The 2011 California Opera arts & education FESTIVAL
SUMMER VIP OPERA PASSES
All summer opera festival performances are free and open to the public, with donations highly appreciated at the door. Please inquire about a VIP pass that guarantees pass holders to preferred seating to all festival performances. For VIP Pass Information please call 559-225-6737 (CAL-OPERA).
100% Secured Donations By Credit Card Now
Or Contribute By Direct Mail to California Opera:
P.O. Box 9741, Fresno, CA 93794
Opera is the grandest art of them all - combining singers and musicians, dancers and actors with sets, costumes, props and special effects to tell stories in a way that no other art form can match. This also makes it one of the most expensive art forms to produce, which is why ticket prices to other operas can be so high. The California Opera mission is to bring the art form to the community in ways that are accessible and affordable, often even free. Even when tickets are sold, the revenues cover only a fraction of the costs of production. We rely on the community, and individuals like you to bring opera to the stage and fulfill our mission. Help to educate, enlighten, enrich and entertain through live opera performances and education programs of uncompromised quality. Help provide the most affordable opera productions to the broadest possible audience. Help foster the appreciation and understanding of opera as a significant cultural force. There are so many ways to help and play a starring role:
MAKE A DONATION. Large and small contributions all help us achieve our mission. We offer an enticing package of benefits for our members in recognitions of their commitment to our continued artistic excellence.
JOIN THE OPERA GUILD. The Guild raises funds in support of California Opera. Guild members are also our star volunteers in the office and backstage - making sure every detail is addressed. This informal social group is also designed to bring art lovers together and help them learn more about the performances California Opera is staging. Learn more about this stellar support group.
ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS. For over ten years, California Opera has staged great opera and trained young singers who went on to sing around the world, produced incredible operas that no other companies our size would ever dare consider, staged the American premieres of The Sisters of Manzanar, The Silver Swan, The Peacock Princess, and tailored renditions of several other contemporary works, and even commissioned operas for annual productions, unique among companies our size as well. Please be a part of our amazing successand grand 10th Anniversary of the amazing world of opera - advertise in our program booklets for this season! We invite you to celebrate with us by reaching an affluent and educated audience with your advertisement. California Opera audiences and advertisers have always received a great return on their investment.
COMPARE ALL THE WAYS YOU CAN HELP
Your gift can take other multiple forms and can help you address a variety of personal financial goals. Do you want to make a significant gift during your lifetime, or would a gift as part of your estate work better? Do you have a particular asset that you are thinking of donating? Do you want to increase your retirement income, or is your primary goal estate preservation? Are you carrying excess life insurance or a large balance in your retirement plan? We have detailed comparisons of some of the options.
Gifts of Cash: Maximize your charitable deduction and deliver immediate benefits to the California Opera Association.
Gifts of Appreciated Securities: The IRS allows you one of its most significant tax breaks for gifts of appreciated securities. Here's information on how to transfer these assets to the California Opera Association.
Gifts of Real Estate: Make a substantial gift to the California Opera Association through a transfer of residential, commercial, or undeveloped real estate.
Gifts of Business Interest: Give the California Opera Association an interest in a closely held or family business.
Gifts of Partnership Interests: Support the California Opera Association by transferring interest in a real estate or oil-and-gas partnership. Learn what the IRS requires and how the COA review gift offers.
Gifts of Personal Property: Donate musical instruments, artwork or equipment and secure an income tax deduction.
Gifts by Will or Living Trust: Give to the California Opera Association without affecting your cash flow during your lifetime.
Gifts of Retirement Plans: Your retirement plan may be worth more when donated to the California Opera Association than to your heirs.
Gifts of Life Insurance: Create a significant endowment for the California Opera Association without dipping into your capital assets.
 Your Goals |
 Your Strategy
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 Your Benefits
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Maximize your deduction; minimize the gift details |
Use cash to make your gift to the California Opera Association |
Claim your deduction against a larger portion of your adjusted gross income and make an immediate impact on the California Opera Association |
Afford a larger gift to the California Opera Association — and avoid capital gains liability |
Give appreciated stock or bonds held over one year |
Buy low and give high — make a gift that costs you less than the benefit it delivers to us, while avoiding capital gains tax |
Make a gift for the California Opera Association 's future that doesn't affect your cash flow or portfolio now |
Put a bequest in your will (cash, specific property, or a share of the estate residue) |
Today — a revocable arrangement that costs you and your family nothing. Tomorrow — an estate tax deduction |
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Reduce high tax liability now; gain additional income later |
Establish a deferred gift annuity. |
A larger deduction and a higher income rate than other life-income gifts offer |
Utilize one of the most valuable assets in your portfolio to make a gift to the California Opera Association |
Use real estate to make your gift to the California Opera Association |
Avoid capital gains tax, receive an income tax deduction and have the option of a gift that doesn't affect your lifestyle |
Reduce gift and estate taxes and control the timing of passing assets to your children and grandchildren |
Create a charitable lead trust which supports programs at the California Opera Association for a fixed, finite period with the principal going to your heirs. |
Reduce gift and estate taxes and freeze the taxable value of growing assets before they pass to your family |
Avoid capital gains liability on the transfer of a business or partnership interest |
Contribute the partnership interest or closely held stock to the California Opera Association |
Avoid capital gain liability, receive an income tax deduction, and utilize a gift asset you may have overlooked |
Locate an overlooked asset that you can easily give to the California Opera Association |
Name the California Opera Association as beneficiary of your retirement plan; leave other assets to family |
Eliminate income tax on retirement plan assets; free up other property to pass to your heirs |
Make an endowment gift from income rather than capital |
Create a new life insurance policy or donate a paid-up policy whose coverage you no longer need |
Increase your ability to make a significant gift to the California Opera Association |
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