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Donating to the Young Singers Foundation

When the Young Singers Foundation was created by Sweet Adelines International in 1992, its purpose was to enrich the lives of young people through educational programs in vocal music. Without the opportunity to participate in music programs, youngsters are deprived of unique opportunities to develop their creativity, to learn self-discipline and team work, to increase their sense of self-worth, and to learn to live in a global society.

The need for such programs grows bigger every day, as music programs are being reduced or eliminated by school systems that struggle to apportion available funds among required curriculum, extra-curricular and elective programs, payroll, and operating expenses.

The Young Singers Foundation is sponsored by Sweet Adelines International, a
501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. This assures that your contributions to the Foundation are tax-deductible.

Donation forms are available for download here (PDF) , or by calling 1.800.992.7464. When you do send in your donation, be sure to indicate from whom the gift comes (yourself, your chorus, your region, etc.), and mail it to:

Young Singers Foundation
P.O. Box 470168
Tulsa, OK 74147-0168

For your convenience, online donations are now available. Click here to make a secure, online donation.

All gifts will be acknowledged in The Pitch Pipe, the official quarterly publication of Sweet Adelines International.


Making a Donation

You can help to brighten the future of music by supporting the Young Singers Foundation through one of the options below. Donors who give to the Young Singers Foundation through the options noted with an asterisk (*) are eligible for recognition in the Cornerstone Society. For further information regarding any of these tax-wise methods of giving and how they can help you accomplish your charitable goals, as well as your tax and estate planning goals, please contact Donna Kerley, Director of Finance and Administration, 1.800.992.7464 extension 115. The options below are not intended as legal or tax advice; you should always consult your attorney for legal advice.

Cash: You can make a cash gift by check (payable to the Young Singers Foundation), or by using your VISA, Discover or MasterCard. This is the simplest and most common way of giving to the Young Singers Foundation.

Pledges: Rather than making outright donations, you may also pledge to donate to the Foundation over time. The Foundation will help you schedule your donation on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis. Call the Foundation today at 1.800.992.7464 to receive a pledge form.

Gifts of securities: Giving appreciated stock or bonds for the Young Singers Foundation results in a double tax deduction. You can deduct the current fair market value of the securities and you avoid paying tax on the capital gains.

*Gifts of Life Insurance: You can give to or name the Young Singers Foundation of Sweet Adelines International as the owner and beneficiary of an existing life insurance policy, which may have been purchased long ago that you no longer need. This will generate an income-tax deduction.

*Gifts of income and family wealth planning: The Young Singers Foundation can receive income for a specific period of time, after which the principal and appreciation will pass to your heirs. This type of trust provides an excellent tax-wise means of passing wealth to heirs with reduced or no gift and estate taxes.

*Gifts by bequest: One of the easiest and most common ways to make a legacy gift is through an outright bequest to the Young Singers Foundation through your will or trust. You may consider this in a number of ways: fixed amount, percentage of estate, residual of estate, and contingency requests. Using assets such as IRAs, 401Ks, pension plans and other qualified retirement plans will result in the greatest estate and income tax savings.

The Cornerstone Society: The Cornerstone Society represents those individuals who defer a donation to the foundation through an estate gift. Such a deferred gift can take many forms. If interested, please consult an estate planning professional or contact the Foundation Office at 1.800.992.7464.

Through music: You can even support the Young Singers Foundation by singing! For years, Fred King has donated all arranging fees for his arrangements to the Young Singers Foundation or to the Barbershop Harmony Society Foundation. So, whenever you order an arrangement of Fred’s, you will be instructed to send the appropriate donation to the Foundation.

In addition, a brand-new arrangement is available from June Berg, Certified Music Arranger (CMA), inspired by a note from a Sweet Adeline who had just lost her sister. A donation was made to the Foundation in her sister’s memory along with a request for more arrangements appropriate for memorial services. This song is called the “Hymn of Promise” by Natalie Sleeth, and is appropriate for memorials and other such occasions. You may order it directly from June by clicking here. Each time a quartet or chorus orders this song, the arranging fee will be donated to the Young Singers Foundation.

Others ways to remember the Foundation:

Gifts of real estate
Gifts of income for life through trusts

Contact Donna Kerley for more information, 918.622.1444. ext. 115.

Where does my donation go?

You may choose to earmark your donation for:

Bev Sellers Memorial Scholarships: The Foundation grants $2,000 scholarships each year to vocal music students, male or female, who are enrolled and maintain at least a B+ or better average in vocal music studies at a sophomore level or above in an accredited college or university. Awards are given without regard to status as an undergraduate or graduate student. Applicants for scholarship awards may be pursuing study of vocal music of any type: choral, opera, popular, jazz, etc. For more information about applying for a Foundation scholarship, click here.

Grants: A sum of money from the Foundation budget is annually earmarked to provide funds in support of activities designed to reach out and involve young people in vocal music. The activities supported vary, but all focus on promoting vocal music though workshops, performances, coaching, after-school programs, festivals, etc. Grant recipients are selected twice each year; in February and August. For more information about applying for Foundation grants, click here.

Endowment Fund: The Foundation has established a long-term endowment fund. Contributions to the fund are never spent. Instead, the fund accumulates principal, with the interest used throughout the years to support the Foundation for generations to come. In this way, your gift to our Endowment Fund is truly a gift which keeps on giving. For more information about our endowment fund, call 1.800.992.7464.

Endowing Scholarship: The Young Singers Foundation Management Committee discussed providing an option for donors to set up a $20,000 endowment for scholarships or grants, the use to be designated by the donor in keeping with the purpose of the Young Singers Foundation. A $1,000 scholarship or grant based on the earning for the endowment, will be awarded annually to a qualifed applicant.

Tax Exempt Letter
The Young Singers Foundation operates under the 501(c)(3) auspices of Sweet Adelines International. All donations are tax deductible. Below is a downloadable copy of the 501 (c)(3) exemption letter from the Internal Revenue Service, assuring you that Sweet Adelines International is a qualified nonprofit agency.

Tax Exempt Document (PDF)