Ways to help
In Grand Haven, the places we love most, like the Musical Fountain and the Imagination Station, began when ordinary people decided to build something extraordinary for the children who came next. The Grand Haven Children’s Museum is the next chapter in that story, and there’s a place in it for you, whether you give, volunteer or simply share the news.
The Founding 50
The Founding 50 is our campaign for 50 founding gifts of $5,000 or more. Together, these gifts provide the seed funding to plan the Museum. Every founder will be permanently recognized at the Museum, and on our website, social media and annual report.
Founding gifts fund the essential work that comes before a building: site selection, design, exhibit development and community engagement.
Fill out our Founding 50 Pledge Form and mail it with your check, payable to Grand Haven Children’s Museum, to P.O. Box 572, Grand Haven, MI 49417. You can also give through a donor-advised fund, your IRA or a gift of stock.
Questions? Call (616) 402-0518 or email Hello@GrandHavenChildrensMuseum.org.
Age 70½ or older? Give tax-free from your IRA. Taking an RMD? See below.
Recommend a grant from your Fidelity, Schwab or Vanguard fund.
Log in to your fund and search for Grand Haven Children’s Museum or EIN 88-4106720. Let us know it’s coming so we can thank you.
Give appreciated stock and avoid capital gains taxes, while making a bigger gift.
Gifts of stock are made through the Grand Haven Children’s Museum Community Service Fund at the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation. Call the Community Foundation at (616) 842-6378 for transfer instructions, then ask your broker to transfer the shares directly. Please don’t sell them first, so you avoid capital gains taxes.
Let us know it’s coming so we can thank you.
Ask whether your employer will match your gift. Many companies do.
Check your company’s matching gift program or ask HR. You’ll usually need our legal name, Grand Haven Children’s Museum, and EIN 88-4106720. Many matching programs double your gift.
Give to our fund at the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation.
A small monthly gift adds up to steady support all year. Choose “Monthly” when you give.
Host a home party, rally your school or team, or ask for gifts to the Museum for your birthday.
At home: invite friends for a backyard gathering, a game night or a family playdate, and share the Museum’s story with your guests.
In the community: a classroom coin drive, a team car wash, a business dress-down day or a restaurant giveback night all add up.
On Facebook: search “Fundraiser,” choose Create, then select The Grand Haven Children’s Museum as your nonprofit. Birthdays and holidays are perfect occasions.
Tell us your idea and we’ll help you plan it. Every host is thanked on our Our Donors page.
Celebrate a grandchild, a teacher or someone you love with a gift in their name.
Online: choose your amount and click Donate. On the next screens, you’ll see the option to dedicate your gift in honor or in memory of someone.
By check: include a note with the person’s name, and tell us if you’d like us to let them or their family know about your gift.
Taking an RMD this year?
Send all or part of your required minimum distribution (RMD) straight from your IRA to the Museum. It can count toward your RMD and generally isn’t added to your taxable income, even if you don’t itemize. You can give this way starting at age 70½.
For example: if your RMD is $10,000 and you send $2,000 to the Museum, generally only $8,000 is added to your taxable income. A lower income can also help keep your Medicare premiums and the tax on your Social Security down.
Ask your IRA administrator to send the gift to Grand Haven Children’s Museum (EIN 88-4106720), P.O. Box 572, Grand Haven, MI 49417. Start early, since the gift must leave your IRA by December 31.
Let us know it’s coming →This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Please talk with your tax advisor or IRA administrator about your own situation.
Our community is full of people, retired and still working, looking for a meaningful way to share what they know. Help on a committee, at an event, in a focus group or by connecting us with friends who care about kids.
Bruce Schultz
Property Search Committee
Amber Landis
Marketing Committee
Audrey Borgman
Donor Relations Committee
Kelly Grimes
Exhibit and Programming Committee
What would a children’s museum mean to your family? Write it in three words on a sign, snap a photo and share it with us. You may see your words in the Museum one day.
Post it and tag @grand_haven_childrens_museum, or email it to Hello@GrandHavenChildrensMuseum.org.
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The only thing of momentous value we leave behind is the next generation, our kids—all our kids. We all need to work together to give them the gift of a good start in life.
Colin Powell, It Worked for Me
Give the gift of a great start