California State Military Department

The California State Military Museum

A United States Army Museum Activity

Preserving California's Military Heritage

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How Can I Help?

 

Volunteer!

 

The California State Military Museum and its satellite and partner museums have a great need for volunteers to conduct an effective museum and educational program. The museum is looking for the volunteers with the following skills:

 

• Gallery Docents
• Educational Program Development
• Exhibit Design and Construction
• Fund raising and Development
• Artifact Management and Restoration
• Computer and Data Base Management
• Office Administration, Word Processing, Desk Top Publishing
• Vehicle and Aircraft Restoration
• Library and Archival Operations
• Public Relations
• Historians and Historical Researchers

If you're interested, please call the museum at (916) 854-1900.

Volunteer Online!

If you are a military retiree or veteran with an honorable discharge, and miss wearing the uniform and serving the community, you might consider joining the California Center for Military History.

Donate!

Too often, valuable artifacts are lost due to not knowing what they were. The World War I generation is just about gone and the World War II generation is starting to pass on in an increasing rate. Artifacts that they brought back from the war and that have been in that old footlocker in the attic often end up in a swap meet, antique shop or worse the local landfill. Weapons that are historically significant are turned over to police agencies and are melted down. Unit rosters, letters and photographs end up in the trash during spring cleaning. Instead of throwing them away, donate them to the museum! Even items that we have a lot of, such as World War II uniforms, can be used by our living history docents or sold to help raise funds for conservation, restoration, or acquisition of artifacts.

Both Army Regulations and the California Penal Code allow for weapons to be accepted at the museum.

Become a Patron!

 

Although we are a state museum and part of the Army Museum System, we do not receive enough permanent financial support from the State of California or the US Army to operate effectively. Unlike other museums of our type, we're not on a military installation, with free buildings and utilities. We depend on the the generosity of the individuals, groups and corporations to keep our doors open. Daily attendance and gift shop sale only covers a small amount of what it costs to operate this museum.

 

Become a Friend of the Museum! Donations to the museum are tax-deductible and we have several membership plans:

 

Individual Memberships

Rank or Patron Level and Benefits	One Year Membership	Five Year Membership	Life Membership	Enhanced Life Membership
Registration*	$25	$100	$250	$500
Term of Years**	1	5	Life	Life
Free Entry	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gift	Cap	Museum T-Shirt	Polo Shirt	Jacket
Gift Shop Discount	10%	10%	20%	20%
JOIN ONLINE!

 

Family Memberships

Rank or Patron Level and Benefits	One Year Family Membership	Five Year Family Membership	Family Life Membership	Enhanced Family Life Membership
Registration*	$75	$350	$1,000	$3,000
Term of Years**	1	5	Life	Life
Free Entry	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gift for Immediate Family Members	Cap	Museum T-Shirt	Polo Shirts	Museum Jackets
Passes****	-	-	Each Immediate Family Member	Each Immediate Family Member
After Hours Visits*****	-	-	-	One Per Year
Gift Shop Discount	10%	10%	20%	20%
JOIN ONLINE!

 

Corporate Memberships

Rank or Patron Level and Benefits	Supporting Patron	Bronze Patron	Silver Patron	Gold Patron	Platinum Patron
Registration*	$250	$500	$750	$1,500	$5,000
Term of Years**	1	2	3	5	5
Free Entry	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gift	4 Museum Caps	4 Museum T-Shirts	4 Museum Polo Shirts	4 Museum Jackets	Four sets of museum logowear
Passes****	10 Museum Passes	15 Museum Passes per year	20 Museum Passes per year	20 Museum Passes per year	50 Museum Passes per year
After Hours Visits*****	-	-	-	One Per Year	Four per year
JOIN ONLINE!

* Charter Membership rules: Unbroken renewal preserves fees in effect on initial entry date.
** Rank is set upon periodic payment of Initial Fee and retained for term with annual renewals.
*** Accompanied by Member
**** Unaccompanied Dependent Cards (guests)
***** Extended hours with prior reservations. Have the Museum all to yourself and your selected party. "Paid" is after hours with group rate for $100 Sponsor or Patron. Where multiple members are present, time will be concurrent.

 

 

Sponsorships and Naming Rights

 

Please contact the museum director at (916) 854-1904 or e-mail if you are interested in yearly or multi-year sponsorships and naming rights for specific displays, galleries and other facilities and programs of the California State Military Museum. Sponsored activities will have signage commemorating the sponsor.

 

Donate Your Car, Boat, Motorcycle and or Recreational Vehicle, Regardless of Condition

A donor may submit a vehicle donation form from this website or contact Cars 4 Causes ® at 1-800-766-CARE (2273). The donor provides general information on the vehicle that they will donate, as well as selects the California State Military Museum as the organization they wish to benefit. We accept most intact vehicles, whether they are running or not. No smog certificate is required.

 

Be sure that you specify the California State Military Museum as your selected charity.

 

 

Do You Shop Online? You Can Help the Museum Without Spending Anything More.

 

Online shoppers can help the museum and its programs by just shopping! Selected merchants and service providers and agreed to provide a percentage of their profits to support museums. These are major merchants such as eBay, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. We have chosen two excellent organizations to provide our supporters the widest number of vendors and services available. Please make sure that you designate the California State Military Museum as the recipient of your gift.

 

List of participating merchants and services	List of participating merchants and services

 

 

Gift Cards

 

Do you have partially used gift cards cluttering up your desk drawer. Consider donating them to the museum. Every little bit helps stretch our limited funds. We can use gift cards from the following stores:

 

• Home Depot
• Lowes
• Office Depot
• Office Max
• Staples
• Barnes and Noble
• Borders
• Amazon.com
• Michael's Arts and Crafts
• Aaron Brothers Art Mart
  

Life-Income Plans: A life income plan can allow you to make a substantial gift to charity while still providing for your personal financial needs. There are several types of such plans all of which combine payments for life for one or more beneficiaries designated by the donor with a gift to charity. These plans are attractive to many donors because they offer substantial tax benefits and may increase cash flow to the donor or other beneficiary, depending on the asset contributed.

The Charitable Lead Trust: While annuity trusts and unitrusts are often used by donors when planning deferred gifts to charitable organizations, the charitable lead trust may appeal to individuals who wish to make a gift but retain property in their family.

There are two types of charitable lead trusts: the grantor lead trust and the more popular nongrantor lead trust:

• A grantor lead trust provides a donor with a charitable income-tax deduction for the present value of the payments the charity is to receive from the trust for a specified period of time. The donor, however, continues to be taxed on the income earned by the trust each year -- including the amount distributed to charity. (To avoid this negative tax result,donors often fund grantor lead trusts with tax-exempt securities.) At the end of the trust term, the assets are returned to the donor.
• A nongrantor lead trust created during life does not provide the donor with a charitable income-tax deduction, but neither is he or she taxed on any of the income earned by the trust. at the end of the specified trust term, the assets remaining in the trust are distributed,usually to children or grandchildren.

Gift Annuities: The charitable gift annuity is among the oldest, simplest, and most popular of the charitable life-income plans. In exchange for a transfer of cash, marketable securities, or, in some circumstances, real estate, the charity contractually guarantees to make specified annuity payments to the donor and/or another beneficiary.

The payout rate depends on the age and number of beneficiaries. The following table shows sample rates of return recommended by the American Council on Gift Annuities (an association of philanthropic organizations that reviews these rates), which apply to both men and women. Please contact us for our current rates.

Gifts Under Your Will: Each year, thousands of individuals designate a portion of their assets by bequest to benefit charities. Gifts under wills have become an important part of the American philanthropic tradition because they enable individuals to Dame significant gifts that they may not have been able to make during life. Charitable bequests can take various forms:

• A specific bequest directs that a charitable organization is to receive a specific piece of property.
• A general bequest directs that the charity receive a specified dollar amount.
• A residual bequest designates all or a portion of whatever remains after all debts,taxes, expenses, and all other bequests have been paid.
• A contingent bequest takes effect only if the primary intention cannot be met.

Gifts of Real Estate with Retained Life Interest: A gift of a remainder interest in a personal residence or farm provides the donor with a charitable deduction for the present value of the remainder interest and permits the donor to escape the potential capital-gain tax on the built-in appreciation. What may be more important from the donor's point of view is that he or she can continue to occupy the residence or operate the farm without disruption.

Life Insurance: While most people own some form of life insurance because of its unique ability to meet a variety of needs for financial protection, its role in planned charitable giving is frequently overlooked. Life insurance itself can be the direct funding medium of a gift, permitting the donor to make a substantial gift for a relatively modest annual outlay.

 

Other Programs

The California State Military Museum welcomes corporate sponsorships and memorial funds. For more information on these programs, please contact us at (916) 854-1904.

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