All trails are currently CLOSED (live animal exhibit trail and hiking trails).
Two children looking through glass of River Otter Exhibit

Legacy Gifts

What will your legacy be?

Since 1966, Squam Lakes Natural Science Center has provided enriching natural experiences that plant priceless seeds of wonder. Most of us have memories of places and events in our childhood that created a lasting connection to the natural world. Perhaps it was finding a bird's nest in the backyard or playing in a leaf pile in the fall with a cherished friend. Perhaps it involved a fort in an old gnarled maple, a walk through a milkweed patch filled with Monarch Butterflies, or a visit to a local nature center.

Do you have memories of enjoyable time well spent on the live animal trail with your family? Do you learn something new every time you visit that makes you think? Do you believe future generations need to love and understand the natural world in order to cherish and protect our heritage?

Your legacy gift will help Squam Lakes Natural Science Center to continue to achieve its mission to teach about the natural world for generations to come.


Fill out my online form.

Choosing the Right Gift

Outright Gifts

  • Provide immediate support and the most direct way to give
  • May be funded with cash, securities, or from a donor advised fund or other assets
  • Charitable deductions may help you to lower your income, gift, or estate taxes
  • Science Center receives full benefit of your gift upon receipt
  • You enjoy seeing your gift at work during your lifetime

Bequests

  • Easily done through your will or trust or donor advised fund
  • May be a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or a specific asset
  • You have continued use of your assets during your lifetime
  • May provide charitable estate tax deduction

Retirement Assets and Life Insurance

  • Name the Science Center as beneficiary of a retirement account, life insurance policy, or investment account
  • Take advantage of the IRA Charitable rollover as a tax free rollover which counts toward your required minimum distribution.
For questions about Legacy Gifts please contact Rachel Saliba, Development Director at 603-968-7194 x 126 or email

Personal stories from our Naturalist's Legacy Society members. Read more.

"When I first heard about planned giving I thought it would be something great to do for the Science Center. But I didn't want to run up the legal fees for esttae planning purposees that might change over time as our proirities did. (That's "estate" such as it is.)

Then I discovered it's possible to plan some giving in a cheap, easily changeable way: IRA or 401(k) beneficiaary designations. You go to the website of whoever manages your fund and plug in a lovely non-profit like Squam Lakes Natural Science Center as a beneficiary, along with a percentage of the assets you'd like them to get, and allocate the rest ro your spouse or kids.

So that's what I did. It took less than a minute and cost nothing, but guarantees the Science Center the equivalent of several years' annual fund contributions from me... in the event I get run over by a moose." - Laurie Beeson


"Over the years Squam Lakes Natural Science Center has become a touchstone for us during our vacation at Squam Lake. We are drawn to the peace and beauty, enjoy walking the trails, and visiting favorite exhibits, but most of all have come to appreciate the visition the Science Center has. We see personal commitment by staff and volunteers alike when it is their familiar faces greeting us year after year. We notice change as we walk around, and know that the Center is dynamic, not static. It is always striving to improve.

It is in this spirit of appreciateion for all that the Science Center has done and will continue to do in its mission, and our wish that future generations be able to experience what we enjoy today that we have included the Science Center in our estate plan as a beneficiary of our life insurance." - Nancy and Jim Ainsworth


"Have you ever noticed how a groundhog is adapted to winter? Have you ever heard children giggle as they crawl through a "sensory tunnel"? Do you know if red squirrels or grays hide their food in one place? These are just some of the experiences and knowledge that Squam Lakes Natural Science Center makes available to children, parents, and community members. Having served as a summer staff member and a sixth grader science teacher at Gilford Middle High School, I've been watching and participating in these programs for over 20 years. Repeatedly, I've been impressed by the Center's knowledge, professionalism, enthusiasm, and ethical approach to environmental education.

When it came time for me to consider writing my will and dedicing where to allocate my money, there was no question that the Science Center be first on that list. Since I wanted to see these programs continue and expand behond my lifetime, I set up a trust naming the Center as one of my beneficiaries." - Barbara Bald

Have you already included Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in your estate plans? We'd love to know so we can follow your wishes, thank you, and welcome you into the Naturalist's Legacy Society.

Naturalist's Legacy Society Brochure
Naturalist's Legacy Society Brochure

Naturalist's Legacy Society Participants:

Anonymous (10)
Nancy and Jim Ainsworth
Lucile Allen*
Barbara A. Bald
Carol and Marc Bard
In memory of John M. Barnaby from Charlotte B. Barnaby*
Roberta T. Bartlett*
Kevin and Nancy Barrett
Dorothy Ann Bates*
Katherine Beede*
Susan and Laurie Beeson
Alan C. Bemis*
Ellen F. D. Bennett*
Laura Bennett and Michael Bourbeau
Alexandra T. Breed and Douglas P. Hill
Natale Linton Brown* and J. Willcox Brown*
Sarah and Win Brown
Butterworth Estate*
Tod Campbell and Susan Murray-Campbell
George A. Carr*
Anne Louise Luquer Clinton*
Bea and Woolsey Conover
Peggy Mathieson Conver
Richard Davenport*
Louise deSousa*
Brian and Lydia Eaton
Audrey Eisenhauer
Kenneth and Jennifer Evans
Richard V. Fabian, Jr.*
Timothy and Susan Fabian
Edward and Mary Jane Farmlett
Alfred and Bertha Fauver*
John P. Fernandes
Charlotte Parker Fisher* and Josiah H.V. Fisher*
Timothy O. Fisher
Clara B. Fowler*
Diane Garfield and Peter L. Gross, MD
Joanne and Cyrus Gibson
Donna L. Goldberg
Nancy W. Grady*
Martha and Chris Grant
Joyce and Steve Hackett
Dennis and Elizabeth Hager
Linda L. Hanson, VMD
Barbara Hendrick
Emmy-Lou Jorgensen
Liz* and Tom Kelsey
Linda and Bill Lee
Carl Lehner
Iain and Susan MacLeod
Joan and David Martin
Louise and Arthur (Sandy) McGinnes
Susan G. McKimens
Mary Ann and John McRae
John P. Merrill
Warren and Paul* Miller
Mari T. O'Neil
In memory of Barbara "Ginger" Parsons* from Philip B. Parsons*
Helen Macgregor Paul*
Marjorie B. Perry*
Mark Peterson
Anita B. Preston*
Emily D. Preston
Marjorie B. Preston*
Barbara T. Ridgely*
Janet Robertson
Elizabeth and C. Daniel* Rowe
Tom Samyn
Olivia Saunders
Marnie Blaisdell Schulz
Alice Kimbell Schutter*
Nancy and John Sherman
Grace Murdough Slight*
Frances Chalmers and Gail Smith
Richard Starbuck and Deane Hall
Carol and Robert Stewart
Lea A. Stewart
Shirley J. Stockwell*
Ruth E. Taylor*
Carol and John Thompson
Len* and Heather Thomsen
Ellyn Tighe, DVM
Fred Toll*
Bryant F. Tolles, Jr.
Dr. Bill* and Sandee Trakat
Marjorie L. Tuttle*
Courtney and Justin Van Etten
Tony Wagner and PJ Blankenhorn
Betsy and Bruce Whitmore
Jo Ann and Peter* Wood
*Deceased

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