Donate

Help the USS Hornet Museum meet its goals with a donation today!

Checks may be mailed to:
Donations Office
USS Hornet Museum
P.O. Box 460
Alameda, CA 94501

We would love to welcome you as a member.  Membership provides various levels of free admission for you and your guests, as well as some discounts on tours, events, and other programming.  You can find more information on our Membership Webpage.

Many companies participate in a matching-gift program for charitable gifts made by their employees. Check with your employer’s Human Resources Department to see if your generosity will be made even greater through a match by your employer.

Donating highly appreciated securities such as stocks, bonds, or mutual funds is often a wise decision when seeking to maximize the impact of your contribution. The tax benefits for you and the impact on the Museum can be substantial. If securities owned more than one year have appreciated in value, you will bypass the capital gains tax and enjoy a federal income tax deduction for the full, present day value of the securities.

In addition, Congress included a provision in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, P.L. 116-136, intended to provide some relief for nonprofit organizations such as The USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum. Section 2104 of the act permits eligible individuals who do not itemize deductions to deduct $300 of qualified charitable contributions as an “above-the-line” deduction, i.e., as an adjustment in determining adjusted gross income (AGI), for tax years beginning in 2020.

Be sure to consult your financial advisor to ensure a gift of securities is the best approach for your personal financial situation.

Donate Appreciated Stock

We welcome your gift of appreciated stock. Inform your broker to transfer the stock to our account with Edward Jones.

Your financial advisor will need:

DTC Clearing #: 0057
F/F/C to LPL Account #:  35920752
F/F/C to LPL Account Name: AIRCRAFT CARRIER HORNET FOUNDATION
Aircraft Carrier Hornet Foundation Tax ID#:  94-3226801

Our Broker’s Address:
Representative: Nirmal Rout
Edward Jones
2412 Central Ave.
Alameda, CA 94501
Phone/Fax Number: (510) 749-0403

Our broker will need the following:

• Donor’s name and complete address
• Name of securities being donated
• Number of shares being transferred
• Financial advisor’s name and contact information
• Specific Foundation program, if any, to which gift should be directed

Consult your IRA custodian or another qualified financial adviser to see if this is an appropriate donation vehicle for you.

Crow’s Nest Circle

History only lives when it’s passed on to the next generation. The mission of the USS Sea, Air & Space Museum is to preserve and share Hornet’s history and inspire our guests. Years from now, new generations will know the remarkable story of Hornet and the men who served aboard her. We will tell the stories of the Navy, World War II, Vietnam, the Cold War, and the Apollo missions to the Moon.

We do everything here aboard Hornet so that her legacy is passed on to future generations. When you join the Crows’ Nest Circle by declaring or making a planned gift, you’re ensuring the continuation of our mission. Join us in continuing to teach future generations about courage, patriotism, unity, and what it means to be an American.

There are many ways to make a Planned Gift to the USS Hornet Museum to leave a legacy of support for our mission of education and inspiration.

Bequest a Gift in your Will or Trust

Including the USS Hornet Museum in your will or trust allows you to sustain our efforts to restore the ship, build exciting new exhibits, improve accessibility to our collections, and provide engaging, educational programming. You can make an impactful gift while still having access to your funds during your lifetime.

A charitable bequest to the USS Hornet Museum in your will can be made in several ways. You can designate to the Museum a specific sum of money, a percentage of your estate, or the remainder of your estate after other beneficiaries receive the portion you designate. You can also make USS Hornet Museum the beneficiary of your estate if your spouse or other beneficiary passes away before you through a contingent bequest. You can also create a charitable trust through your will that will benefit individuals you choose during their lifetimes with the remainder passing to the USS Hornet Museum.

Although you do not receive immediate tax benefits from a bequest to the USS Hornet Museum, every dollar contributed is deductible for estate tax purposes, relieving your spouse and loved ones of added estate tax burdens. The following is an example of suggested bequest language:

“I give [$ dollar amount] [_____% of my estate] [the residue of my estate] [_____% of the residue of my estate] [$______________] to the Aircraft Carrier Hornet Foundation (dba The USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum, a California State nonprofit corporation. located at 707 W. Hornet Ave, Alameda, CA 94501. Tax ID Number/EIN is 94-3226801.”

 Giving Pledge Form

Make a Gift from your IRA or Retirement Plan

You can use your IRA or retirement account to make an annual gift now or leave provide a legacy gift in the future.

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)

If you’re over 70½ and own an IRA, you can make donations from your IRA directly to a 501(c)(3) charity such as the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum. These Qualified Charitable Distributions, or QCDs, satisfy your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD), and are excluded from income. This allows you to deduct charitable contributions even if you are not itemizing deductions. By using QCD’s you can take the standard deduction, and also have your charitable donations excluded from income. In most years, this helps you save on taxes because you can fulfill your RMD with a QCD and leave you with less taxable income from your IRA. Using QCD’s is still a good strategy for donating from your IRA while excluding those funds from your income. Please note that checks need to be made out directly to the charity.

Talk to your financial advisor or IRA custodian about making a donation using a QCD.

Designating the Museum as a Beneficiary of your IRA or Retirement Plan

You can also name the USS Hornet Museum as a beneficiary to receive all or a percentage of the unused balance of a retirement account. Simply request a beneficiary designation form from your financial institution and complete it as follows:

Aircraft Carrier Hornet Foundation (dba USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum) 707 W. Hornet Ave. Alameda, CA 94501 510-872-4945 https://www.uss-hornet.org Tax ID# 943226801

Enter the Tax ID# if asked for the beneficiary’s social security #, employer identification # (EIN) or taxpayer identification #.

Please remember to check once a year with your financial institution to confirm that your beneficiaries are accurate and up-to-date.

Making the Museum the Beneficiary of your Life Insurance Policy

You can also make a gift through an existing or new life insurance policy. This option provides a current tax deduction for the lesser of the approximate cost or current value and possible future deductions.

Naming the Museum as a Beneficiary

You can easily update your beneficiary designation form with the policy holder and designate the Museum as the primary beneficiary for a percentage or specific amount. You can also make us the contingent beneficiary so that we will receive the balance of your policy only if your primary beneficiary doesn’t survive you.

• Make an outright gift of an existing or new policy.

You can name the Museum as owner and beneficiary of an existing policy. This results in a federal income tax charitable deduction when you itemize on your taxes. If you continue to pay premiums on the policy, each payment is tax deductible as a charitable gift when you itemize. You can also take out a new policy and irrevocably name the Museum as the owner and the beneficiary of the insurance contract. Whether you make one single premium payment for the policy or pay annual premiums, each payment is tax deductible as a charitable gift when you itemize.

Benefits

• Your name featured on a special Crows’ Nest Circle display in the Museum
• You name listed in our annual report and other publications
• Invitations to special events

To learn more, contact Charlotte Rodeen-Dickert, Director of Institutional Advancement aboard the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum, to have a conversation about how you can make a planned gift. She can be reached at charlotte.rodeen-dickert@uss-hornet.org or (510) 521-8448 x282. We recommend that you discuss specific tax implications with you financial/tax advisor to ensure that your investment meets your needs while providing a generous gift to the Museum. The Museum cannot render any type of legal or tax advice.

You can also contact our Estate Planning Attorney who can help you on a pro-bono basis for the Museum. Contact him at:

George Derieg
Eastbayattorney@gmail.com
(510)355-2747
2219 Santa Clara Ave
Suite B-2
Alameda, CA 94501

Donor Advised Funds or DAF’s are managed by a non-profit entity and allow a taxpayer to donate consistently while bunching deductions into alternate years, which can be helpful in reducing taxes.  Funds can then be donated at a later time to a qualified charity at the donor’s request.  Currently over $120 billion is sitting in Donor Advised Funds, while non-profits like the Hornet are struggling to find funding while we are unable to remain open for business.  If you have a DAF, consider making a donation now, when the need is great.  You can also apply for a matching grant if you commit to distributing at least half of your DAF by the end of September.  At least 150 nonprofits will receive matching grants.  Look for details at halfmydaf.com.

Benefits of Your Support 

Event, Department, and Exhibit Sponsorships:

Starting at $1000, you can sponsor a special program or ship space of your choice. Benefits include: 

• Recognition on our website, in the Museum, and in related materials 
• Tickets to special events 
• Your brand recognized by thousands of visitors 
• Custom packages available – ask us! 

Corporate Memberships 

Starting at $5,000, benefits include: 

• Employee Museum passes 
• Discounts for employees on membership, overnight programs, tours, and in the ship’s store 
• Invitations to Museum events 
• Discounts for corporate events 
• Museum speakers for your events 
• Learn More

For more information on how you can partner with us, contact Charlotte Rodeen-Dickert, Director of Institutional Advancement, charlotte.rodeen-dickert@uss-hornet.org