A museum at the intersection of contemporary art and civic life, the ICA strives to amplify the artist’s voice while augmenting art’s role as educator, incubator, and convener for social engagement – in our galleries and classrooms, on our stage and digital platforms. We are grateful for your support and consideration of public cultural institutions like ours. 

This is some of the work that we do as a public resource for the community:

  • Provide free workshops for youth and in- and out-of-school programs for Boston Public School students that in many cases fill the gap for arts credits required for graduation. Museum admission for youth 18 and under is always free.
  • Welcome visitors to the museum for free every Thursday night, often with special programming that brings audiences closer to artists and fosters dialogue around critical conversations of our time.
  • Open the ICA Watershed every summer, a seasonal space that shares world-class art in East Boston. Entry to the Watershed is always free, and ICA Water Shuttle service is provided across Boston Harbor.
  • Ensure representation and visibility in ICA exhibitions and programming that makes all visitors feel welcome at the museum and advances equity in our community.

If you are inspired to give, consider a donation today!  

You can donate online

Donate Now
 

or mail a check

Donations can be mailed to:

The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston
Attn: Development Office
25 Harbor Shore Drive
Boston, MA 02210

What does my gift support? 

  • Your donation goes above and beyond annual membership, museum admission, and tickets to ICA events and programs to support the work that we do—from FREE admission for youth to teen arts education to presenting and supporting important visual and performing artists working today.
  • Interested in supporting a specific program? Send an email to development-mailbox@icaboston.org or phone 617-478-3183. We are happy to work with you to find the best avenue for your gift, from supporting exhibition, performance, film, education, maintaining our landmark building, or another initiative.

More ways to give

Endowment

A gift to the ICA’s endowment is an investment in the future of contemporary art in our community and ensures the ICA remains a public resource for future generations. Giving to the endowment provides a steady source of income, as well as essential support for strategic priorities. You may choose to make your endowment available for the ICA’s unrestricted use, or you may direct your endowment toward a particular purpose or program at the museum that has significance to you or your family.
 
Read about The James and Audrey Foster Prize, established through a generous gift of endowment.

For more information about how to direct your contribution, please contact the Development Team at development-mailbox@icaboston.org or 617-478-3183.

Gifts of Stock

Make a gift of stock, bonds or securities.
 
Gifts of securities can provide you with valuable tax benefits while supporting the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston with a charitable donation. Shares can be transferred electronically by notifying your broker that you wish to make a gift of securities to the ICA. Your broker may need written authorization from you including the name of stock and the number of shares before the transfer can be made.
 
Click here to learn how to make a gift of stock.

Please notify the ICA to expect the transfer: include the name of stock(s) and number of shares, as your name may not remain attached to the securities transfer. Notifying the ICA of an impending securities transfer helps avoid delays in receipt and recording of your gift. Instructions regarding a transfer of securities may change, so it is important to verify the ICA’s current information prior to each gift.
 
For questions regarding a stock transfer, please contact please contact the Development Team at development-mailbox@icaboston.org or 617-478-3183.

Corporate Matching Gifts

Many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match any charitable contributions made by their employees. If your company is eligible, the impact of your gift to the ICA may be doubled or even tripled!

Request a matching gift form from your employer, and send it completed and signed with your gift to:
 
The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston
25 Harbor Shore Drive
Boston MA 02210

Planned Giving

Deferred or planned gifts provide needed support for all of the ICA’s work: timely and celebrated art and exhibitions, compelling performances, innovative education programs, and cultural and civic leadership. Planned gifts can be used to endow specific interests and advance the mutual goals of donors and the ICA. Above all, they are a permanent legacy of those who have championed and worked for the institution.

For more information about Planned Giving at the ICA, please contact the Development Office at 617-478-3147 or jspsociety@icaboston.org.

James Sachs Plaut Society

The James Sachs Plaut Society was formed to honor ICA friends who have made a planned gift to the museum, donated artwork, or maintained a membership for over 25 years. In gratitude for their thoughtful planning and generosity, James Sachs Plaut Society members receive a wide range of benefits. If you have already made a provision for the ICA in your estate plans, click here to enroll in the Society, or contact the Development Department at jspsociety@icaboston.org so that you may be enrolled as a Society member.
 
Read more below about the different ways to include the ICA in your estate plans:

Bequest

A bequest made under one’s will is often the simplest way to make a meaningful gift to the Institute of Contemporary Art. You may write a new will or simply add a codicil to your existing will. Bequests may come in any form—cash, securities, and other personal property, including works of art. Your charitable bequest is 100% deductible for estate tax purposes.
There are a number of ways to structure your bequest so that your gift benefits you and the ICA:

    •    Outright bequest: a gift by will of a specific sum of money or property, including works of art
    •    Residuary bequest: a gift of a percentage or all of the remainder of a donor’s estate after specific bequests, debts, taxes, and estate expenses have been paid
    •    Contingent bequest: a gift that benefits the ICA only if other named beneficiaries predecease the person making the will

Retirement Plans

When you name children or other non-charitable heirs as beneficiaries of your retirement plans, they receive only a small fraction of the plan’s face value, since inherited assets of retirement plans are subject to both estate and income taxes. You may wish to designate the ICA as a beneficiary of all or part of your retirement plan assets and set aside other assets for your family and friends. As a tax-exempt organization, the ICA will generally receive the full amount of the plan’s value, and your estate will receive a charitable deduction for the value of the assets distributed to the ICA.

Life Insurance

You may name the ICA as a beneficiary of all or part of a new or existing life insurance policy. Depending on the type of policy donated, you may receive an immediate income tax deduction and be able to deduct any future premium payments on the policy.

Life Income Gifts

Life income gifts benefit you and the ICA. By making a life income gift, you may increase your income, receive an immediate income tax charitable deduction, eliminate or reduce capital gains taxes, and reduce estate taxes. In addition, you have the satisfaction of knowing that your gift will provide much-needed support for the ICA.

Charitable Remainder Trusts

When you establish a charitable remainder trust, you made an irrevocable gift which is placed in the trust. You determine the payout rate, structure, and who oversees your trust, as well as how your trust is managed. Income from the trust is paid to one or more beneficiaries designated by you for a period of years. At the end of the trust term, the trust principal is turned over the ICA to be used as you set forth in the trust document. When you fund a trust gift, you not only receive an income stream for the life of the trust, but you also qualify for an immediate income tax charitable deduction, avoid any capital gains tax on the transfer, and reduce your taxable estate.  

Charitable Lead Trusts

With a lead trust, you donate assets to a trust that makes payments to the ICA for the term of the trust. When the trust terminates, the assets are transferred back to you or directly to your heirs, as pre-designated by you. If the trust assets revert to you are the end of the trust term, your gift entitles you to an immediate income tax charitable deduction. If the trust assets are transferred to someone other than you at the end of the trust term, you enjoy a substantial reduction in estate and gift taxes on the future transfer to your heirs.

Tax-free IRA Rollover Gifts

If you are 70½ or older, you can make a gift to the ICA directly from your IRA.  IRA Rollover gifts are not taxed and qualify toward your required minimum distribution (RMD).

The guidelines for making an IRA Rollover gift are simple and the steps to realizing that gift are just as easy!

Guidelines:

  • You must be 70½ or older at the time the gift is made.
  • Gifts from both traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs made directly to the ICA are eligible!
  • A $100,000 maximum per taxpayer, per year qualifies for the tax-free status.
  • Gifts must be made by the calendar year in order to qualify for the current tax year. 

To make a gift from your IRA, contact your IRA administrator and request a charitable distribution to the ICA.

Once you have decided to make the gift, let us thank you for your generosity!  Inform the ICA of your intentions by contacting the Development Team at development-mailbox@icaboston.org or at 617-478-3183.

 

The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston recommends that you discuss your gift plans with your own legal and financial advisors. Members of the ICA staff will be happy to work with you and your advisers on ensure that your gift meets your goals and the ICA’s needs.  

Gifts of art

To provide our visitors with broader and more lasting experiences, the ICA established a permanent collection in 2006. The core of the museum’s collection is work by contemporary artists featured in ICA exhibitions, many at critical moments in their careers. A diverse overview of national and international artworks in a range of styles and media, the collection represents the very best art being made today and provides an important resource for contemporary culture in Boston.

Each year, the ICA grows its collection through both purchases and gifts of art:

Acquisitions Circle
To support the purchasing of artwork, the ICA introduced the Acquisitions Circle in 2015. Members of the group meet twice a year and vote on works to purchase for the collection.

Donating Artwork
Gifts of art often come from dedicated collectors who want to ensure that the art of our time be available to all. By donating a work of art to the Institute of Contemporary Art, you create a lasting legacy to both the museum and contemporary art. Artwork can be donated during your lifetime or by bequest. Donors of artwork are generally entitled to claim an income-tax charitable deduction for the full fair market value of the property (up to 30% of AGI with a five-year carryover).

For more information about making a gift of art or joining the Acquisitions Circle, please contact the Development Team at acquisitionscircle@icaboston.org or 617-478-3183.

Membership

From basic memberships for art and culture lovers to dynamic packages that include deeper and broader opportunities for you, your family, your friends, or your institution, ICA memberships offer unparalleled access to the art and artists while providing essential support to the museum and the arts in Boston.

Learn more about membership 

For companies

Opportunities for corporate support of the ICA range from membership—which offers companies, employees, and clients unparalleled access to the ICA—to targeted sponsorship. Either way, supporters gain free employee admission, invitations to VIP events, and exclusive entertainment opportunities while helping to sustain our teen education and family programs, support artists, and share art and creativity with all in our community.

Learn more about Corporate Membership and Sponsorship