Join the more than thirty First Folio Society members who have included the Folger Shakespeare Library in their estate and financial plans. Help ensure the future of the Folger, and build the bridge from this generation of Shakespeare lovers to the next.
There are two ways to become a member of the First Folio Society. You can simply advise us of a legacy gift (a will or living trust, designation as a beneficiary of a retirement plan or life insurance policy). Or, you can work with us to establish a fund that both benefits the Folger and earns you income through your lifetime (a charitable gift annuity, charitable remainder trust, or pooled income gift). Let us help tailor a plan for you.
First Folio Society members are invited to special Folger events and their generosity is acknowledged in the Folger's Annual Report and other publications. More than that, members know that they are giving far-reaching support "for present comfort and for future good" (The Winter's Tale, V.1.32).
Members include Folger's current and immediately previous directors, Gail Kern Paster and Werner Gundersheimer, and their spouses, as well as the chair of the Folger Board of Governors, The Honorable Karen Hastie Williams.
"The Folger has been indispensable to my life as a scholar, enabling everything I've written and providing the kind of intellectual community in which my research could flourish. As director, I've come to an even stronger appreciation of the greatness of this institution and its generosity to the public in so many forms. Howard and I are glad to repay the Folger's many gifts to us with a bequest."
Gail Kern Paster, Director
A number of Readers and Fellows have also joined the First Folio Society, cementing their already strong connections to the Folger and its books and collections.
"The Folger has always been so hospitable, and its resources so valuable to my work, that a contribution was certainly worth making. The Library is a primary resources for scholars like myself, and if we can, we should acknowledge that fact in tangible ways."
Jay Halio, active and longtime Folger Reader
To learn more, contact Essence Newhoff, director of major gifts, at (202) 675-0377 or enewhoff@folger.edu
