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Annual Fund of the Minnesota Zoo
The Annual Fund is a vital source of support for the Minnesota Zoo. Because most gifts to the Annual Fund are unrestricted, they allow the Zoo the flexibility to direct the funds where they are needed most and can have the greatest impact. Your gift to the Annual Fund enables the Zoo to meet some of its most critical needs, including animal food and veterinary care, staff recruitment and development, maintenance of Zoo grounds and botanical collections, energy costs, health and safety, and zoo education programs. The Annual Fund touches virtually every aspect of the Zoo. For more information on how you can make a gift to the Zoo’s endowment, call the Minnesota Zoo Foundation at 952-431-9237 or donations@mnzoo.org.
Friends of the Minnesota Zoo
Friends of the Minnesota Zoo is an exceptional group of individuals who have taken a leadership role through their financial commitment to the Zoo. In return for their investment in the Zoo’s conservation and education work, Friends are rewarded with opportunities to enjoy a variety of special benefits and privileges that deepen their commitment to wildlife and the Zoo. Your gift will support conservation, education and community outreach activities. For more information on how you can make a gift to the Zoo’s endowment, call the Minnesota Zoo Foundation at 952-431-9237 or donations@mnzoo.org.
Animal Sponsorships: Connecting People to the Animals They Love
The Minnesota Zoo’s Animal Sponsorship Program promotes literacy and conservation education and inspires children and adults to take action on behalf of wildlife conservation throughout the world by connecting them with the animals they love. Your gift will help provide Zoo animals with the ongoing support they need while providing you, or a gift recipient, with a sponsorship package that includes a certificate, trading cards with fun facts, and a book or plush. For more information on how you can make a gift to the Zoo’s endowment, call the Minnesota Zoo Foundation at 952-431-9237 or donations@mnzoo.org.
Corporate Partnerships
As one of the Twin Cities’ premiere cultural institutions, the Zoo reaches more than one million visitors each year, including 100,000 students and teachers. From underwriting Zoomobile, an outreach program that brings the Zoo to schools and communities across Minnesota, to sponsoring student visits to the Zoo and weekend events, corporations make significant financial investments in the Zoo every year while receiving a variety of benefits, including marketing and visibility opportunities, employee discount cards, and more. For more information on how your company can become a corporate partner, call the Minnesota Zoo Foundation at 952-431-9237 or email donations@mnzoo.org.
Tributes and Memorials
The Minnesota Zoo welcomes gifts to honor a special person or event in your life. Your tribute or memorial gift is a meaningful way to acknowledge your loved one while supporting conservation, education and outreach efforts of the Minnesota Zoo. For more information on how you can make this special contribution, contact the Minnesota Zoo Foundation at 952-431-9237 or donations@mnzoo.org.
Matching Gifts
Increase your gift to the Minnesota Zoo Foundation; have your gift matched by your employer. Many companies in Minnesota will match their employees’ contributions to the Minnesota Zoo. Your gift can be twice as beneficial to the success of the Zoo. Contact your employer’s human resources department to find out if your company will match your gift. Or, contact the Minnesota Zoo Foundation at 952-431-9237 or donations@mnzoo.org.
Gifts to the Endowment
A gift to the endowment is one of the best ways to provide enduring support to the Minnesota Zoo. Funds designated for the Zoo’s endowment are carefully invested to yield a steady, reliable source of income in perpetuity.
Endowment income provides financial stability to the Zoo and allows us to implement its plans despite the inevitable fluctuations in governmental support and earned income. Because endowments exist in perpetuity, donors and their families can enjoy the emotional rewards of these funds for generations to come. The Zoo’s legacy becomes yours. For more information on how you can make a gift to the Zoo’s endowment, call the Minnesota Zoo Foundation at 952-431-9237 or donations@mnzoo.org.
Bequests
The easiest way to make a planned gift is simply to name the Minnesota Zoo in your will. The bequest can consist of property, securities, real estate, cash or anything else of value. A charitable bequest provides no immediate tax benefits but is deductible for estate tax purposes. To learn more about planned giving, call 952-431-9237 or donations@mnzoo.org.
Charitable Trusts
These versatile planned gifts have many advantages. To establish a Charitable Remainder Trust, you transfer assets to a trust and name the Minnesota Zoo as beneficiary. You receive an immediate charitable tax deduction, avoid capital gains tax on the assets, and receive income from the trust for the rest of your life. With Charitable Lead Trusts, the Minnesota Zoo will receive a fixed amount or a percentage of the trust assets each year. After your death, the remaining assets will be given to the beneficiary you name. In this way, you give the Minnesota Zoo immediate income yet still provide for your heirs. For more information, call 952-431-9237 or donations@mnzoo.org.
Charitable Gift Annuities
With these planned gifts, you transfer assets to the Minnesota Zoo in exchange for regular fixed payments for the rest of your life – and the life of a beneficiary, if you choose. In addition to guaranteed income, you receive an income tax deduction and possible estate tax savings. To learn more about gift annuities, call 952-431-9237 or donations@mnzoo.org.
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