Support
Contributions of Any Size Advance the Careers of Young Artists
Since its founding in 1944, NSAL has depended upon donations from individuals and organizations to perform its mission of supporting promising young artists. We appreciate and welcome your support. If you would like to make a donation, you may choose to give to our general fund or designate a specific program.
In many instances, donations have been made to honor or memorialize a friend, colleague, or relative who had a particular interest in the arts. NSAL scrupulously follows the wishes of the benefactor, and the award will be given in the name of the individual being honored or memorialized.
Support Emerging Artists
The National Society of Arts and Letters assists promising young artists through competitions, financial assistance, master classes, mentoring, and providing career opportunities. You may choose to give to our general fund or designate a specific program.
National Society of Arts and Letters Legacy Society
Planning Your Charitable Legacy
Planned gifts include current major gifts, life income gifts and estate gifts. Bequests that name National Society of Arts and Letters to receive a percentage or amount from your estate are the most common. Or choose gifts of life insurance, retirement assets, or a variety of life income arrangements such as trusts. Thoughtful gift planning can benefit you, the National Society of Arts and Letters and future generations. Planned gifts provide you, the donor, with the opportunity to be philanthropic and may also include a current income tax deduction.
Gifts funded with highly appreciated assets may allow a donor to avoid or lessen capital gains tax liabilities
Planned gifts may provide the donor the opportunity to enjoy an income
Planned gifts can ensure the work of the National Society of arts and Letters will continue for many years to serve the community
Planned gifts ensure the donor’s commitment to the National Society of Arts and Letters will remain after his or her lifetime.
Ways to Donate
Click below to learn more about the different ways to give.
Creating a Lasting Legacy . . .
When considering a planned gift, you can decide how you would like your gift to be used to benefit the National Society of Arts and Letters, whether unrestricted or restricted to a specific program.
Unrestricted Gifts . . .
Unrestricted gifts provide maximum flexibility for the National Society of Arts and Letters. Gifts without a named purpose allows the Society to determine how to use the funds based on its most
pressing needs and vision for the future.
Bequest Language . . .
A provision made in your will or estate plan leaving National Society of Arts and Letters cash and/or other assets. You can give the National Society of Arts and Letters (Tax ID – 35-6019417) a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate or the residue of your estate.
Life Insurance Policies . . .
You can transfer ownership of an existing policy to the National Society of Arts and Letters or purchase a policy naming the National Society of Arts and Letters as beneficiary.
Endowment . . .
Endowed funds provide income every year in perpetuity to carry out the designated purpose of the fund. A gift designated to this fund would be instrumental to the growth and sustainability of the National Society of Arts and Letters.
IRA Charitable Rollover . . .
The law allows individuals 70 ½ and older the ability to transfer up to $100,000 directly from their individual retirement accounts to a qualified charitable organization without being subject to income taxes on the distribution. You can make this gift to the National Society of Arts and Letters, a qualified non-profit organization.
Retirement Assets . . .
You can designate the National Society of Arts and Letters as the beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k) or another qualified plan. After your lifetime, the balance of the plan passes to the Society, while you avoid all income and estate taxes.
Named Funds . . .
The National Society of Arts and Letters can establish named funds. One or more donors may establish a named fund as long as the combined gift totals $25,000. The donor’s name or a name or names the donor wishes to honor or memorialize may be associated with a Named Fund. The name of the fund might also be related to its use, such as a named fund to support mission-essential areas of the National Society of Arts and Letters.
As always, the National Society of Arts and Letters recommends you speak with your attorney or financial manager.
Join the Legacy Society
There are many options for making a gift. For questions or more information on joining the Legacy Society,
Our Major Donors
Mollie Davis Nicholson and Francesca Falk Miller Nielsen . . .
Mollie Davis Nicholson and Francesca Falk Miller Nielsen (1881 – 1969) co-founded the National Society of Arts and Letters in 1944. Any donation less than $10,000 is put in the memorial trust fund named to honor their vision for supporting young American artists.
Shirley Rabb Winston . . .
Shirley Rabb Winston (1920 – 2002) was the daughter of Naomi Rabb Winston. She studied voice at the Washington College of Music. During World War II, she wrote and produced entertainment for the Stage Door Canteen Junior Hostesses. She was the youngest member of the Washington Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters. A professional singer, she performed in Washington DC’s Constitution Hall and New York’s Carnegie Hall as well taking major roles in the Metropolitan Opera Touring Company and in Oklahoma on Broadway.
Mary Rich Peery Fife . . .
Mary Rich Peery Fife (1910 – 1996) was born in Ogden, Utah, and her lifelong interest in dance was apparent at an early age. She received a scholarship in her senior year for outstanding achievement in ballet, and was invited at age sixteen to join the Chicago Civic Opera Ballet Company. Although she never pursued a professional dance career, she remained passionate about the art form for her entire life.
Kathy Lee Morgan . . .
A long-time member of the Hawaii Chapter, artist Kathy Lee Morgan endowed a fund with her name.
Audrey H. Peery . . .
Audrey H. Peery (1920 – 2005) was born in New Orleans, and throughout high school and college she was a model for women’s clothing. After graduating from college, she pursued an active career in the fashion industry and had an interior decorating business. She was a long-time NSAL member who took an active leadership role, serving as president of the Washington DC Chapter president from 1984 – 1986 and as National president from 1992 – 1994.
Naomi Rabb Winston . . .
Naomi Rabb Winston (1894 – 1979) was a painter, art educator, teacher, and lecturer. As a young woman, she studied painting at the Corcoran Gallery School of Art in Washington, DC. Born in North Carolina, among her many accomplishments she oil painted the final design for the Alabaman coat of arms. Her oil paintings are included in the Montgomery County (Maryland) Historical Society collection.
Derek Charles Oppen . . .
Derek Charles Oppen (1948-2017) was born in Montreal, Canada. He received an undergraduate degree from Bishop’s University in Quebec, a PhD from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Stanford University, where he was a senior researcher from 1975 to 1980. He worked as a consultant for such clients as MIT, IBM and Xerox and completed his career as Vice President of Nortel. His most important work in computer science – the Nelson-Oppen method – is still in use today. He was an accomplished pianist and had a lifelong love of classical, jazz and bluegrass music. He was an honorary member of the Virginia/North Carolina Chapter.
Marina Svetlova . . .
Marina Svetlova (1922 – 2009) made her professional dance debut as a child in 1931 in Paris with the legendary experimental troupe of Ida Rubinstein. A soloist with the Original Ballet Russe, which was one of the successor companies to Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, and a ballerina with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, she later earned a reputation as a major teacher. Hundreds of young students trained with her at the Southern Vermont Art Center in Manchester from 1959 to 1964. From 1969 until 1992 she was professor of ballet and chairwoman of the ballet department at Indiana University in Bloomington. At that time, she joined NSAL’s Bloomington Chapter. She also directed her own summer school, the Svetlova Dance Center, in Dorset, Vermont, from 1965 to 1995 and choreographed for regional opera companies from the 1960s to the early 1980s.
O. D. “Jack” Masters . . .
O. D. “Jack Masters (1921-2018) served as National President 1996-98 and a Board Member of the Nicholson-Nielsen Trust Fund. He was a participant in Jacksonville, FL community theaters for over 25 years. He often appeared in films, TV commercials, and PBS productions. Jack served on the boards of several theater organizations and was the President of the Docent Group of the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens. Jack was associated with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida for thirty years; he retired in 1988.