Meet Our Donors
We thank all our Fibonacci Society donors for their generous support. Here are some of their stories.
"Science is near and dear to our hearts."
Richard and Joan Newmark have both had an interest in science since they were children. They met at the University of California at Berkeley where they both earned their PhD's in chemistry. Their careers brought them to Minnesota where both worked at 3M as chemists.
As charter members of the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Newmarks have been visiting the Museum for 30 years. They enjoy looking at the dinosaurs and visiting the traveling exhibits. Joan volunteered in the Experiment Gallery for several years as well. Now they are also Fibonacci Society members because they wanted the Science Museum to be a part of their legacy.
"We believe education is important and science education is very important" states Richard. "But even more important is educating non-scientists to make informed decisions in today's technology-driven world. When they determined it was time to give back, Joan states with a smile that "we chose organizations that we were interested in and have been giving money to all along."
For more information on how you can make the Science Museum of Minnesota a part of your legacy, Please contact us . If you have already included The Science Museum of Minnesota in your plans, please let us know so we can honor your gift today
"As a parent and a scientist this is a great way to leave a legacy for future generations"
Bonnie Holub credits growing up on a farm in Minnesota for her love of learning, especially science and math. "Nature teaches you the big lessons of the universe. It is like a biology class."
Bonnie's insatiable curiosity has led her along a path of science and technology, culminating in a PhD in Computer Science and a career where she is able to meld all of her skills and interests into her own research and development company - Adventium Labs. She believes that "technology and creativity are the basis for a strong and vital Twin Cities economy."
Because of the breadth and outreach of the Science Museum of Minnesota, Bonnie believes that the Museum is a wonderful vehicle to 'bring science and technology to all members of our community." Her first memories of the Museum are of the dinosaurs and the mummy. Today, she says she "can't get my girls to leave the Museum." She credits the hands-on opportunities like the cell lab for this.
When asked about her desire to have the Science Museum of Minnesota be a part of her legacy, she states that "taking care of the Science Museum is like taking care of my children's future while, at the same time, enriching the whole community." Bonnie feels that becoming a Fibonacci Society member is a meaningful way to teach her girls about philanthropy because it is "an essential part of their education" and it is also a way to "leave a legacy for future generations."
If you have chosen the Science Museum of Minnesota as a part of your legacy, or would like information on how to do so, please contact us or fill out a personal request form.
"You help to assure the future"
Bill and Renate Sperber have been members of The Science Museum of Minnesota since they moved to Minnesota in 1972. Having a natural inclination towards science since a child, Bill found the museum an ideal place to stimulate interest and curiosity in science with Renate and their two children. They recall the excitement when, after visiting Lake Itasca as a family, they came to the museum and saw the Lake Itasca exhibit, expanding their experience and knowledge of the origin of the Mississippi River.
The Sperbers have both worked hard and decided that they want to do something useful with their assets through planned gifts. They focus on organizations that are special to them placing a strong value on education, environmental protection, and the arts. Bequeathing a percentage of their estate to the Science Museum provides them the opportunity to support all three of these areas. Bill especially values that the museum is "teaching the world through artistic means" with the exhibits we create, Omni films we produce, research we conduct, education we provide, and the stewardship we give the 1.75 million artifacts and specimens in our care. He and Renate want their legacy to help assure the future of our country by supporting an organization that is helping to do the same.
If you would like more information on the variety of opportunities available to create your legacy with The Science Museum of Minnesota, please contact us. If you have already included The Science Museum of Minnesota in your plans, please let us know so we can honor your gift today.
"I would like to see all of this continue"
When Art talks about what the Science Museum means to him, his eyes light up and a smile crosses his face. He enjoys everything about the museum. Recently, he and a friend attended the opening of A Day in Pompeii. He shares that "we were the third and fourth person here, so we were able to be alone in the galleries and take it all in. It was amazing to be so close to things that someone else had made with their own hands so many years ago." Art also enjoys coming to the Science Museum during the day to watch the kids interact with science. He says that "watching the kids play with scientific toys and learning through play is very important."
When asked why he chose to leave a portion of his estate through a bequest to the Science Museum, Art said "I wanted to give to places that improve the quality of life for others." It makes Art feel good to know that "whatever is left will benefit the community that has given me so much."
If you already have a will, you do not need to go through the expense of having a new document drawn up just to add a bequest to the Museum. Talk to your lawyer about setting up the gift through a codicil to your existing will. A codicil is a simple document that makes specific changes to a will- like adding a charitable bequest – but leaves everything else alone. It’s a great solution for making minor adjustments to an estate plan you’re otherwise happy with.
Bob & Mary
We’re getting a little older, so I guess we find ourselves thinking about the future a lot more than we used to. Not just our future and that of our children, but also the future of the Museum, an organization we’ve believed in and supported for so many years. We want to be sure that it will still be doing its job long after we’re gone. So, a few years ago, we decided it was time to start making definite plans to help ensure our favorite charity’s future as well as that of our family.
We started gathering information right here, at this website. Then, we talked to our financial advisors and to the staff at the Museum. We spent a rainy Sunday afternoon at home with a calculator, a legal pad, and a pile of mutual fund statements.
After looking over the different gift plans available to us, we decided that a Charitable Gift Annuity was right for us. We were reassured that it would pay us income for the rest of our lives – in a fixed amount that we could depend on, and at a higher yield than our CDs or mutual funds were providing us. We liked the income tax deduction we could claim for setting up our Gift Annuity, and also the fact that part of our annuity income would come to us tax-free.
Best of all, our Gift Annuity has allowed us to make a larger gift to the Museum than we would ever have been able to make in an outright gift or through our estate. We’re very satisfied with our decision!
Justin
I bought a lot of life insurance when our family was young. Wanted to be sure that Bev and our children would be taken care of should anything unexpected happen to me.
Well, I’m still around, thank goodness. Our children are grown and settled, and Bev and I did little better financially than we ever thought would be possible when we were starting out. Truth is, our family no longer needed all the life insurance coverage I was carrying for them.
That excess insurance was really an asset that was no longer productive for us. We talked about it with our accountant, and she said that we could donate some policies to our favorite charity – the Museum. We would receive an income tax deduction approximately equal to the cash surrender value of the policies, which would come in very handy at tax time.
the Museum could either cash in the policies and use the funds for current projects, or hold them for the death benefits they will pay when we die.
It was a win-win result: we were able to help the Museum out significantly, but we did it by using assets we had almost forgotten about, and in a way that didn’t affect our cash-flow or our family’s security.
Tom & Wilma
We wanted to make a gift to the Museum in addition to our annual support – a commitment that would make a lasting impact on the organization our whole family loves.
But how to do it? We can’t afford to give away large sums while we’re alive, and our children are counting on receiving most of our estate. Our financial advisor came up with the creative solution. He had been looking over the annual statements from Tom’s and my IRAs and retirement plans.
“There will be more than adequate distributions available from these plans after you retire to maintain your lifestyle and enjoy yourselves a little bit,” he told us. “In fact, I’ll probably be advising you to minimize your withdrawals and keep the accounts growing.
“But, did you know that any balance remaining in those plans when the second of you dies could be taxed twice if you leave the accounts to your children through your will? That’s right – the balances could be subject to both estate and income tax. Your children could wind up with a lot less than you’re expecting them to get.”
His plan? Designate the Museum as the recipient of all or a portion of the remaining balance in our retirement plans. That transfer will be subject to neither estate nor income tax, resulting in a substantial gift to the Museum. We were then able to allocate the other assets in our estate to our children, knowing that they can take them free of the double tax that applies to retirement accounts.
The result for us? We solved an estate-planning problem we didn’t even know we had, and found a way to provide long-term support for our favorite institution.