How to Give
Your gifts will have a transformative effect on WYSO musicians and their journeys, and there are many ways to make this happen. From a Gift of Cash to Stock Transfers to IRA Contributions to including WYSO in your Estate Plans, you can select how you would like to continue the WYSO Mission. Every dollar you give to WYSO has a huge impact on our programs and our students.

One-Time Gifts
You may opt for a one-time gift to WYSO via our fast, easy, and secure online giving platform. Gifts of personal checks or money orders are also accepted. Please direct all mailed gifts to:
Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras
P.O. Box 258039
Madison WI 53725

Online Recurring Gifts
Recurring gifts allow donors to be charged any amount monthly to their credit cards. WYSO Monthly is a great way to spread out a donation over a year and give WYSO sustained support. Simply select “Monthly” and set your monthly giving level and we’ll take it from there!
WYSO Monthly is an easy, uncomplicated way to give every month. Set it up once and then just let it give!
Marvin Rabin Legacy Society
Named to honor our founder, Marvin Rabin, the Marvin Rabin Legacy Society recognizes individuals and families who have placed the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras Foundation in their estate plans. WYSO invites you to become a member and help preserve orchestral training and performance opportunities for the talented youth of our region. Click here to read more about making a Legacy Gift to WYSO!
Contact Bridget Fraser for more information.
“Jack and I became Charter Members of the Society because we believe strongly in the power of music education to strengthen the brains and habits of young people and help them to become whatever they want to be. Continuing and expanding this important work so that it is available and accessible to everyone who wants it, is a legacy that we are proud of, and it is why we chose to invest in the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras Foundation.”
– Marian & Jack Bolz

GIFTS OF STOCKS AND ASSETS

Stock Gifts
Did you know that a direct donation of appreciated stock to WYSO may increase your deduction and gift by 20%?
If you donate stock that has increased in value since you bought it more than a year ago—and you itemize deductions—you can take a charitable deduction for the stock’s fair market value on the day you give it away. You’ll also avoid capital-gains taxes on the increase in value over time, which you would have to pay if you sold the stock and then donated the cash proceeds.
In other words: WYSO gets a larger gift, and you get a larger tax-deduction!
Contact Bridget Fraser for more information.

Contributing from an IRA Account
If you are over the age of 70 ½ years old, you may contribute directly from a qualified IRA account to WYSO and reduce your taxable income immediately.
One of the key benefits of the direct charitable contribution from your IRA is that the distribution counts towards your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). You can contribute more than your RMD to charity as long as you do not exceed $100,000 in a calendar year. It’s money the IRS requires you to withdraw, and by transferring it directly to the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, you won’t be forced to pay income tax on it.
In other words: WYSO gets a generous gift and you lower your tax liability!
Contact Bridget Fraser for more information.

Contributing from a Donor Advised Fund
Did you know that a donor-advised fund could allow you to make contributions to WYSO on your preferred schedule while also maximizing the tax benefit of your donations?
By front-loading several years of charitable donations into a single tax year gift to your donor-advised fund, you can realize the tax benefits from itemized deductions while also maintaining the freedom to make charitable gifts as you see fit.
In other words: Planning ahead allows WYSO to benefit from your generosity for years to come and you become eligible for a larger tax-deduction!
Contact Bridget Fraser for more information.

Making a Gift of Securities
Whether you are making an electronic transfer from a brokerage account or mailing in a certificate, a gift of appreciated securities held for more than one year may provide significant benefits to you as a contributor.
Gifts of appreciated securities could entitle you to a charitable income tax deduction for the fair market value of the gifted securities as of the date of gift! Learn more about how to give the gift of securities by contacting Bridget Fraser today!
Endow A Chair Program
Of the many opportunities to support WYSO, Endowing a Chair carries special significance. The Endowed Chair can bear your name, your family name, that of a friend or relative, or a group that has a special connection to WYSO. In all cases, the Endowed Chair becomes a permanent mark of recognition. Each Endowed Chair is titled according to the donor’s wishes and is featured in all WYSO printed orchestra programs. Chairs that have already been selected are darkened in the diagram above (with the list of donors below). Outlined principal and section instruments are still available to fund.
Why Consider Endowing a Chair?
Almost 55 years after auditioning for the first WYSO orchestra, Bruce Matthews continues to show his support for the organization. His lead gift, the Bruce Matthews Principal Horn Chair, ensures current and future WYSO students will continue to receive high-quality orchestral training. “We all want to make a difference and leave a legacy,” Bruce said. “My gift to the WYSO Endowed Chair program is a way for my money to work on behalf of future generations of students in perpetuity. Having my name associated with the principal horn chair will be part of my legacy as a charter member.”
Join the growing family of WYSO leaders. Give a gift that will last a lifetime
and will support WYSO in perpetuity:
John J. Frautschi Conductor’s Podium
Susan Hoeft Vandewalle Concertmaster Chair
Wilke Family Associate Concertmaster Chair
Marvin J. Levy Section Violin Chair
Miriam Schneider Memorial Section Violin Chair
Mei and Zhou Family Section Violin Chair
Maxwell C. Martin Section Violin Chair
Andrée and John Valley Principal 2nd Violin Chair
Inhorn Family Principal Viola Chair
John and Marian Bolz Section Viola Chair
Pei and Zhuang Family Section Viola Chair
Doug and Martha Maxwell Principal Cello Chair
Marvin J. Levy Section Cello Chair
Muldowney Family Section Cello Chair
Graham Fuguitt Principal Bass Chair
Nancy Ellis Wolf Memorial Section Bass Chair
Betty Bielefeld Principal Flute Chair
Irving and Dorothy Levy Family Section Flute Chair
Marc and Marcia Fink Principal Oboe Chair
James Smith Principal Clarinet Chair
Neal Williams Section Bassoon Chair
Bruce Matthews Principal Horn Chair
Charlie Williams Section Horn Chair
Roderick J. Lippert Section Horn Chair
Marvin J. Levy Section Trombone Chair
Karl Stadler Memorial Principal Tuba Chair
Anonymous Principal Harp Chair
Vicki Peterson Jenks Principal Percussion Chair
Andrew George Section Percussion Chair
Eric Douglas Batterman Memorial Section Percussion Chair
To learn more about the Endowed Chair Initiative, contact WYSO Development Director Susan Gardels at 608-733-6283 ext. 4.
Endowed Chair gifts are placed with the WYSO Foundation, a companion 501 (c)(3) organization established in 1999 for the purpose of accepting and managing gifts and bequests for the benefit of WYSO.
“The living history of WYSO is testament to a music organization that is actually fulfilling its stated vision and mission. How else can we explain the fact that among us are people who devote hundreds of volunteer hours to WYSO, are also current donors and have become members of the Rabin Legacy Society. Each of us has our own reasons why we stay involved and are dedicated to sustaining the WYSO story.”
— Mike George
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