Support

Join Our Family of Supporters

The Center started as a big idea with lots of potential. Today, we are a regional performing arts leader, welcoming over 100,000 patrons and more than 130 world-class artists since opening our doors in 2018. Donors like you have helped bring exceptional experiences across the full spectrum of the performing arts to friends, peers, visitors, and all who call Northern Michigan home.   

In addition to offering exciting year-round performances, the Center’s marquee arts education programs, the Dorothy Gerber Strings Program and Next Gen, offer impactful experiences to over 5,400 local students annually. Thanks to our family of supporters, the Center’s arts education programs serve students in five counties, thrity public schools, three nonpublic schools, and nearly 100 homeschooled students. You can help provide important arts education experiences that students need to expand their horizons and dare to dream.  

Area of Greatest Need

Learn how a gift to the Area of Greatest Need supports the Center's mission, vision, and values.

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Center Stage Sponsorships

Let your support take Center Stage. Donors like you can help bring exceptional experiences to our rural community.

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Arts Education

Support arts education programs for nearly 6,000 local students by making a gift to the Center’s Next Gen and Dorothy Gerber Strings Programs.

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Create Your Legacy

Create a transformational impact through planned and estate giving.

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Cornerstone Society

Create lasting impact and sustain the performing arts for future generations through an endowment gift.

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Ways to Give

Gifts to the Great Lakes Center for the Arts may be fulfilled according to your financial and philanthropic preferences. Gifts may be pledged and paid in installments of up to a five-year pledge period.

DONATE ONLINE

Gifts of Cash

Checks may be made payable to the Great Lakes Center for the Arts and mailed to: 

Great Lakes Center for the Arts 
800 Bay Harbor Drive 
Bay Harbor, MI 49770

The Center also accepts electronic fund transfer (EFT) payments. Please contact us for more information, 231.439.2627.

Matching Gifts

Some corporations and foundations encourage directors, employees, former employees, and their spouses to make charitable contributions by matching gifts dollar-for-dollar, and sometimes as much as $2-3 for every $1 donated. 

IRA Charitable Rollover

The IRA charitable rollover provision provides an attractive gift option allowing donors aged 70 1/2 or older to direct their required minimum distribution (RMD) to a qualified charity. While it is not a deductible gift, the distribution is excluded from a donor’s income. For more information: IRS.Gov QCD Info 

Gifts of Appreciated Securities

Appreciated securities held for more than one year are eligible for a charitable tax deduction for the full fair market value of the stock on the date it is received. Neither the donor nor the Great Lakes Center for the Arts is required to pay capital gains taxes when the stock is sold. 

Stock Transfer Instructions – General Gifts 

Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. 

DTC Number: 0164 / Code: 40  

Brokerage Account Number: 72958626 

Account Name: Great Lakes Center for the Arts 

Schwab Ph: (877) 552-8236 

Fax: (877) 824-3817 

Stock Transfer Instructions - Endowment Gifts Only

Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. 

DTC Number: 0164 / Code: 40  

Brokerage Account Number: 98507001 

Account Name: Great Lakes Center for the Arts 

Schwab Ph: (877) 552-8236 

Fax: (877) 824-3817 

Gifts of Cryptocurrency

The IRS classifies cryptocurrency as property for tax purposes, similar to stocks. This means when donating crypto to the Center, donors receive a tax deduction for the fair market value and avoid the capital gains tax that would have been incurred had the crypto first been sold and the proceeds then donated. Donating crypto directly can mean a larger donation and a higher tax deduction—sometimes a difference of more than 30 percent! Please check with your tax advisor for further details. 

DONATE CRYPTO

More Information

For more information or questions about how you can make an impact, please contact:

Christian M. Smith 
Director of Development
231.439.2606 or
csmith@greatlakescfa.org

Kali Blanchard
Development Officer
231.439.2609 or 
kblanchard@greatlakescfa.org