Are you passionate about supporting the Museums of Western Colorado (MWC)? Do you want to ensure that we continue our mission well into the future? Planned gifts help assure that MWC will remain a vibrant source of inspiration for generations to come. Your planned gift can support any aspect of MWC. This can include much needed capital improvements to Dinosaur Journey, Cross Orchards Historic Site, and the Museum of the West. In addition, your support will provide curatorial research and care for our priceless artifacts and collections, new exhibitions, additional educational initiatives, and sustain our operational funding that ensures our collections are protected, the lights are on, and our doors are open! MWC is committed to developing planned gifts that are meaningful to each donor and tailored to their financial and estate-planning goals.
By including MWC in your long-term plans, you achieve the goals that are important to you — to benefit yourself, your family, and an institution that you value. In addition to a bequest in your will, there are other ways you may make a legacy gift. You can name MWC as a beneficiary of your retirement plan or life insurance policy. If you are looking for a way to supplement your income, you can establish a charitable gift annuity, or a charitable remainder trust, which are gifts that will support MWC and pay you, and/or other designated beneficiaries, income for life. Supporting MWC as a beneficiary of your estate is the ultimate gift—it does more than bolster our mission and provide long-term financial support; it establishes a lasting legacy of your personal values that can be passed on to future generations. Planned gifts, thoughtfully prepared and conscientiously implemented, can truly ensure that those things we love and value will be here for many generations to come.
The Museum strongly encourages you to consult with your financial advisor and/or legal counsel for more information to make a planned gift.
Benefits of Membership
The Legacy Society is an honorary group, which celebrates friends of the Museum who play a unique role in ensuring that future generations will be able to enjoy the educational opportunities and rich treasures of the Museums of Western Colorado.
You are eligible for membership in the Legacy Society if you have named MWC as a beneficiary of your:
- Will or trust
- IRA or other retirement plan
- Life insurance policy
- Life income or other planned gift such as a charitable gift annuity, pooled income fund, charitable lead trust, or remainder interest in a personal residence
- Promised artifacts of historical significance also qualify you for membership in the Legacy Society.
If your bequest intention or planned gift information is not already included in our records, please complete and sign the Document of Declaration, indicating your wish to become a member of the Legacy Society. This information helps us to ensure that your intentions are honored when your legacy gift is realized. Note that information regarding the amount or nature of the bequest or gift is not required. Please contact Catherine Robertson, MWC Board of Directors, at catherinehikes@icloud.com for the Document of Declaration.
Honoring Your Support
All Legacy Society members are invited to a variety of Museum programs and special events, such as exhibition openings, the annual Legacy Day, guest lectures, and Curator/Director’s Dialogues. Members are also publicly acknowledged in the Museum’s annual Donor Roll, published annually in the newsletter. We are happy to discuss with you other ways to honor and recognize your heartfelt planned gift!