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Ways to Give
"Giving to others rather than receiving took no real thought process. Knowing others with this disease and wanting to make a difference for them was all we needed to decide to make giving to the National MS Society among the suggested gift options for wedding guests."
For full story, click here.
For more information, please contact the Development Department at (202) 296-5363.
- Donate Online
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By donating online via our secured server you can help support our efforts to fight the devastating effects of MS. You can earmark your donation for research, or to local chapter activities.
Click here to donate online now.
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- Donate by Mail/Phone
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If you would like to send us your donation through the mail, please make checks payable to the National MS Society and mail to:
National MS Society
1800 M Street N.W.
Suite 750 South
Washington, D.C. 20036
To make your donation over the phone with a credit card, please call the Development office at (202) 296-5363, or email development@MSandYou.org.
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- Memorial or Honorariums
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Remember your loved ones by donating to the Chapter in their name. Make a memorial or honorarium donation for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and other events. Both honorarium and memorial donations will be acknowledged to the person, or family being honored, so please include with your donation the name of the person the gift is for, and the contact information of a family member or loved one. Memorial and Honorarium donations can be made using our secure online donation form, via phone, or by sending the donation in the mail.
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- Matching Gifts
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Don't miss an opportunity to potentially double the value of your contribution. Many corporations have a matching gift program in which the company will match individual contributions including monthly, annual or payroll deduction gifts.
For a complete list of companies who participate in our matching gifts program, click here:
Companies with matching gifts programs
If your employer is not listed, inquire about matching gifts at your payroll office today.
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- Planned Giving
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Planned gifts are an important way individuals can help the National Multiple Sclerosis Society end the devastating effects of MS. Gifts to the National Capital Chapter fund essential programs and services for approximately 6,000 people with MS and their families in the Washington metropolitan area.
Until a cure is found, we will remain committed to ensuring that all those affected by MS will be able to rely upon the National MS Society for information, comfort, and often emotional and financial support. Planned gifts are crucial to improving the quality of life for people with MS and their families.
Please note that gifts of this nature should be carefully considered in relation to your comprehensive financial and estate plans. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society does not give legal or tax advice. You should consult an attorney or financial planner prior to making a planned gift due to state laws, changing tax codes, and other issues affecting planned gifts.
- How does the donor benefit?
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In addition to the satisfaction of making a planned gifts, donors may be able to accomplish some of the following financial goals:
- Increase Income
- Leverage assets tax-free
- Control the charitable gift
- Better serve heirs through estate planning
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- Bequests
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- The Pillars of Society
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The Pillars of Society is a group of generous and caring individuals who have included a gift for the National MS Society in their estate plans or through a life income gift.
Bequests and other planned gifts are important ways that individuals can help ensure the financial strength of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for generations to come and provide their loved ones with income for life before a gift passes to the National MS Society. It also includes those who have made the National MS Society the beneficiary of a life insurance policy, of an IRA, or of other retirement plan funds.
There is no minimum amount required to be a member of the Pillars of Society. All bequests are important to us and gratefully received.
As a member of the Pillars of Society, you will ensure the continuation of our crucial efforts. To demonstrate our gratitude, members receive a personalized certificate, current MS information, and with your permission, name recognition in special National MS Society publications.
- Types of Bequests
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To make a bequest to the National MS Society, you can create a new will, add a codicil to your existing will, or name the National MS Society as a beneficiary in your will. You can give many kinds of assets to the National MS Society through your will including cash, securities, and funds from a retirement account or life insurance policy at death. You may specify that your bequest be restricted to support specific programs or services, research, or the endowment fund. Unrestricted bequests are used to fund research and local programs and services of greatest need. There is no minimum amount required to be a member of the Pillars of Society. All bequests are important to us and are gratefully received.
The language for a bequest is simple and can be incorporated into a new will or added by codicil or amendment to an existing will. To make a bequest commitment, simply ask your attorney to revise your current will to include one of the following:
- A bequest of a specific amount
- A bequest of a specific asset, such as marketable securities or real estate
- A bequest of a percentage of your estate
- The remainder of your estate
- A contingent bequest only if certain other beneficiaries predecease you
- Suggested bequest language
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I hereby give, devise, and bequeath (describe dollar amount, property, or proportion of residuary estate) to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Capital Chapter, a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C., for its charitable purposes."
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- Types of Planned Gifts
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- Charitable Gift Annuity
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The charitable gift annuity is a simple legal contract between you and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society that combines your philanthropic interest with your financial planning objectives. A gift annuity is a contract under which the Society agrees to pay you a fixed amount each year in return for an irrevocable gift of cash or securities.
You can choose to create a gift annuity that provides a life-income stream just for you, or an income for you and your spouse. You may choose to provide an income stream to a favorite relative or friend as well. Annuity payments may be immediate or deferred until a future time, such as retirement. After your lifetime, the remainder of your original gift is transferred to the National MS Society.
The minimum contribution for donors aged 50 through 59 is $10,000. Donors aged 60 and over may make an initial contribution of $5,000 or more. A portion of the income that you receive from the charitable gift annuity may be tax-free each year.
- Charitable Remainder Trust
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A trust is a legal agreement that specifies how the assets placed under the trust will be managed. The Charitable Remainder Trust is a gift of cash or appreciated property that can provide fixed or variable income to you or a loved one for a period of time or for life, can provide an income tax deduction, and can lessen or eliminate capital gains taxes. You can claim a tax deduction for the estimated portion of the assets that will go to charity upon death. After your lifetime, the assets remaining in the trust will be used to provide critical future support to the National MS Society as you specified.
Annuity Trust - Fixed income: You receive an annual fixed percentage of the initial fair market value of the assets placed in the trust.
Basic Unitrust - Variable income: You receive one or more yearly payments equaling a fixed percentage of the fair market value of the asset, which fluctuates annually.
The advantages of a Charitable Remainder Trust are many. Donors generally benefit from income tax deductions and avoid capital gains tax.
Charitable remainder trusts are a good way to prepare for retirement. Assets can be invested to earn a lower rate of return when a donor is younger and shifted to earn a higher rate to provide more income in later years.
- Charitable Lead Trust
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A donor creates a Charitable Lead Trust by transferring ownership of an asset to a trust that pays income to the National MS Society for a temporary number of years. The trust assets will ultimately return to the donor or named beneficiaries at the end of the specified trust period.
The Charitable Lead Trust provides an attractive method to return assets to your control in later years, or reduces the gift and estate taxes on assets passed on to family members.
- Life Insurance and Retirement Plans
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You can name the National MS Society as beneficiary for all or part of the proceeds of a life insurance policy you own, or name the Society owner and beneficiary of an existing policy that you no longer need.
By designating the Society as part or full beneficiary of life insurance policies or retirement plans, you will help the National Capital Chapter meet future needs.
- Pooled Income Fund
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Participation in the National MS Society's Pooled Income Fund allows you to receive income for life and tax benefits while providing a future gift to the Society. A Pooled Income Fund is a trust established and maintained by the Society. Your irrevocable gift to our Pooled Income Fund is commingled with other gifts in an investment "pool" or common fund.
Income from the Pooled Fund is distributed quarterly in proportion to the number of shares you have in the fund. The amount of your income will vary from year to year, depending on the fund's performance and growth. You and an additional person (if you choose) receive lifetime incomes. After your lifetime(s), the portion of the fund principal associated with your gift is transferred directly to the National MS Society.
In addition to an income stream, you are entitled to an immediate charitable income tax deduction. If you are 60 or over, your gift of $5,000 or more allows you to receive a lifetime income stream.
Individuals ages 50-59 may participate in the fund with a gift of $10,000.
Your support of the Society can grow with subsequent gifts of $2,000 or more. Additional gifts provide increased income and tax benefits for you.
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- Contact Information
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For more information about making a planned gift, call (202) 296-5363 or e-mail development@MSandYOU.org.
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- Starfish Society
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"The young woman listened politely.
Then bent down, picked up another starfish
And then threw it into the sea,
Past the breaking waves and said -
'It made a difference for that one.'"
The Starfish Society was created to honor individuals who give a personal contribution of $10,000 or more at one time to the National Capital Chapter.
The Starfish Society gets its name from a poem titled The Starfish. In the poem, a young girl explains why, despite the vast number she cannot save, it is important to throw beached starfish back into the sea: her actions might help at least one starfish to live longer.
Luby Ismail read The Starfish at the National Capital Chapter's Annual Meeting in 1999, when she accepted her award as Parent of the Year. To Luby, the poem described how the Society helps people with MS. Though we cannot meet everyone's needs, we still work to help as many as we can to have a better quality of life.
You too can make a difference in the lives of those individuals and families affected by multiple sclerosis by joining The Starfish Society. Funds received are used to help fulfill a number of unmet needs at the National Capital Chapter, including:
- Respite care for caregivers of loved ones with MS;
- Financial support toward the purchase of medical equipment;
- Emergency financial assistance for clients of the National Capital Chapter;
- Educational and recreational programs for children and families affected by MS.
Members of the Starfish Society are recognized with a beautiful gold starfish pin or cufflinks. With their permission, their name will be mentioned in various National MS Society publications.
For more information on becoming a member of the National Capital Chapter's Starfish Society, please contact the Development office at (202) 296-5363 or development@MSandYOU.org.
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- Promise: 2010
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To encourage innovative research into highly promising, but understudied, research areas, the National Capital Chapter has committed to raise $1 million by the year 2010 to invest in research into the cause and cure of MS. Be part of the solution by joining the Chapter and its commitment to Promise: 2010, a nationwide campaign.
The Society will invest funds raised through Promise: 2010 into target areas of research including the following:
- Nervous system repair and protection
- Care and treatment for children with MS
- Sonya Slifka Longitudinal MS Study
- The MS Lesion Project
To read the Summer 2006 Promise: 2010 newsletter, please click here.
If you are interested in helping the Chapter meet this fundraising challenge, please contact Betsy O'Brien Anderson at (202) 296-5363 or via e-mail at BAnderson@MSandYOU.org to discuss how you can make a commitment to Promise: 2010. With your help, we will come closer to solving the mysteries of MS.
For more information about the initiative, please click here.
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- AUTOS-4-MS
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The AUTOS-4-MS Program gives individuals and organizations the opportunity to donate their unwanted vehicles to the National MS Society. Proceeds help to fund local programs for people with MS, as well as MS research projects.
The program accepts cars, trucks, trailers, and motorcycles. Recreational vehicles are accepted upon inspection.
For complete information on donation procedures and eligibility, and/or to submit an Auto Donation Form, click here <autos4ms.org>, or call 877 672-8864, ext. 143.
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