Dear Academy Supporter:

I wish I didn't have to do this.

I'm about to interrupt the nice day you were having to make you think about taxes.

True, April 15th is still a ways off. However, the clock never stops ticking. Time is running out on your making charitable contributions that will reduce what you owe to Uncle Sam.

I'm writing to invite you to make a gift to the EES Foundation before December 31st. We are counting on career environmental professionals like you who have been donors to the Academy to help us wrap up this year on a positive financial note by fiscally equipping us to commit to our mission. And to make things a little easier, we have just established a new "Planned Giving Program" (http://www.eesfoundation.org/plannedgiving/) that makes giving easier and more strategic.

Of course we need and appreciate your gifts of cash, but if you have appreciated stocks, bonds or mutual fund shares, you may want to give them instead. Why? Because you receive greater tax benefits when you donate appreciated securities than if you give cash. You get an income tax deduction and you avoid paying taxes on unrealized capital gains.

I'm talking about strategic planned gifts like a tribute gift through your will that leaves a lasting statement about your commitment to environmental education. There are many ways to structure a gift. There are gifts that cost you nothing during your lifetime. There are things like charitable gift annuities that provide you or a loved one a steady stream of extra retirement income, while at the same time supporting our mission far into the future.

Please, don't set this letter aside and forget about it. Please give us a call to begin the conversation. Let's work together to see how we can create win-wins for the Foundation, for your personal tax situation and our mutual desire to build a legacy that supports environmental education for our children and our children's children.

With gratitude,

Cecil Lue-Hing
Chairman, Environmental Engineering and Science Foundation, Inc.

P.S. There's time to make your gift happen before the end of the year, but you need to act soon.

Environmental Engineering and Science Foundation | http://www.eesfoundation.org | 410.266.3390