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The Bronze Door Society
Membership
With an unrestricted gift, you can direct your support to the areas that matter most—especially Cultural Heritage Conservation (our greatest need), along with Educational Enrichment Programs, The Mariners’ Park, and more. We also welcome gifts to our endowments and special initiatives as needs arise. Please contact our team to learn more.
Give by Mail
Checks and cash can be mailed to:
The Mariners’ Museum and Park
ATTN: Development Office
100 Museum Drive
Newport News, VA 23606
Please make checks payable to “The Mariners’ Museum.” Be sure to include your contact information and indicate which area you would like your gift to support. Please allow 2–3 weeks for processing due to standard mail delivery times.
IRA Transfer, Gifts of Stock, and Donor Advised Funds
The Mariners’ Museum and Park welcomes donations through a variety of giving vehicles. The following donation types offer tax benefits to the donor along with a way to help move our mission forward.
Are you 70-and-a-half or older and looking for a tax-wise way to support The Mariners’ Museum and Park? Consider making a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from your IRA!
A QCD, also known as an IRA charitable rollover, allows you to transfer up to $105,000 per year directly from your IRA to our organization without including it in your taxable income. This can also count towards your required minimum distribution (RMD) if you are age 73 or older, potentially reducing your overall tax burden. To initiate a QCD, simply contact your IRA administrator and instruct them to make a direct transfer to The Mariners’ Museum and Park.
The Mariners’ Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. EIN: 54-0541801.
A Donor Advised Fund (DAF) is a tax-advantaged charitable savings account that offers any donor an easy, tax-friendly way to manage charitable giving. Individuals or families can open a DAF account, make tax deductible contributions of cash or assets, and then recommend grants out to eligible nonprofits, like The Mariners’ Museum and Park, over time. While the money is in the account, it can be invested in public markets and grow tax free. Money cannot be withdrawn from a DAF once contributed–it can only leave the account as a donation.
Assets contributed to a DAF are legally owned and controlled by the DAF provider (generally a large financial institution or community foundation), who must first approve every “recommended” grant (though almost all 501(c)3 organizations are eligible to receive DAF grants).
If you have a DAF, consider directing a donation to The Mariners’ Museum and Park. If you do not have one, ask your financial advisor about opening one.
Click your provider to recommend a grant now:
- Fidelity Charitable
- Schwab Charitable/DAFgiving360
- Vanguard Charitable
- National Philanthropic Trust
- American Endowment Foundation
- BNY Mellon Charitable Gift Fund
- Hampton Roads Community Foundation
- Peninsula Community Foundation of Virginia
- Community Foundation for a Greater Richmond
If your DAF is with another provider, you can still recommend a grant to The Mariners’ using our name or EIN.
The Mariners’ Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. EIN: 54-0541801.
Gifts of securities offer a significant tax advantages and are easy to make. If you wish to make a gift of stock to The Mariners’, please use the transfer information below:
Davenport & Company
The Mariners’ Museum EIN: 54-0541801
Account number: DA4005793
DTC: 0443
Fax: 757-257-3385
757-595-5802
After initiating a stock transfer, please contact Sherri Fosdick at (757) 591-7730 or [email protected] so we can ensure that your gift is recorded and recognized correctly.
Planned Giving
Are you ready to leave a lasting legacy? When you include The Mariners’ Museum and Park in your estate plan today, you support our ability to serve our community well into the future.
The Mariners’ Museum and Park can accept a variety of planned giving commitments, with bequests and trusts being the most popular.
Please use the Planned Gift Form (pdf) for sample language, and to notify The Mariners’ of your decision to name us in your estate plans so we can thank you and recognize your commitment.
Organizational Giving
Organizations play a vital role in advancing the work of The Mariners’ and strengthening local, national, and international communities. Through organizational giving, partners invest in sustaining the care of our world-class Museum Collection, expanding access to meaningful educational experiences, and supporting the stewardship of Mariners’ 550-acre Park as a community resource. Together, we broaden our collective impact—fostering a sense of belonging and deepening understanding of our shared maritime heritage.
We invite organizations across all sectors to come alongside The Mariners’ through volunteer opportunities that share time and talents, as well as through financial contributions. This support can include sponsorship of signature community engagement events such as Night at The Mariners’ and Mariners’ Park Fall Festival, investment in educational programs and initiatives that serve learners across the region, or unrestricted giving that allows us to direct resources where the need is greatest.
We welcome the opportunity to connect and explore meaningful ways your organization can partner with us to advance our mission and strengthen the communities we serve.
The Mariners’ Museum and Park encourages donors to consult their tax advisors and/or legal counsel to determine the tax treatment of any contributions made through any of these vehicles.
Contact Us
For more information on these ways to give or Company Matching Gifts, IRA Transfers, and Gifts of Stock, please contact us.
Sherri Fosdick
Senior Individual Philanthropy Officer
[email protected]
(757) 591-7730
Max Knowlton
Stewardship Coordinator
[email protected]
(757) 952-0418
Sabrina Jones
Senior Director of Advancement
[email protected]
(757) 591-7708
Josi Washington
Senior Grant Writer
[email protected]
(757) 591-7791
Object or artwork donation
Collections Department
(757) 591-7760
[email protected]
Library or archival donation
Library and Archives
(757) 591-7782
[email protected]
For more information about donating to The Mariners’ Collection, click here.
