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.

• Tribute Finding Website – Released 05 June, 2009

We’re making all our physical tributes (benches, trees, etc.) easy to find. The Tribute benches comprise the first release; click here to launch this tool for public testing. The page will take you to a description and pictures of the Tribute bench, give you the plaque quote (if applicable), and show you exactly where the Tribute is on the visitor map. Next to be included are all the Tribute trees (several are listed for testing), followed by all other tributes and plants in general. If you find information that is incorrect, please email the specifics to Gayle Steiner at gayles@umich.edu. Visit this site through the summer of 2009 to see the incremental upgrades.

• 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. 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 Gayle Steiner at gayles@umich.edu, 734-647-7847.