Planned Giving

Planned Giving

We encourage you to consider joining a very special group of Stearns History Museum & Research Center supporters - friends who express their support for the future of the Museum by including a bequest or other life income gift in their estate plan.

A planned gift is a philanthropic gift that is funded either during your lifetime or after your death. The gift is part of a larger estate-planning process in which you decide how certain assets are distributed.

There are many financial instruments available and an estate planner can help you achieve your long-term financial goals, allowing you to take care of loved ones while still supporting organizations such as the Stearns History Museum. Unless otherwise restricted by you as the donor, you planned gift to the Stearns History Museum will support the endowment – meaning your gift will truly benefit the long-term health of the organization for generations to come.

The material here is not offered as legal or tax advice. Examples of benefits are based on assumptions, which may not apply to your own situation at the time of your gift. You are urged to seek the advice of your tax advisor, attorney, and/or financial planner to make certain a contemplated gift fits well into your overall circumstances and planning.

What are the benefits of planned giving?

As a planned giving donor, you will have the satisfaction of helping secure the place history holds in our local community. With historical programming of both local and national importance, the Stearns History Museum reaches thousands each year both at the Museum and through educational outreach efforts in the community. Planned gifts to the endowment provide the foundation on which the Stearns History Museum builds itself year after year.

Beyond the great benefits planned gifts provide this organization, they can provide real benefits to you:

The tax advantages can be substantial, especially on appreciated securities and properties.
Planned gifts can remove property from probate, often reducing or eliminating probate expenses.
Planned gifts can prevent the dissipation of funds. You can provide for the needs of a spouse, dependent child, or other family members.
An up-to-date will is perhaps the most important tool in creating a planned gift. A proper will ensures that your property is distributed according to your wishes.

235 South 33rd Avenue, St. Cloud, MN 56301 • (320) 253-8424 • info@stearns-museum.org