WAYS TO SUPPORT THE BACH CHOIR

Your financial support allows us to present the music of J.S. Bach at the highest standards of musical excellence for an audience of more then 20,000 people a year. Through the generosity of our donors, our season now includes 19 ticketed concerts as well as Bach at Noon – a series of seven free concerts a year at Central Moravian Church, and Bach to School, our acclaimed educational outreach program, which reaches 5000 school children annually. Please consider a gift in support America’s oldest Bach Choir, heralded as “a national treasure” – The Bach Choir of Bethlehem. For additional information about ways to support the choir, please view our Guarantor brochure.

OPERATING GIFTS
Guarantors
The Bach Choir of Bethlehem has been sustained for nearly a century by our family of Guarantors – donors who choose to make an on-going commitment of at least $125 annually ($50 for Associate Guarantors aged 35 or under) toward the general administrative and artistic operations of the organization. Guarantors enjoy the privilege of priority seating for Festival in addition to other benefits associated with giving levels. The small group that pledged to “guarantee” the fiscal health of the fledgling organization in 1912 has grown to number more than 600 representing 33 states and three nations.

Annual Fund
While our Guarantors provide the largest percentage of contributed annual support for operations, The Choir is extremely grateful for the gifts received from individual, corporate, foundation and government partners who value The Choir’s contributions to the cultural life or our community.  Annual gifts may be made in any amount, and are generally intended to be used in support of the daily operations of The Choir. Gifts may also be designated towards ongoing programs such as Bach at Noon and Bach to School. Periodically, larger gifts are sought for special projects such as a new recording, international tour, or facility and equipment needs.

In Memorium
A special section of the Annual Fund pages in the Festival Program will acknowledge contributions given in memory of loved ones.

ENDOWMENT GIFTS
Musical Excellence Fund
The Musical Excellence Fund supplies income to sustain The Choir’s long-term objectives. It was begun in 1989 with the highly successful “For the Love of Bach” capital campaign. The fund was built through endowment contributions, including gifts to name orchestra and soloist chairs and other special gifts. Additional gifts – including new naming opportunities – are actively solicited in support of The Choir’s continuing musical excellence and expanded programming.

The Heritage Society
Outright endowment gifts of $5,000 or more (cash or appreciated stock) entitle you to membership in the Heritage Society. A significant number of our supporters prefer planned giving as a way to ensure a strong financial future for The Bach Choir of Bethlehem. All planned gifts are placed in endowment. If you are considering this option, you may make a planned gift in several ways, each of which entitles you to membership in the Heritage Society:

• Bequest (The Bach Choir is named in your will)
• Lifetime Guarantee
• Charitable lead or remainder trusts
• Insurance policy
• Income-producing charitable gift annuity.

Lifetime Guarantee
All Guarantors have a number that represents their ‘place in line’ and priority seating at the Festival is determined according to that number. Numbers are only transferable through the Lifetime Guarantee program, through which a donor names a beneficiary who will inherit that number upon the donors’ passing. There is no better way to pass beloved Bach Choir traditions along to a younger friend or family member. A Lifetime Guarantee is a gift of $25,000 that may be made as an outright gift, a pledge with an initial deposit and a five-year payment plan, or part of your estate plan with an initial payment. Once the gift has been established, the donor will never pay a Guarantee again. Once the beneficiary inherits the number, the beneficiary, likewise, will not pay a Guarantee. Lifetime Guarantors are automatically entitled to membership in the Heritage Society and receive all the benefits associated with the Johann Sebastian Bach Circle of Friends.