(l-r) Randy Moore and Jeanne Paulsen in the Denver Center Theatre Company production of You Can't Take It With You. Photo by Terry Shapiro

Encore Society

We invite you to become a member of The Encore Society, a group established to recognize thoughtful individuals who have remembered The Denver Center for the Performing Arts in their estate plans.  As a member, you are recognized as such in selected issues of Applause magazine and in the Center's annual report (only if you wish - you may choose to remain anonymous) and are invited to an annual members-only gathering each fall.  Past events have included fun, in-depth "behind-the-scenes" tours led by Artistic Director Kent Thompson and updates as to long-range plans for the Center's future with Chairman and CEO Daniel L. Ritchie.

As you consider your philanthropic and estate planning goals, ensure that great theatre touches the lives of future generations with a gift to the DCPA.  Planned gifts help build a permanent endowment to support our theatre productions and educational programs.

Contact us at 303.446.4811 to have a personal discussion about your planned giving options or to receive information. Our various options include:

Outright Gift
Make a current donation to an endowment fund in the form of cash or appreciated assets.



Charitable Bequest*
Name The Denver Center in your will or living trust, which does not affect your assets or cash flow during your lifetime. This gift reduces your estate’s value for federal tax purposes (as applicable). Types of bequests include:

  • Percentage — As your estate appreciates, today's bequest has greater impact in the future. 
  • Specific — You may direct an exact dollar amount or specific asset to us. 
  • Residuary —Designate all or part of the property remaining in your estate to The Denver Center after debt, expenses, percentage and specific bequests have been paid.

Retirement Plan*
Name The Denver Center as a beneficiary of your retirement plan by submitting a “beneficiary change” form to your plan custodian. The current tax system makes it difficult to leave a qualified retirement plan to anyone but your spouse. By leaving the tax-exposed assets of your plan to us and less tax-vulnerable assets to your heirs, they can receive their share of your estate without extra taxation.

Life Insurance*
Name us as the beneficiary of a new or existing life insurance policy with two options: 

  • Revocable — Name The Denver Center as a beneficiary only without an income tax benefit. 
  • Irrevocable — Name The Denver Center as the owner and beneficiary of your plan for tax benefits.

A gift of a fully-paid policy produces a charitable deduction equal to the policy's cash surrender value or basis, whichever is less. If you name us owner and beneficiary of a policy on which payments are ongoing or create a new policy, we will pay the premiums while you support us with tax-deductible gifts that offset those payments.

Charitable Gift Annuity
A gift annuity is a contract in which The Denver Center agrees to pay you (and another person, if desired) a lifetime income in exchange for a gift you make today. A gift annuity provides the reliability of payments that do not fluctuate and that are secured by our assets. You will be eligible for tax benefits, immediate or deferred income payments, and attractive rates of return. There are two types: 

  • Immediate payment— Your income payments can begin once you make your gift. 
  • Deferred payment — Select a date in the future to begin receiving your income payments.

Charitable Remainder Trust
Charitable remainder trusts can provide powerful financial, tax and estate planning benefits. Donate assets such as cash, long-term appreciated securities or real estate into trust our eventual benefit. In the interim, the trust pays income to you and/or your designated income beneficiaries. 
The trust term can be a specific number of years or the lifetime(s) of the income recipients. You have the flexibility to: 

  • Choose the rate of return 
  • Claim a charitable tax donation 
  • Avoid capital gains tax on the assets funding the trust 
  • Avoid estate taxes (as applicable)

There are two types of Charitable Remainder Trusts: 

  • Variable Income —You and/or other beneficiaries receive a variable income by calculating the trust's fixed rate as a percentage of the value of the trust principal, which is revalued annually. 
  • Fixed Income —You and your beneficiaries receive a fixed income by calculating the fixed rate as a percentage of the value of your gift.

Charitable Lead Trust
Provide an income stream to The Denver Center now and return that gift to yourself or your loved ones. You determine the income amount when the trust is created. There is no minimum payout rate and at the end of the trust, the accumulated assets are returned to you or passed to others you have chosen. An advantage of this trust is that its assets are "frozen" in value upon creation, so when the trust terminates, the accumulated appreciation escapes gift and estate tax.

Retained Life Estate
Donate a residence to The Denver Center and retain the right to occupy or it for the rest of your life.  A Retained Life Estate requires a Deed and a Life Estate Agreement, which transfer a future interest in the property to us upon your death. Several conditions apply; please contact us at 303.446.4811 for specific restrictions.

* Revocable gift
By naming The Denver Center in your will, living trust, or as a beneficiary, you can protect yourself against an uncertain future. Should you need these assets, they are available. If not, your gift will come to us as you desire.

    Photo: (l-r) Randy Moore and Jeanne Paulsen in the Denver Center Theatre Company production of You Can't Take It With You. Photo by Terry Shapiro