Support Us
 Support the Communication Center – Donate Now, Matching Gift Opportunities, Tribute Gifts, Gift Planning, Corporate Sponsorship, Volunteer Opportunities SUPPORT THE COMMUNICATION CENTER “The Saint Paul Foundation is a proud partner of the Communication Center—one of Minnesota's best kept secrets. The Center has touched the lives of thousands of Minnesotans over the past 50 years. We are fortunate to have such a resource in our state.”
The Communication Center offers a variety of ways you can support our programs and services, including gifts of time, leadership, gifts of stock or cash, and gift planning. The Communication Center has established a special fund at The Saint Paul Foundation to accept your tax deductible contribution. All checks should be made to The Communication Center Fund. We would be delighted to answer any questions you may have and may be reached at (651) 642-0445. It's easy to donate to the Communication Center. Simply complete a Donation Form and choose one of the options below:
Questions? Call Angela Bodensteiner, Development Director for the Communication Center at (651) 642-0445. Inquire with your company's Human Resource Department to see if they have a matching gift program. See the Matching Gift Opportunities section below. Some employers have a matching gift program that will double or even triple your contribution. Please obtain a matching gift form from your employer and send to:
For more information, please call the Development Office at (651) 642-0445. Tribute gifts include commemorative and memorial gifts. Both provide a meaningful opportunity to support the Communication Center and recognize significant people in your life. Commemorative and memorial gifts can be given in honor of a family member, friend or organization. When you give a commemorative gift, the Communication Center will send a letter to the person you have chosen to honor, letting her/him know of your contribution (no gift amount is mentioned unless requested by the donor). Memorials are tribute gifts that honor a lost loved one. When you give a memorial gift, the Communication Center will send a letter to the family of the deceased (no gift amount is disclosed unless requested by the donor). Join the Legacy Society: As of May 2008, 55 individuals have joined the Legacy Society and included the Communication Center in their estate plans through a will, life income arrangement, trust or other means. The society was established in honor of the Hamm family, whose initial gift helped start the Center in 1953 and whose ongoing generosity continues to be instrumental to the Center's success. If you would like to join the Legacy Society please complete the Declaration of Intent Form (download form) and mail to:
Note: The Declaration of Intent is an expression of your current plans, and may be modified or revoked and is not a legal binding obligation to you or your estate. Please print out an additional copy for your records. For more information, please call Angela Bodensteiner, Development Director at (651) 642-0445. Four Steps of Gift Planning: Gift planning is a simple process that involves four important initial steps:
Determine if your values fit with the Communication Center's Mission: The Communication Center seeks to ensure that blind, visually impaired, physically disabled and learning disabled Minnesotans of all ages have timely, high-quality access to printed material that meets their educational, vocational, self-sufficiency and leisure needs. See the Communication Center Planning Strategies brochure. The Communication Center has entered into an agreement with The Saint Paul Foundation whereby The Saint Paul Foundation will administer a Gift Annuity program for the Communication Center. A charitable gift annuity is a legally binding agreement between a person and a charity (in this case, The Saint Paul Foundation). The donor transfers assets to a charity and in return, the charity agrees to pay the donor, the donor and one other person, or one or two people who do not include the donor, a fixed income for life. The income is expressed as a percentage of the gift and varies with the number of income beneficiaries and their ages. The Gift Annuity payments are “backed” by all the assets of the charity. At the inception of the Gift Annuity, the donor receives a charitable deduction for a portion of his/her contribution (the rest of the contribution is used to “back” the Gift Annuity payments). At the death of the last income recipient, the amount remaining in the Gift Annuity will be transferred to the Communication Center Endowment Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation. This fund will annually provide money for the general philanthropic purposes of the Communication Center, unless the donor has requested the contribution be used for a specific charitable purpose within the Communication Center. As of December 31, 2002, the market value of The Saint Paul Foundation's assets backing their Gift Annuity program exceeded $525.9 million. Understanding the process of a charitable Gift Annuity:
Here is an example: Mary, an enthusiastic volunteer of the Communication Center, wants to make a contribution she knows will positively impact blind, visually impaired, learning disabled and physically disabled Minnesotans in the future.
* Professional staff of The Saint Paul Foundation and Angela Bodensteiner, Development Director of the Communication Center, will gladly provide you with tax and financial information for any size gift. Each donor is advised to consult with his or her own advisor(s) regarding the specific tax consequences of a charitable gift annuity. For More Information: Angela Bodensteiner would be delighted to answer your questions about charitable gift annuities. If you wish, we can provide you a free gift annuity analysis. Please contact her via phone (651) 642-0445, e-mail: abodenst@ssb.state.mn.us or write to:
Sponsorship of the Minnesota Radio Talking Book (RTB) provides organizations with a unique and valued opportunity to reach 9,000 blind, visually impaired, physically disabled or learning disabled Minnesotans by opening their world with high quality, timely access to printed material. RTB program sponsors are recognized and greatly appreciated by our customers. They are an integral part of the Communication Center community making some of our customer's most valued programs possible. As a result of their relationship with the Communication Center of Services for the Blind, our sponsors are rewarded through both their opportunity to support programming that informs, engages and inspires; and their ability to extend their corporate messaging and build loyalty amongst thousands of Minnesota listeners. If you are a corporation, brand, or agency interested in sponsorship or underwriting information, please contact Angela K. Bodensteiner, Development Director at (651) 642-0445. Inquire with your company's Human Resource Department to see if they have a matching gift program. See the Matching Gift Opportunities section above. If you are interested in any of our volunteer positions, please see our Volunteer Opportunities webpage. As a volunteer at the Communication Center you will be giving the gift of time and talents. Currently the Center has 640 volunteers who donate the equivalent of $1.7 million in work hours each year.
In a world of printed information, what is it like to be blind? For more than 100,000 Minnesotans, it means not being able to read:
The Communication Center, part of State Services for the Blind, is the only organization in Minnesota that provides blind, visually impaired, learning disabled and physically disabled individuals with access to print materials to meet their educational, vocational, self-sufficiency and recreational needs. Despite the great need, we've had to reduce service in some areas by as much as 40 percent because of funding cutbacks. This is in spite of receiving the equivalent of more than a million dollars each year in volunteer hours. Although the Communication Center serves more than 15,000 Minnesotans annually, there are 70,000 to 100,000 additional Minnesotans who could benefit from our services, but who are not being reached. We need your help. Please consider making a gift to the Communication Center. Help us ensure that Minnesota's blind and visually impaired citizens have the same access to information that you do. For the blind and visually impaired, the services provided by the Communication Center can be life-changing: a chance to be more independent, to continue their education, to feel part of the community. By making a donation to the Communication Center, you will help ensure that Minnesota's blind and visually impaired citizens have the same access to information that you do.
WCCO Radio personality, Communication Center volunteer, and Chair of the Development Committee As the baby boomers age, we need to prepare for a growing population of people who will need our services. Most of the federal funds we receive are designated for vocational rehabilitation and our working-age consumers benefit greatly from those services. However, seniors are our largest and fastest growing population of consumers. Currently, 70 percent of Communication Center users are over age 55. By 2010, demographic trends indicate that 80 percent of our consumers will be above the age of 55. We need to find additional resources to serve this growing population. There is also a large population of students with learning disabilities who need our services. State and federal funds available to cover services for the blind and visually impaired are not available for students with learning disabilities.
Read the stories of individuals who benefit from our services.
A Donor Bill of Rights PHILANTHROPY is based on the voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:
Minnesota State Services for the Blind
(800) 652-9000 Toll Free
If you or someone you know could use our services, please call the Communication Center at: (800) 652-9000 Toll Free or (651) 642-0885 for information on eligibility requirements. |
