About SLC //
Donate
 Giving Opportunites
There are many good reasons for making a charitable gift to Surprise Lake Camp, and many ways in which your gift can help!
Your gift to Surprise Lake Camp enables us to provide camping experiences for children who otherwise could not afford them. Here is a short list of things these children get from these experiences:
• Skills for getting along with others
• Greater independence and self-esteem
• Stronger, healthier Jewish identities
• Better athletic and artistic skills
• Active summers that promote physical fitness
• Respite from homes or neighborhoods that are troubled
• An appreciation of the beauty of nature and the responsibility to protect it
• Lifelong friends
• Fun and adventure
Annual Alumni Drive
Each year, we receive contributions from our alumni, parents, friends, and vendors toward our scholarship appeal. These gifts provide direct support to disadvantaged children, allowing them to attend Surprise Lake Camp. In 2006 alone, SLC awarded over $584,700 in scholarships to children who would not otherwise have been able to attend camp.
Contributions in Memory or in Honor
Contributions to SLC are a great way to honor someone special, celebrate an occasion, or memorialize a loved one. Gifts can be used for scholarships, or for other purposes depending on the wishes of the donor. Prompt personal letters of acknowledgment are sent for these (and all!) gifts. When sending a gift in honor or in memory of someone, please indicate the purpose of the gift and the name and address of the person to be notified. Gifts over $100 for a special occasion will result in the honoree receiving a beautiful, full-color certificate.
 | | Actual size of certificate is 8 1/2 x 11. | | |
Gifts of Stock
Charitable contributions to Surprise Lake Camp are tax-deductible. However, there is an additional benefit to giving appreciated stock. If you hold marketable securities that would result in a long-term capital gain if sold, their outright gift to SLC could mean significant tax savings since you are not required to pay capital gains tax on securities you donate, but can still deduct the full value of the gift.
Capital Gifts
Camp has many opportunities for endowing scholarships, staff positions, or programs, as well as naming gifts for buildings or recreational facilities. We also welcome major gifts to fund donor-initiated projects. Capital gifts are typically given in addition to annual Alumni Drive donations.
Matching Gifts
A number of organizations participate in charitable matching gift programs. If your company provides this opportunity to double or even triple your gift, include a matching gift form from your personnel office with your gift to Surprise Lake Camp.
1902 Society/Planned Gifts (Deferred Giving)
Membership in the 1902 Society is open to all those who include Surprise Lake Camp in their estate plans. Qualifying gifts include, but are not limited to Bequests, Charitable Gift Annuities, Charitable Trusts, Irrevocable Gifts of Life Insurance and Gifts with a Retained Life Estate.
We hope you will tell us when you have included Surprise Lake Camp in your estate plans. We would very much like the opportunity to say “thank you” for your generosity.
Letting us know of your intentions does not create any obligation on your part, but it does help us to be better aware of your particular interests and will allow us to keep you informed of developments at SLC which may be relevant to your planned gift. Recognition of your gift may also inspire generosity in others.
Click here to download our 1902 Society Application.
Do you give to United Way?
If the answer is yes, please consider asking that your gift go to Surprise Lake Camp. We are a United Way agency, and we are proud of it! One of the benefits is that United Way donors can earmark their contributions to go to us. You will still get credit for a gift to United Way, but the money will benefit camp directly, and we will use it to improve our program and help campers who cannot afford our full fee.
United Way Agency # 001311
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer Day is an annual event where our most dedicated campers, staff and alumni help get camp ready for the summer after a long, cold winter. Projects include painting, spreading woodchips, gardening, weeding, brush clearing, and more! All participants receive Volunteer Day t-shirts and a BBQ lunch is provided to all. This is an excellent way to fulfill community service or mitzvah requirements for schools. Most important, Volunteer Day is fun and fulfilling, an inevitable byproduct of bringing so many warm and enthusiastic members of the Surprise Lake Camp and local community together.
Additionally, we ask for volunteers to help Harry Vogel and the lifeguards assemble docks at the start of each summer.
If you would like more information about any of the above donor or volunteer opportunities, please contact our Director of Development or call our office at (212) 924-3131.
To make a donation on line, please fill out the form below. Click here to download and print our donation form.
|
