Photos left to right: Joan Guasta with Rick Haydon, Jazz II Faculty, guitar; Dave and Vonnie Callsen, concert sponsors from Main Street Market; Judith and Anthony Licata with Jeff Campbell, Birch Creek Jazz I & Jazz II Program Director; Tom and Marlys Regan and John and Karen Stangel with Mona Christensen, Birch Creek Executive Director; Charlotte Lukes, who named the Concertmaster Chair, with Renée-Paule Gauthier, 2019 Concertmaster, Symphony.
When you contribute to Birch Creek, your gift touches and often helps change the lives of promising young musicians. You may be inspired to give because music has personally graced your life and you want to pass the gift along. You may give to celebrate, honor, or memorialize the life of someone you love. You may give an annual gift or through a matching program with your employer. You may want to include a bequest in your will or a deferred gift in your estate planning.
We introduce you to the many ways your gifts can help Birch Creek remain strong.
See the donors who have made gifts to Birch Creek since May 1!
The Play It Forward Annual Fund, previously known as Birchfellows, is the organization’s annual fund used for operational expenses and is the fund that bridges the gap between tuition paid by families and the true cost of program delivery. Did you know that every student automatically receives $2,760 in reduced tuition because of your support to this annual fund?
Actual Cost of a Student’s Education: $4,860
Play It Forward Support: $2,760
Student/Family’s Cost: $2,100
We want to ensure that our tuition fees are affordable to most families by covering the gap between the cost of educating a Birch Creek student and the family’s out-of-pocket costs, while also raising additional tuition assistance dollars to help those for whom even our subsidized tuition is a challenge.
Leadership Circle: $10,000 and above
Director’s Circle: $2,500 to $9,999
Faculty Circle: $1,000 to $2,499
Encore: $250 to $999
Mentor’s Circle: $100 to $249
Bravo: $1 to $99
• 2019 Endowment Report • 2018 Endowment Report • 2017 Endowment Report
• 2016 Endowment Report • 2015 Endowment Report
The Birch Creek Endowment establishes a firm financial base that ensures the stability of Birch Creek, its educational programs for young musicians and concerts for the community long into the future.
The Endowment, managed by the Door County Community Foundation, consists of four funds:
1 Building for Tomorrow Fund – used for capital expenditures
2 Lifetime for Education Fund – supports essential educational components such as faculty salaries, musical instruments, library acquisitions and guest artist fees
3 Now and Forever Fund – supplements donations for day-to-day operations
4 Scholarships Forever Fund – partially underwrites student tuition through scholarships
A minimum gift of $5,000 is required to establish a sub-fund within one of these four Funds. The donor’s principal is not touched and new gifts may be added to increase its value at any time. Once a sub-fund reaches a principal value of $20,000, lasting naming rights become available and include the naming of faculty chairs, academic programs and buildings. Birch Creek will work with donors to reach a $5,000 minimum over time, and to help their sub-fund grow thereafter to attain naming rights benefits. A few options for giving could include the required minimum distribution from an IRA and gifts of stock. For information on setting up a sub-fund in the Birch Creek Endowment, please call Mona Christensen at Birch Creek: (920) 868-3763.
Smaller gifts in any amount are welcome at any time and are permanently placed in one of four General Funds of the Endowment as designated by the donor.
Over the last three years several exciting projects were initiated and completed that updated and stabilized the infrastructure of our campus. This effort required multiple grantors and donors to help us reach our goals. Their support helped us overcome infrastructure inefficiencies while continuing to provide a safe environment for our students and the public.
Projects include:
Your support is essential and critical! Become a part of keeping the magic alive in the barn and all over campus. Just choose Play It Forward from the drop-down menu on our online donation form, or note infrastructure on your check. At any time, you may call at (920) 868-3763 for ways to help.
Then … wait for the changes to begin!
• 2019 Legacy Circle Program and Membership Book
The Legacy Circle was created to help guarantee Birch Creek’s financial stability far into the future. A planned gift is a resource upon which Birch Creek can rely for years to come. Large and small, these gifts are vital to the success of Birch Creek’s future. Many donors have found that time spent considering what to give, as well as when and how to structure their contributions, can help them make more meaningful gifts while meeting personal planning goals as well.
For more than fifteen years, Door County resident Charlotte Lukes has demonstrated her close involvement with –and commitment to – Birch Creek through estate planning that will continue her support of Birch Creek in the future.
Many Birch Creek donors utilize one or more of the following planning options:
Please call Birch Creek at (920) 868-3763 for more information.
Birch Creek Strong was the name of our “forward together” campaign to help us recover from unprecedented revenue shortfalls from closing the academy and cancelling concerts for the 2020 summer season. Hundreds of donors helped during these extraordinary times to insure that Birch Creek could make plans for a modified campus reopening in 2021, and continue the Birch Creek model for excellence in music education and performance stronger than ever.
Please click here to see the list of Birch Creek Strong donors from May 1 through December 31, 2020.
Music will again be in the air on the Birch Creek campus in 2021, with sounds that fill the night with musical stars and bring joy and promise for the future. We are forever grateful for your support.
Sponsorships support concerts at Birch Creek that directly correlate with our academic programs, and sponsors have the benefits of program book recognition, media mention, complimentary tickets and reserved seating. Call our office if you are interested in sponsoring a concert: (920) 868-3763.
Due to the cancellation of Birch Creek’s 2020 on-campus events, programs, sessions and performances, we did not produce a print version of the program book. However, we rethought this powerful and widely-distributed method by which we can communicate our program book information with the public. In lieu of a print document, Birch Creek produced a digital version of the 2020 program book.
The digital program, which you can open and browse through below, is a flip book which includes ads (with links to each advertiser’s website), donor recognition, Birch Creek history, and features on programs, concerts and outreach.
In 2021, we will be producing both a print and a digital version of the classic Birch Creek program book.
Contact Emily Maher, Marketing Manager, at (920) 868-3763 or marketing@birchcreek.org for any questions regarding ad space in the 2021 program book.
We hope you enjoy the Birch Creek 2020 Digital Program Book.
Try our links – advertisers, faculty, concerts and more!
Birch Creek is lucky to have a loyal volunteer organization, The Birch Creek Associates. This special group supports Birch Creek’s educational mission. With more than 70 members, The Associates help with campus beautification, usher and run the concession stand on concert nights, and serve as a fundraising arm for Birch Creek. Associates also receive a 25% discount on Birch Creek concerts and insider sneak-peaks into upcoming programming.
Download, print, and mail our
Membership Application Form (PDF)
Birch Creek also offers a standard volunteer track for those who wish to experience Birch Creek from another perspective. Serve as an usher, greet concertgoers, sell our world-famous popcorn and concessions, assist with the gift shop, and more! In addition to working on our beautiful campus and in the iconic, century-old Dutton Concert Barn, you will hear some of the most amazing world class concerts in the region! Best of all, you will contribute to our mission of educating promising young musicians by immersing them in a professional performance environment.
Apply Online to Become a Birch Creek Volunteer today!
or download, print, and mail our Volunteer Application Form (PDF)
Contact us at mainoffice@birchcreek.org or call (920) 868-3763 with any questions regarding volunteering at Birch Creek Music Performance Center.
Birch Notes is a bi-annual update on activities and news from the Birch Creek campus, with thanks and acknowledgement to our generous donors.
• 2020 FALL Birch Notes • 2020 SPRING Birch Notes • 2019 FALL Birch Notes • 2019 SPRING Birch Notes
Photos left to right: Birch Creek Associates Pat Long, Bonnie Wirth, Lynn Kaczmarek, Lyn Huber and Joan Guasta set up the concession stand at the beginning of a new season; Associate/Volunteer Jim Wirth and Birch Creek staff install awnings; Lynn Kaczmarek, Lyn Huber and Bonnie Wirth; concession stand volunteers and master popcorn poppers Ben Bailey, Terry Schneider, Margo Ireland and Jeanne Barnard; John and Katherine Campbell volunteer to usher at Birch Creek concerts.
Birch Creek is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
