondacks of today are a gift from those who came before, and that we have the opportunity to build on that legacy because of the many who gave it to us. 

It also honors the part scientists have played in shaping the modern Adirondacks and in the advances we have made to better understand our relationship with the natural world.

Planned gifts may include gifts of assets other than cash; life income gifts through which the donor transfers assets and retains income; or charitable lead trusts that permit a donor to save in gift, income and estate taxes; or bequests.

Bequests can be made to the Museum's endowment, or they can be used to support specific aspects on the Museum's programs as defined by the Museum staff and the donor. These kinds of deferred gifts and other tax planning approaches often make more substantial gifts possible, and thereby significantly advance the Museum's mission. In many instances, planned gifts can increase income for the donor. Planned gifts also enable donors to pass assets on to their heirs while supporting the Museum and minimizing or eliminating taxes on those assets.

To discuss ways that planned giving may fit your objectives please contact:

Diana Fortune 
Director of Development 
The Wild Center/Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks 
45 Museum Drive 
Tupper Lake, NY 12986 
518.359.7800 ex 107