Help Us Inspire Future Generations of Curious & Creative Problem Solvers!

Your individual support provides critical funding for museum operations including exhibits and programs. Planned giving options allow you to create a lasting legacy of support. Tribute gifts can honor special relationships or memorialize the loss of a loved one.

When you donate to WonderLab, you’re not just giving to the Museum. You’re providing one-of-a-kind educational experiences and all the wonders of science through interactive exhibits and programs that stimulate curiosity, encourage exploration, connect to the arts and everyday life, and foster lifelong learning.

Visitors pay only one-half of what it costs to serve them each visit. Your philanthropic support of WonderLab’s Annual Fund through one of the many vehicles for giving ensures that hands-on science education is accessible for families, schools, and social service agencies in southern Indiana and beyond.

How can I make a gift that helps WonderLab now?

A gift of cash is the most common way our friends support WonderLab. To make your unrestricted, tax-deductible gift to the Annual Fund, just click “Give Now” above!

Instructions for Gifts of Stock
Gifts of appreciated securities offer a relatively simple way to make charitable gifts. If the securities have been held for one year or longer, the current value generally is tax-deductible up to 30 percent of adjusted gross income, with a five-year carryover if the gift amount is more than the 30 percent limit.

Gifts of stock for WonderLab are accepted and processed through the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County. When sending your gift please have your advisor contact the Community Foundation and provide the following:

  • Number and type of shares
  • Intended use or “greatest need”
  • Your name and address (if you’d like for your gift to be acknowledged)

Generally, gifts of stocks, bonds, or mutual funds can be transferred from your brokerage account to WonderLab through the Foundation’s account with Mason Securities, Inc.  You will need to authorize your broker to make the transfer and provide the following information:

For all DTC eligible securities:
Firm:  TD Ameritrade, Inc.
DTC#:  0188
Account #:  931 022 412
Account Name:  Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County
Contact:  Mason Securities, Inc.
Phone #:  (703) 716-6000

To provide gift and donor information, as well as additional questions, please contact us at the Community Foundation:
Meagan Niese
Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County
100 S. College Avenue, Ste. 240
Bloomington, Indiana 47404

Phone: (812) 333-9016
Fax:  (812) 333-1153
E-mail:  meaganniese@cfbmc.org

Did you know that you can set up a recurring gift to sustain WonderLab throughout the year?  Whether it’s a $10, $20 or even $50 or $100 a month donation, you can show your love for science and empower local children to use the sciences for the greater good! Simply indicate on your online donation the frequency with which you’d like to give.

Gifts in honor or memory of a loved one, friend, or colleague are a special way of showing your support to the WonderLab Museum and recognizing an important figure in your life. Individuals honored through a tribute gift are recognized in our Annual Report each year and we send special notification of your gift to the individual being honored or the family of those who are being remembered.

Your charitable gift to WonderLab could be matched dollar for dollar by your employer! Many companies want to support the causes their employees care about.  When you make your gift, keep your receipt and check with your HR department to see if your company matches donations made by their employees or retirees!

Did you know you can give a charitable gift from your IRA if you are at least 72?
  • You can directly transfer up to $100,000 per year to one or more charities.
  • This transfer counts toward the minimum required distribution rule for IRA accounts
  • A gift from your Traditional or Roth IRA will never count as income!

If you would like to make such a gift to WonderLab for this tax year, contact your Financial Adviser for more details.

How can I plan for the future?

You can help WonderLab prepare for the future by making a planned gift or bequest to the Museum. We will work with you to establish a legacy gift that meets your charitable and tax needs, such as a charitable bequest, a charitable lead trust, or a charitable remainder trust.

By making a planned gift or bequest you can:

  • Reduce taxes on your estate
  • Avoid capital gains tax with an Outright Gift of Appreciated Stock
  • Receive income for life through a Charitable Remainder Trust
  • Pass assets to your children and grandchildren and cut transfer taxes through a Charitable Lead Trust

A donor-advised fund is an investment account you create solely for supporting charitable causes – and because the fund is self-directed, you dictate where, when and how much to give.

  • You open the fund by making an initial donation of cash, stocks, bonds or other select assets.
  • A nonprofit sponsoring organization invests the assets and manages the fund.
  • You instruct the sponsoring organization to disperse funds to the charities of your choosing, at your discretion.

Your initial and any future contributions to the fund are deducted from that year’s taxes, which can be useful if you plan on bundling your deductions as part of your tax strategy.

You can help build WonderLab’s sustainability by contributing to one of our endowment initiatives.

Accessibility

  • Donations made to this endowment support accessibility efforts for families with low income, including the Access Pass Program, and to social service organizations.

Educational initiatives – Norma Olmer Education Endowment Fund

  • Named in memory of Chief Financial Officer Catherine Olmer’s late mother, this endowment supports ongoing educational initiatives at the Museum.

Exhibit maintenance and development – Ray and Marcie Tichenor Endowment Fund

  • The Tichenor Endowment provides sustainable support for exhibit maintenance and development.

Live animal programming – Keaton Eric Piper Endowment Fund

  • Donations to this endowment fund support live animal programming at WonderLab

WonderCamp scholarships – John and Lilyan Carlson Endowment Fund

  • Named in memory of John and Lilyan Carlson, this endowment supports full and partial scholarships at WonderCamp, WonderLab’s growing summer science enrichment camp. Your contribution ensures that children of all socioeconomic backgrounds will have the opportunity to learn during the summer months in perpetuity. This fund is currently a high-priority area for WonderLab’s fundraising efforts.

Unrestricted gifts – Designate your donation to the general WonderLab endowment ensuring a reliable source of unrestricted funding for into the future.

When planning a specific charitable gift, a legal or financial adviser should be consulted.
WonderLab Museum Tax ID #: 35-1956521

Give when you shop!

Amazon Smile

Amazon will donate a percentage of your purchase to WonderLab when you enroll in Amazon Smiles.  It’s so easy to do! Click the link for instructions on how to participate.

Learn More

Kroger Community Rewards

Kroger will donate a percentage of your purchase to WonderLab when you enroll in their charitable giving program: Kroger Community Rewards. Click the links for instructions on how to participate.

Learn More

WonderLab values the contributions and privacy of all our donors. WonderLab does not share or sell any donor’s information with anyone else, nor send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations unless the donor has given WonderLab the specific permission to do so or unless required by law.