Checks may be made out to “Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center” or “Friends of Lake Elmo’s Sunfish Lake Park” and mailed to PO Box 241, Lake Elmo, MN 55042. Contributions will be acknowledged by letter.

Friends of Lake Elmo’s Sunfish Lake Park have incorporated as a Minnesota Non-Profit Corporation and have received approval from the US IRS for tax exemption as a 501(c)3 public charity organization, our Federal EIN is 81-4091601. Donations can also be made out to “Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center”.

Please consider making a deductible donation to support our programming expenses. Electronic donations will be acknowledged by e-mail. 

Tax-Advantaged Donation options

Appreciated stock – if you sell company stock that is worth more than you paid for it, the gain is taxed at short-term or long-term capital gains rates. If you instead donate the shares without selling them, the entire fair market value can be claimed as an itemized deduction, reducing your adjusted gross income and possibly your marginal tax rate (percentage rate on the highest part of your income). Donations may be made as paper stock certificates or as electronic transfers.

Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or 401(k) plans force you to make an annual  Required Minimum Distribution beginning at age 70 1/2. If this distribution in taken in cash, it is taxed as ordinary income at your marginal tax rate. If it is donated, the amount can be taken as a tax deduction, and reduces your adjusted gross income and your tax liability.

The Friends account for stock donations is carried at Cetera, Lake Elmo Bank location. For information contact Steve Madsen, 651-773-4758, madsens@ceteranetworks.com. We pledge to provide your acknowledgement letter in a timely manner, but you need to tell us how many shares you donate, and when, because such information is not always transmitted properly via the electronic transfer mechanism.

For further information you may wish to contact your own tax advisor or preparer.