Become a Member or Volunteer!
Make a Donation!
MEMBERSHIP
Become a member of The Polish Museum of America. As a not-for-profit organization, the PMA depends upon individual donations, proceeds from the annual Summer Ball, and a subsidy from the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America. However, these efforts are not sufficient to meet the rising cost of maintaining the Museum, therefore we must rely upon the generosity of supporting members to continue its programs. Without membership, the Museum would not be able to keep up with escalating costs. We invite you to respond to the financial challenges and needs of the Museum by becoming a supporting member. The PMA is indispensible in preserving the Polish past for the future. We hope that you will join us.
Not only is membership for individuals, but it is also for organizations or institutions. There is a choice of six categories, each with an increasing number of benefits.
- Library-only ($25.00 annually)—This subscription will secure you a library card which entitles you to check out books and receive a 50% discount on Library services, but excludes other benefits of Museum membership. Alternatively, a Museum membership at the Patron level or higher will gain you Library privileges.
- Regular ($25.00 annually)—This level is for individuals only. With it you get: Invitation to Museum Exhibit Openings, our Quarterly Newsletter and a $2.00 discount on general admission to the Museum.
- Patron ($50.00 annually)—Individuals or Institutions at this level enjoy all the benefits of Regular membership plus: PMA Library membership and Name listed in the Summer Museum Ball Program Book
- Family ($65.00 annually)—Receive all the benefits of Patron membership extended to two (2) adults and their children under age 16 plus: 10% Gift Shop discount
- Benefactor ($100.00 annually)—Receive all the benefits of Family membership plus: membership to the PMA Library
- Institutional ($250.00 annually)—Receive all the benefits of Benefactor membership plus: 10% discount on two (2) tickets to fund-raising events
- Life Member ($2,500.00)—Individuals or couples receive all the benefits of Institutional membership plus: Free Museum Admission and Name inscribed on a permanent plaque in Museum
- Life Heritage Member ($10,000.00)—Individuals or couples receive all the benefits of Institutional membership plus: Free Museum Admission and Name inscribed on an individual plaque next to the Legacy Life plaque
PMA accepts the following credit cards—Visa; MasterCard; Discover. Please call (773) 782-2601 8:15a.m.–4:00p.m. Monday–Friday for all credit card transactions.
We will soon be upgrading our site to enable members to renew online using PayPal. Until then, please consider using one of the convenient "Donate" buttons in the sidebar to the right to make an online donation to the PMA. Read more about the "Donate" buttons below.
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MEMBER ADDRESS CHANGE
If you are an existing member and you've moved or changed any of your contact information, please call us at (773) 384-3352, or email , or send a postcard to PMA Membership, The Polish Museum of America, 984 North Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL 60642-4101.
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MONETARY DONATIONS
Monetary gifts to The Polish Museum of America, in any amount, are always welcome. The PMA is a 501(c)(3) organization so donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law (please check with your accountant or tax-preparer). You can use the Membership Form or Project Donation Form for your monetary donation. Please make checks payable to: Polish Museum of America. All donations will be acknowledged in the PMA Newsletter.
We would like to know if your company has a matching money program for 501(c)(3) organizations. Please inform us and include a company matching money form with any donations that are given to The Polish Museum of America.
PMA accepts the following credit cards—Visa; MasterCard; Discover. Please call (773) 782-2601 8:15a.m.–4:00p.m. Monday–Friday for all credit card transactions.
The PMA Now Accepts PayPal! Use any one of the convenient "Donate" buttons in the sidebar to the right to make a donation to The Polish Museum of America. With PayPal you can have the funds debited directly from your PayPal account or you can charge your donation to any major credit card, including American Express, even if you don't have a PayPal account.
If you wish to donate any one of the suggested amounts in the sidebar, click the "Donate" button adjacent to that amount. If you wish to donate any other amount of your choice, click the "Donate" button adjacent to "Other." All of the buttons will redirect your browser to a secure PayPal site where you can follow their directions to safely make your donation. You will receive email confirmation of your donation.
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GOODSEARCH
If you are a frequent user of the Internet, perhaps the easiest way to monetarily support the Polish Museum of America is by using GoodSearch as your default search engine. GoodSearch is a Yahoo!-powered search engine that donates 50 percent of its revenue to the charities and schools designated by its users. Simply visit www.goodsearch.com and designate "Polish Museum of America - PMA" as your charity in the "WHO DO YOU GOODSEARCH FOR?" area directly below the search box. Then bookmark it, set it as your homepage, or download the GoodSearch toolbar for ultimate convenience. Subsequently, each time you perform a search using GoodSearch, the PMA will directly benefit.
If you shop online, you can utilize the GoodShop feature at GoodSearch to benefit the PMA even more. GoodSearch has partnered with the largest and most popular online stores, such as Amazon, Best Buy, eBay and FTD, to direct a portion of your purchases to your designated charity. As an added incentive, retailers frequently offer deals and coupons to GoodShop users.
You can track the amount raised on behalf of the PMA by clicking the "Amount Raised" button below the "WHO DO YOU GOODSEARCH FOR?" box on the GoodSearch home page, or by clicking here.
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SPECIAL PROJECTS
The PMA has a number of Special Projects toward which you can target a donation. These projects address various improvement and preservation issues which are generally outside the reach of our limited budget. Your generous assistance is very much needed to help us ensure the Museum and its treasures are available to all for years to come.
Sabina Logisz Matching Funds Donation
The Polish Roman Catholic Union of America (PRCUA), headquartered in Chicago and the oldest Polish American fraternal benefit society, has established a Matching-Money fund to benefit The Polish Museum of America, called the Sabina Logisz Development Fund, in honor of Sabina Logisz, a retired PMA and PRCUA employee who worked for both of these institutions for 67 years!
For each dollar donated, the PRCUA will donate 50¢ to the PMA, up to a total of $20,000 per phase of development. Contributions to this Fund are used strictly for development and renovations, not for salaries or budgeted items.
Save The Books, Adopt a Book, and Buy a Book Projects
The PMA has two proactive programs, one to preserve rare old books in our collection by having them re-bound (Save the Books), and the other to buy significant new books (Adopt a Book). This is a costly endeavor.
The museum budget is very limited and does not cover this important preservation effort, therefore we are turning to you for assistance. It is beneficial that the PMA has such precious books, however their preservation is equally important.
By donating to Save the Books, your name—and the name of anyone you dedicate the book to—will go on a dedication label that will be placed in the book and be listed in our newsletter. This is a wonderful way to honor or memorialize a loved one. The cost for preserving just one book is $55 or more, depending on condition; pamphlets are $30 and up.
Adopt a Book works similarly. By donating $50 or more (depending on the book) a significantly important book will be purchased in the donor’s name and a label will be placed in the book indicating the donor and the person the book is “in honor of” or “in memory of.”
Buy a Book was initiated at the beginning of 2010 and presents an opportunity to purchase rarely seen offerings on Polish and Polish-American culture and history from the Museum. The first title, Polish Past in America, 1608–1865, by the PMA's renowned first curator, was the first comprehensive look at the history of Polish people in America in English. It was mentioned in The New York Times Book Review when it was first published in 1939. This 178-page book, reprinted in 1991 and bound in durable red hard covers, would make a delightful birthday, anniversary or graduation gift for that special someone in your life who's curious about his/her roots.
Also available in very limited quantities are original copies of several volumes in the series, Annals of the Polish Roman Catholic Union Archives and Museum (the original name of the PMA). Issued in soft-cover between 1936 and 1947, these out-of-print volumes were the first ever yearly publications, in English, of original research into Polonia's past. Click here for more information on the complete offering and Buy a Book.
Other Projects
We have several others areas of interest where you can target your donation.
- Music and Records Archive—for the preservation of items in our Music Archive
- Photo Restoration—for the preservation and digitization of photographs in our collection
- General Fund—to defray the operating expenses of the Museum
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VOLUNTEER
Donate your time to the Polish Museum of America and discover opportunities you never imagined. Of course we always welcome extra hands and strong backs to help with the more routine tasks of running the PMA (processing mail, preparing for events, setting up exhibits and that sort of thing), but remember also that we are a repository of treasures, old and new, from an entire culture, much of which is not on display to the public and still needs organizing, cataloguing and archiving.
Do you enjoy folk crafts, fine arts, graphic arts, library science, computer science, music, military history, photography? Perhaps you are interested in a particular period—pre-20th-century, WWI, WWII, Art Deco period, Communist, Post-Communist? Whatever your interest—as a professional or hobbyist—call us and we'll find a project that will spark your curiosity and dedication. We are happiest when our volunteers derive as much benefit and pleasure from their association with the Museum as the Museum benefits from their work.
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OTHER GIVING OPPORTUNITIES
Non-Cash Gifts
Donors who contribute non-cash gifts—by donating appreciated property or through instruments such as IRAs, stocks, real estate, various forms of life income arrangements, or by naming the Museum as a beneficiary in their last will and testament or of a trust fund—help create valuable financial partnerships with The Polish Museum of America. All of these assets go to work to meet a current need of this fine institution and to provide money for maintaing the Museum five, ten, even twenty or more years into the future.
Individuals who make a gift to the Museum will help strengthen its foundation. There are many advantages to doing so: the satisfaction of knowing that you play a valuable role in securing the future of the Museum, as well as immediate and future tax savings for you and your heirs. In addition to the non-cash gifts mentioned above, you might consider one of the following types of non-cash gifts...
Gifts of Marketable Securities
Your donation in the form of stocks can help you bypass capital gains taxes and receive an immediate deduction for the securities' fair market value.
Life Income Gifts
These gifts are a powerful way to meet your philanthropic goals and to receive an income stream. Many individuals are employing this method in today's volatile markets.
Bequests
A bequest is a transfer, by will, of property such as cash, stocks, or tangible personal property to a person or charitable organization. This gift category can help start and bolster current programs, endow principal, and provide income to meet a host of important initiatives at the Museum, such as new exhibits and educational programs.
Multiply Your Gift By Using Life Insurance
Friends of the Museum who want to make a donation but have limited funds will find that life insurance can help them multiply the value of their donation many times over. It's an easy way to donate funds—which are paid directly to the Museum upon your demise—without interference from heirs or probate court, and your premiums are tax-deductible. Using a life insurance policy to donate to The Polish Museum of America means that your gift will be making the most of your money. For example, you could make an outright donation of $1,000 to the Museum, or you could use that money to buy a $5,000 life insurance policy with The Polish Museum of America named as the owner and beneficiary, thus increasing your legacy by five time!
Larger Gifts
Donors can purchase a Single Premium Life Insurance Certificate and name The Polish Museum of America as the beneficiary. For example, a single premium contribution of $20,000 may purchase $50,000 in life insurance. Therefore your donation will be worth more than twice its original value!
Transfer Existing Life Insurance
If you already have a life insurance policy and no longer need to use it to provide protection for your family, you can transfer it to The Polish Museum of America and take a deduction for the cash value plus any unearned premium. Any future premiums would also be tax-deductible provided that The Polish Museum of America is made the new owner and beneficiary of the policy.
Employer Matching Gift Program
Does your employer offer a matching gift program? If so, name The Polish Museum of America as the charitable institution of your choice.
If you would like to explore how you and The Polish Museum of America can benefit from these or other gift arrangements, prior to meeting with your professional advisor, please contact: Wallace M. Ozog, FICF, Chairman of the PMA Board, (800) 772-8632
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CHARITABLE STATUS OF THE MUSEUM
The Polish Museum of America is a not-for-profit institution under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code. Donations and gifts—including money, property, land, stocks, bonds, etc.—are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law (please check with your accountant or tax-preparer).
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