WAYS TO GIVE

Donate Online Now

Over 90% of your donation goes directly to student scholarships. Our scholarships are funded by current year contributions and income distributions from our long-term funds (managed by a professional advisory firm). Set up a one-time or periodic (monthly/quarterly/annual) contribution today so needy West Marin students can achieve higher education and position themselves and their families for better futures.

  Donate Online

Online donations are processed through PayPal (PayPal account NOT required). The West Marin Scholarship Program (formerly the Inverness Garden Club Scholarship Fund) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Donations are tax deductible as provided by law. Our EIN# is 94-6088058. While we can’t provide a charitable donation receipt unless we know your details, we are happy to maintain anonymity if you prefer it—just let us know. Please contact us or your tax advisor for more information.

Checks

Contributions can be made via checks made payable to the West Marin Scholarship Program and mailed to us at PO Box 724, Inverness, CA 94937.

Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs)

A number of our donors use their DAFs to facilitate donations. For lookup purposes, our EIN# is 94-6088058, and you might see our name as the IGC Scholarship Fund (we can accommodate donations in either name, as long as the EIN is correct).

IRA Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)

You can make a charitable donation (typically up to $100,000 a year) directly from your IRA and meet your RMD obligation while keeping your taxable income lower. Talk to your tax advisor and/or IRA custodian for more insights.

Gifts of Appreciated Securities

Stocks, bonds and mutual funds may be donated to the West Marin Scholarship Program through our account at Fidelity. You typically receive a charitable deduction for the fair market value of the securities at time of transfer, and avoid paying capital gains tax on any accumulated appreciation. Please contact us for further information. (NB-We can’t give you a charitable donation receipt if you donate your asset anonymously.)

Larger Long-Term Gifts

Gifts over $50,000 will be added to our long-term fund, which provides annual scholarship distributions of 3% to 5%. Gifts or bequests of $500,000 or more may be held separately with annual scholarship distributions at the same rate.

Honorary Gifts

Gifts can be made to honor the donor, friends, colleagues or family, and the West Marin Scholarship Program, if you wish, will designate a one-year scholarship in the honoree’s name at the $5,000 level. A scholarship may be named in perpetuity for a contribution of $100,000 or more.

Other Assets

The West Marin Scholarship Program will work with you to facilitate other types of contributions, for instance a donation of real estate or life insurance. Please contact us for further information.

Legacy Donations

The West Marin Scholarship Program regularly receives bequests from community members, and we are so grateful! We can work with you and your attorney on gifting terminology and explain the options in detail. And don’t forget that you can identify WMSP as a beneficiary of your IRA or investment accounts! As discussed above, gifts can be designated for current year or multi-year or perpetual scholarships, depending on the size of the gift. Please contact us for further information.

“There are not enough words to express how grateful I am to have grown up in such a supportive community.”