A trip to Minneapolis isn’t complete without a visit to ASI.— CNN
A trip to Minneapolis isn’t complete without a visit to ASI.
Catch up on all the Swedish Words of the Week with Liz Stopka on ASI’s Instagram. Subscribe now to learn a new word every week!
I had such a wonderful time at ASI that I became a member! Thank you for the excellent programming you bring to our Twin Cities community!— ASI member
I had such a wonderful time at ASI that I became a member! Thank you for the excellent programming you bring to our Twin Cities community!
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612-871-4907 [email protected]
2600 Park Ave Minneapolis, MN 55407
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A gift to the American Swedish Institute in your will, trust, or IRA helps maintain ASI’s historic campus and ensure access to its exceptional collections, programs, exhibitions, and events for years to come.
If you’ve already made the generous decision to include ASI in your estate plans, thank you! You’re invited to join fellow donors in the Heritage Society. Please let us know of your plans so that we can include you in Heritage Society communications and programs.
Photo credit: Andrea Rugg
Support ASI in the future through arrangements you make today. The below planned gift options cost you nothing now but ensure that the campus and community you love are here for the next generation.
One of the easiest ways to make a planned gift is to include the American Swedish Institute in your will or trust. You can arrange for ASI to receive a specific dollar amount or a percentage of the remainder of your estate (a residuary bequest). Share recommended language with your financial planner or attorney.
When you name your children or anyone other than your spouse as a beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k), or other retirement plan, they receive only a fraction of the plan’s face value, since inherited assets of retirement plans are subject to both estate and income taxes. You may want to name or designate ASI as a beneficiary of your retirement plan; as a tax-exempt organization, ASI will generally receive the full amount of the plan’s value.
To name ASI as a beneficiary of your retirement plan, contact your plan administrator to obtain a beneficiary form.
As with a retirement plan, you can name ASI as a charitable beneficiary of your donor-advised fund (DAF). Simply complete a beneficiary designation form from your DAF advisor.
ASI welcomes bequests and promised gifts of library and archival materials, objects, and artworks. We ask that you notify us of your intentions beforehand so that our collections team can review and advise you as to whether the proposed donation is a good fit for the collection. The decision to accept a donation is based on many factors, including relevance and substance of materials, available documentation, condition and associated legal issues, and cost and storage concerns.
To have your donation considered, please send the following information to Inga Theissen, Collections Manager, at [email protected]:
For more details regarding object donations, visit the Collections page.
Unrestricted gifts allow ASI to direct funds where they are most needed. If you anticipate your planned gift will be $10,000 or larger, you may wish to direct it toward a specific passion or interest, including programs, exhibitions, community engagement, mansion preservation, or endowment.
If you would like to designate your gift for a particular purpose, please contact us so we can work together to ensure that the intentions of your gift are clear.
To leave a gift to ASI in your will or trust, simply share the below with your financial planner or attorney.
American Swedish Institute EIN: 41-0711603
To make an unrestricted bequest “I give (the sum of _____ dollars), or (all or % of the residuary of my estate) to the American Swedish Institute, 2600 Park Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, in support of ASI’s general purposes.”
When you make a planned gift, you become a member of ASI’s Heritage Society. Membership includes invitations to triannual fika providing behind-the-scenes look at new exhibitions and signature events, and recognition in our annual report to the community. Thank you to our Heritage Society members who have named ASI as a beneficiary of their estate plans and/or made a gift to the Heritage Endowment Fund.
John and Sandy White met 50 years ago when they were paired as partners at a Danish folk dancing class. “Sandy walked through the door, and I said to myself, if I ever marry, it’s going to be her. We’ve been dancing together ever since,” recalls John.
The couple’s shared interest in their Scandinavian roots and love of Nordic culture made ASI a natural destination for outings. After attending a club event at ASI in 1995, John and Sandy started volunteering informally in what is now the Lindberg Stuga, serving coffee and pastries.
The pair went on to volunteer in youth and family programs, working closely with staff to support classes, activities, and events in the lead up to the opening of the Nelson Cultural Center in 2012. During this time, the Whites formed close relationships with staff, fellow volunteers, and program participants; as John describes it, the ASI community became their “second family.” John maintains strong bonds with ASI to this day, thanks in part to his role as a mansion facilitator, helping visitors find their way through “the Castle” and delighting them with stories about the historic building he and Sandy so dearly love.
In addition to generously donating their time to ASI, the Whites have made several gifts for the restoration of the mansion. “It is the only intact space of its time open to the public [in Minneapolis] and so, needs to be safeguarded,” says John. While preserving the property is near and dear to their hearts, John and Sandy recognize ASI as much more than a physical structure or moment in time. “This is not simply a historical museum; it’s a cultural center and an open-armed, welcoming community,” states John.
To ensure that future visitors and volunteers can experience the culture and community that they have enjoyed for more than three decades, John and Sandy have also chosen to include ASI as a beneficiary of their trust and IRA. “This is real community, and we want others to have access to it for many years to come.”
Questions about planned giving? Please contact Anna Thorsen, Director of Development, [email protected], (612) 870-3349.
The material presented on this site is not offered as legal or tax advice. For assistance with your particular information, please consult your attorney, tax advisor, financial advisor, or other professional.
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