Ways to give

Every route leads to the same child.

People give in all sorts of ways: once, monthly, in a parent’s name, through an employer, out of an estate. What matters is that a seat stays paid for. Below is each route, with a note on what COS still has to supply before it can be used.
A parent at a concert, watching · unposed
Start here

Once, or every month.

A single gift covers a cost that is already in front of us. Monthly giving does something harder. COS sets tuition below cost a full year ahead, before anyone knows what will come in, and recurring gifts are what make that math work.

Give once

A single gift, by card, processed on the COS donation page.
Make a one-time gift

Give monthly

The same gift spread across the year, so COS can budget a season in advance.
SETUP TO CONFIRM
Every method

Ten ways a gift can reach COS.

Amber marks flag detail COS has not supplied yet. None of it has been guessed.

Online, by card

The fastest route, and the one most donors use. Card gifts are processed on the COS donation page and acknowledged by email.
Go to the donation page

By check

Checks can be mailed to The Children’s Orchestra Society, 65-03 180th St., Fresh Meadows, NY 11365. That is the administrative address, not the Syosset teaching location. Please note the fund on the memo line if the gift is restricted.
EXACT PAYEE NAME TO CONFIRM

Monthly giving

A recurring gift charged automatically each month, cancellable any time. The most useful support COS can get.
PLATFORM SETUP TO CONFIRM

Tribute & memorial gifts

A gift made in honor of a teacher, a graduating student, or in memory of someone who loved the orchestra. COS notifies the family or honoree.
NOTIFICATION PROCESS TO CONFIRM

Employer matching

Many employers double a charitable gift, and some match retiree and spouse giving too. Donors need the organization’s legal name and tax identification number to file the match.
LEGAL NAME TO CONFIRM · EIN 23-7106585

Stock & appreciated securities

Giving appreciated stock directly, rather than selling it first, can avoid capital gains tax while deducting the full market value. Donors need the receiving brokerage details to instruct their broker.
COS accepts stock through DonateStock. The button below opens the transfer, pre-filled with the organization’s details, and generates the instructions your broker needs.

Donor-advised funds

A donor recommends a grant to COS from a fund held at Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, a community foundation, or similar. The sponsor needs the charity’s exact legal name and tax identification number.
LEGAL NAME TO CONFIRM · EIN 23-7106585

IRA qualified charitable distribution

Donors aged 70½ and over can direct a distribution from a traditional IRA to a qualifying charity, which can count toward a required minimum distribution without being counted as income. Rules change, so donors should confirm with their own advisor.
LEGAL NAME TO CONFIRM · EIN 23-7106585

Bequests & planned giving

A line in a will, or a beneficiary designation on a retirement account or life insurance policy. This is the most common way an endowment is built.
BEQUEST LANGUAGE AND LEGAL NAME NEEDED · EIN 23-7106585

Instruments & in-kind

Instruments, cases, strings, and services all have real value to a program that keeps fees below cost. COS has to state what it can accept, and in what condition, before donors start mailing things.
IN-KIND POLICY NEEDED
Wide · the orchestra a gift pays for
Before you give

What a donor should be told.

COS is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1962. This page will not make any claim about the tax treatment of a gift until COS confirms its current tax-exempt classification and tax identification number in writing. An inaccurate claim would be worse than no claim.
TAX AND RECEIPTING DETAIL NEEDED
Required from COS before launch: exact legal entity name, tax identification number (EIN), current tax-exempt determination, who issues gift acknowledgments and how quickly, and the name and contact for donor questions. Once those arrive, the matching gift, stock, donor-advised fund, IRA, and bequest cards above can all be finished in a single pass.
COS contact for giving questions: (718) 888-0635 · YeouCheng@ChildrensOrch.org · 36 Church Street, Syosset, NY 11791.

Pick whichever one is easiest. They all end in the same place.

A child at a stand, with a part written for them.