Donation Overview
Donations and Planned Giving
The Lighthouse for the Blind welcomes and appreciates your gift to support our mission. Gifts from Individuals, Businesses and Corporations, or Foundations help us support our blind and legally blind employees as well as those individuals who receive our “See the Future” Scholarships.
We offer many ways for you to give to the Lighthouse. Your gift may also offer compelling tax advantages. Please consult with an attorney, tax adviser or financial planner before making a planned gift. The Lighthouse for the Blind is a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit agency.
Your gift will help us to
- Provide opportunities to enable blind and legally blind people to become active citizens and full participant’s life.
- Provide awards in the areas of adaptive equipment (to facilitate education), college tuition, and training.
- Provide scholarships to various camps that increase learning skills, teach new adaptations in orientations and mobility, and promote new levels of independence across the home, school, work, and community.
How to donate
- Call 314-423-4333 to pay by credit card over the phone
- Mail a check or cash donation to:
- Lighthouse for the Blind
P.O. Box 870490
Kansas City, MO 64187
(Our bank is located in Kansas City but your donation will be used in St. Louis.) - Donate online – Click Here to make an online donation
- Shop Amazon Smile – when you shop through the Amazon Smile program on Amazon.com, a portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the Lighthouse. The AmazonSmile foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers. When shopping on Amazon.com, simply visit smile.amazon.com and identify the Lighthouse for the Blind as your charity of choice. We thank you for your donation!
- Donate your Vehicle – The Lighthouse also accepts donations in the form of donated vehicles, boats, trailers and motorcycles through a partnership with Vehicles for Donation. If you are interested in donating, please call 1 (866) 628-2277 (CARS)
Gift Acceptance Policy
Lighthouse for the Blind – St. Louis (LHB) welcomes monetary and in-kind gifts. We encourage gifts from individuals, corporations, and foundations in a manner consistent with our stated mission and in accordance with the intended purposes of the donor. The purpose of this policy is to serve as a guideline for employees regarding the acceptance of gifts.
- Any Lighthouse staff member may receive in-kind gifts on behalf of the Lighthouse. Depending on whether a gift is a donation or directly tied to an event, the Accounting and/or Marketing department’s staff should receive all monetary gifts.
- Gifts delivered in person to the Lighthouse shall be documented by receipt. A copy of the gift receipt will be given to the Marketing Department which will retain the receipt for its records.
- All gifts will be acknowledged by receipt or thank you letter to the donor. The acknowledgment will include a description of donated items, dollar value assigned by the donor and the date received by the Lighthouse.
- All correspondence sent to donors by the Lighthouse will reference our IRS status as a 501(c)(3) public charity.
- Final responsibility for gift valuations and eligibility for tax benefits shall reside with the donor and not the Lighthouse.
Charitable Trust/Bequests
A Charitable Trust is a simple tool that donors can use to benefit The Lighthouse for the Blind and may result in a significant tax savings for a donor’s estate and for named beneficiaries in the future. There are three types of Charitable Trusts:
Specific Bequest
This is the most common type of bequest and states that The Lighthouse for the Blind will receive a specific amount of money or item from the donor’s estate.
Percentage Bequest
A percentage bequest states that The Lighthouse for the Blind will receive a predetermined percentage of the donor’s estate. By designating a percentage bequest, 10% for example, you can be sure that inflation will not reduce the value of the gift intended for LHB.
Remainder Trust
A Remainder Trust states that The Lighthouse for the Blind will receive the remainder of the trust after all necessary costs, all general bequests, and all specific bequests are satisfied. This type of trust gives the donor the flexibility of making specific bequests while ensuring that LHB will be a secondary beneficiary of the estate.
Life Insurance Policy
Gifts of life insurance allow donors to make significant contributions with relatively little expense. These gifts are made by naming The Lighthouse for the Blind as owner and beneficiary of a new or existing policy. Donors receive a tax deduction equivalent to the value of the policy and future premium payments may be tax deductible.
Important Documents:
Recently filed annual information returns are available upon request.
