Commemorative Donations: Honor Someone by Making a Truly Meaningful Gift
When making the donation, type in the person's name you want honored or memorialized in the area, "Please use my gift to support." Dedicated gifts can include a certificate that we can customize for you.
Planned Giving: Leave a Lasting Legacy for Future Generations
By leaving a gift to the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in your will, trust, or beneficiary designation, you create a legacy that will spark scientific discovery for generations to come. A bequest to SERC will ensure that we can continue to advance research for the protection of coastal ecosystems and secure the funding necessary to train the next generation of environmental researchers.
Please email Christine Buckley or call 443-482-2333 for more information on the various planned giving options.
Corporate Matching Gifts: "Supersize" Your Support
Employer matching gifts are a wonderful way to maximize your support for the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Many employers (or their parent companies) will match charitable contributions made by their current and retired employees. Most participating corporations will give charitable gifts at an equal amount or greater.
Ask your employer about its matching gifts policy and procedures.
Gifts of Stock
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center accepts gifts of both marketable and closely held securities. Gifts of appreciated publicly traded securities you have held for longer than 12 months allow you to claim a charitable deduction for the full market value of the securities on the date the gift is made while avoiding tax on the capital gain.
Please get in touch with the Gift Registrar Jeanne Welsh, by phone at 202-633-4034 or email for instructions on giving a gift of securities to SERC.
Endowments
An endowment to the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center is a fund you can establish to support SERC in perpetuity. A percentage of the earnings from the fund is distributed to SERC annually, allowing us to continue our work while the fund continues to grow. The fund may be created with cash donations, pledges and/or appreciated stock.
There are dozens of SERC endowments to which you can contribute that support everything from research expeditions to fellowships, chairs, and other strategic initiatives. Unrestricted named endowments will allow us to use the funds wherever the need is greatest.
Contact Cole Johnson for guidance on making an endowment gift to SERC.