Mount Auburn is a very special place, created by those who have gone before …
Now, create your own legacy.
PHOTO BY lucy aptekar, courtesy of the straus family
There are many ways to support a beloved institution like Mount Auburn: by becoming a Member of the Friends of Mount Auburn, by volunteering here, or by giving to the Annual Fund— and by including this special place in your gift planning through a bequest or
Patty and David Straus by establishing a life income gift, such as a charitable gift annuity.
A Charitable Gift Annuity is a simple, onepage contract under which Mount Auburn, in return for a gift( cash, appreciated stock, or real property) agrees to make payments at a fixed rate( based on the age of the beneficiaries) to one or more beneficiaries for life. The donor, who can also be a beneficiary, receives an income tax deduction for a significant portion of the gift.
Mount Auburn Trustee David A. Straus and his wife Patty, of Cambridge, MA, made a decision both to do something for Mount Auburn, a place they have loved as close neighbors for many years, and at the same time insure a steady lifetime stream of income for themselves from their investment in Mount Auburn.
David first became acquainted with Mount Auburn as an undergraduate at Harvard when he saw the Cemetery“ as a serene place to get into nature.” Later, as an architecture student at Harvard’ s Graduate School of Design, he and his colleagues used to visit Mount Auburn as a beautiful setting in which to hone their photography skills. More recently, he has become an avid bird watcher at Mount Auburn.
“ I am drawn to Mount Auburn because it is a true sanctuary for birds and wildlife,” David says.“ And of course, Mount Auburn is also an important historical landscape and great cultural resource for our community that needs ongoing preservation— and community support.
“ I wanted to give back to this resource that I have cared so much about,” he says.
Now retired, David is the founder of the management consulting firm Interaction Associates and is the best-selling author of How to Make Collaboration Work: Powerful Ways to Build Consensus, Solve Problems, and Make Decisions. As a Mount Auburn Trustee, David chairs the Strategic Planning Committee. He grew up in New York City. Patty Straus is the former President of the Board of The Cambridge Center for Adult Education, on which she still serves as a trustee. She and David have two grown daughters and a granddaughter.
A gift to Mount Auburn to establish a Charitable Gift Annuity may be a check, transfer of marketable securities, or other tangible asset and must have a minimum value of $ 10,000 irrevocably donated to the Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery. The Beneficiary, or Annuitant,( who may also be the donor) must be at least 65 years of age when payments begin.( The Annuity can be established at an earlier age and payments deferred until the beneficiary reaches age 65.)
For further information or to make a gift, please contact: Priscilla P. Morris, Vice President of Development, Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, 617-607-1919; pmorris @ mountauburn. org.
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