A Passionate Patron Does Good for the School He Loves

Visiting Stanley Stangren's home is an art lover's dream. His passion for the visual arts is everywhere in evidence, most notably in his own creations in various media. A lifelong artist, his works range from sculptures and paintings, to drawings, silks and monoprints. To speak with him, you learn that he is also a passionate lover of the performing arts, and, as a young man, spent time studying dance at both the School of American Ballet and with Martha Graham. Although he worked with dance pioneers like Ms. Graham, Anna Sokolow and Charles Weidman, an injury prevented him from pursuing dance as a career. But he found other outlets for his artistic pursuits.

Born in Brooklyn, Stanley Stangren was a student at the High School of Music and Art and later studied at Bard College and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A career in the ceramic mold business followed, as did eight years in Europe where he did sculpture and jewelry design. Retired now from the ceramics business, he spends much of his time enjoying the arts. He frequently attends Juilliard performances, including most of the opera and drama presentations at the School, and is especially fond of the dance concerts.

Mr. Stangren's love for the arts and for the performances he was seeing at Juilliard inspired him to take his participation a step further and to establish charitable gift annuities with the School. "I realized what Juilliard offered me, being a passionate music lover, and I decided to give something back" he said. "What Juilliard achieves is remarkable. When I think of the prominent actors, dancers and musicians that have been educated there, I am always staggered. It is deeply financially satisfying to be able to give back to the School, while benefitting from it at the same time."

The Juilliard School is not the only organization that Stanley Stangren supports. He has established gift annuities at a number of other nonprofits, including the Metropolitan Museum, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Children's Aid Society and the New York City Opera. Stanley Stangren is doing a great deal of good for the organizations that he supports and the Juilliard School applauds him for his generosity.

"Annuities are a good deal, let's face it" he says. So good, that he has now created nine charitable gift annuities with Juilliard. A Juilliard gift annuity is an irrevocable gift to the School that, in return, provides guaranteed cash payments for the rest of one's life. By establishing a gift annuity with Juilliard, an individual (or two individuals) can receive a generous tax deduction, depending on the size and type of gift made. Just as important, a donor can have the satisfaction of knowing that their gift will one day make a tangible difference in a young artist's life.

Gift annuity rates vary with age-with top rates ranging in excess of 9%. The rate set at the time of the gift is permanent and never reduced-regardless of economic conditions. A portion of the gift annuity income is tax free for life (based on IRS guidelines). As an added benefit, if appreciated stock is used to fund the annuity, one can minimize capital gains tax, in addition to receiving a tax deduction. To learn more about charitable gift annuities at Juilliard, please contact Lori Padua at (212) 799-5000, ext. 7152 or lpadua@juilliard.edu.