Ways to Give

We appreciate your interest in becoming a major supporter of Couse-Sharp Historic Site. Below is more information on the many ways you can help us.

The Couse Foundation, which owns and operates Couse-Sharp Historic Site, is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization as described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and gifts to it are deductible for income tax purposes in accordance with Section 170 of the Code. Our TIN is 85-0479005. Find our GuideStar/Candid information here.

UNRESTRICTED and TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED GIFTS
Gifts of any size may be designated for a specific current program or project, or a gift may be made without restrictions. Unrestricted gifts are preferred because they enable us to allocate funds where they are most needed.

SINGLE GIFTS OF CASH
Donors may receive tax benefits for cash gifts if they itemize deductions. Gifts can be made by check, credit card, or wire or ACH transfer. We are happy to discuss the most convenient transfer method with you.

TRIBUTE GIVING   
Tribute gifts, given in the name of a loved one or close friend, are unique expressions of thoughtfulness. An honor gift recognizes a person on a special occasion, such as a birthday, wedding or anniversary, or "just because." A memorial gift offers a meaningful way to pay lasting tribute to the memory of a loved one or friend. Such gifts are recognized in our newsletters.

SECURITIES
Appreciated stocks, bonds, and other marketable securities are an easy way to support the 
causes important to you in a tax-advantaged manner and at a lower out-of-pocket cost to you. If you wish to make such a gift, please contact us for transfer instructions.

ENDOWMENT AND LEGACY GIFTS
    We are actively seeking to build our endowment fund. The principal of your gift is invested and is intended to grow over time. Distributions from the endowment are made annually based on the organization's policy to provide a predictable revenue stream.  
    You can give to the endowment through using almost any type of asset - cash, securities, real estate or other property that can be liquidated. Bequests and other future gifts can provide estate and gift tax benefits.
   Although we encourage unrestricted endowment gifts,
you can also designate a significant fund to support in perpetuity a specific purpose that is important to you, or honor or memorialize a friend or loved one.
   If you are thinking about contributing to our endowment or other planned giving, we encourage you and/or your financial advisor to contact us and our board's Development Committee will be pleased to discuss options with you.

GIVING SOCIETY
Giving Society members make our exceptional educational programming and sustainability possible. Our organization expresses deep gratitude to our distinguished donors for their large, reliable contributions over time that support exhibitions, curatorial projects, historic preservation and conservation, public programs, research fellows, and making our extraordinary archives accessible.

Please contact us if you are interested in discussing membership in our Giving Society.

Estate Art Program

The Couse Foundation has established a program to assist donors with the disposition of artwork from their collections and estates while also benefiting the long-term financial stability of Couse-Sharp Historic Site and its programs, including The Lunder Research Center.

Many of our supporters with significant art collections have said they would appreciate a third party that can coordinate the sale of their artwork during their lifetimes or upon their passing; a personal agent that is trustworthy and objective. Some are reluctant to invite dealers and gallery representatives into their homes. Most want to “do well and do good.” They enjoy seeing appropriate proceeds resulting from the sale of their collections and are committed to donating all or part of those proceeds to an arts nonprofit organization with a purpose they support.

We have the capacity and expertise to handle planning for art collectors who wish to make gifts of one or a few works up through entire significant estates. We can recommend tools to organize and catalog collections, refer to knowledgeable licensed appraisers, coordinate with a preferred fine art shipping company with climate-controlled storage facilities across the country, and maintain any desired level of discretion and involvement for donors. We coordinate with donors’ legal, financial, and other advisors to accomplish their personal wishes.

We work with major national auction houses, including Christies, Sotheby’s, Hindman, Heritage, Freeman’s, Santa Fe, and Scottsdale, and have negotiated a 0% seller’s commission with all of them. This assures that 100% of the hammer price supports The Couse Foundation.

For more information, we invite you to view or download our program brochure. To discuss the Estate Art Program or other planning considerations for your art collection, please contact us. We look forward to working with you.

Statement of Purpose

Through its archives, collections, and programming, the Couse-Sharp Historic Site preserves and interprets Taos’ crossroads of cultures, promoting and facilitating research, education, and new perspectives on the Taos Society of Artists, early artists of Taos, and regional and Indigenous communities in relation to the greater story of the multicultural American West.