You may be searching for the perfect place to remember a loved one. Or perhaps you wish to honor a graduation, birthday or anniversary with a meaningful gift. Tribute gifts offer unique and lasting ways to recognize family and friends and are tax-deductible donations that enhance the experience of all who visit Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum.

• Individual Named Gifts

Contributions of $1,500 and above provide a named tangible gift opportunity. For a tribute bench with an engraved plaque located in a beautiful natural setting we suggest a $5,000 donation. Benches may be endowed with a $25,000 gift. We ask $1,500 to dedicate a tree chosen from our collection. To dedicate one of our champion trees, a $10,000 donation is requested. In addition to benches and trees, we work individually with donors to identify special dedication opportunities for gifts over $5,000 such as endowments, scholarships, trails, gardens, and other amenities.

• Dedications and Ceremonies

Tribute gifts are becoming more frequent as people choose environmentally friendly and socially rewarding ways to honor loved ones. Working with family and friends, staff can help with simple ceremonies, assisting people with gatherings to share memories and take part in symbolic gestures such as watering or applying wood chips to the planting or attaching the plaque to a bench.

• Recognition

Donors receive a charitable gift tax deduction and University of Michigan gift credit. Notes are sent to people donors list informing them of the gift without mentioning the amount. In addition, gift recognition is included in our Annual Report. We keep a database that describes each tribute gift, tells who it honors, provides a date, a photo, where it can be found and other details.

For more information please contact Joan Wolf at joanwolf@umich.edu, 734-615-9475.