(
Why a planned gift?
Planned gifts provide creative and flexible strategies for your estate and charitable planning. Some planned gifts provide you with income. Many can reduce your taxes. The greatest benefit, however, lies in knowing that by including The Children’s Museum in your estate planning, you will ensure extraordinary learning experiences are available for generations to come.
Your planned gift will support the museum’s endowment fund. The principle of the fund is invested and earnings from the endowment support our mission, which includes:
- Extraordinary experiences. The museum is dedicated to capturing imaginations and changing lives through our world-class exhibits and collections. We continually invest in developing, maintaining, and staffing our indoor and outdoor exhibits.
- Access to all. Programs like Free and Reduced Admission Days, First Thursdays, Access Pass, our Neighborhood Club, Foster Family Membership Program, StarPoint Program, and more, allow us to serve all children and families, regardless of income. Learn more.
- Family learning. Transformational learning experiences promote family engagement through the use of real objects, immersive environments, and live interpretation. We strive to meet the learning needs and interests of children and families to nurture hands-on, minds-on experiences.
How can a planned gift benefit my family?
There are many ways to tailor your planned gift to your individual financial situation. Many types of planned gifts such as bequests or beneficiary designations, provide significant tax savings without compromising your current financial situation or what you plan to leave to your heirs.
Make your dollar last forever
All planned gifts made to The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis go into museum’s endowment, which we refer to as forever dollars. With its strong board leadership and Moody AAA rating, the museum’s endowment is fiscally sound, ensuring that your forever dollars provide extraordinary family learning experiences for decades to come. Planned giving options include:
- Bequest
- Gift annuity
- Life insurance/retirement accounts
- Deferred gift annuity
- Lead trusts
- Remainder trusts
Join Ruth Allison Lilly Society
Ruth Allison Lilly was one of the museum's earliest benefactors, giving generously to The Children's Museum during her lifetime and through generous bequests. She was among the visionaries who helped establish the museum as a world-class educational and cultural institution. Ruth Allison Lilly Society was created in her honor to recognize those donors who support the museum through estate and planned gifts.
Members of the society receive:
- Recognition in museum publications, including the annual report (unless the donor requests anonymity)
- Invitation to an annual special recognition event at the museum
