Ways to Donate to the Endowment Fund

Make a Gift

Making a gift to the SOT Endowment is easy. Use the online giving system or download the Donation form and complete it, taking care to clearly identify the fund or funds of your choice. If you are unsure where to direct your gift, use the Endowment Fund Search to identify funds that support your areas of interest.

If you are making a contribution with a credit card, please return by fax to 703.438.3113 or, alternatively, you can return it by mail. If you make a contribution by check, it will be necessary to return the form and check by mail to SOT Headquarters. Please contact Tonia Masson if you wish to make arrangements to contribute stock securities or other assets.

Every contribution received is acknowledged in writing. The written acknowledgement serves as a receipt for tax purposes. Contributions made by credit card at year end must be received at SOT Headquarters by December 31. If year-end contributions are made by check, the check must be dated December 31 or earlier, but it need not be received at SOT Headquarters by December 31.

Explore the 2022–2023 SOT Endowment Fund Annual Report

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The SOT Endowment Fund has tiered recognition levels intended to encourage contributions to the Endowment Fund.

Individual
Recognition Level Contribution in a Fiscal Year
Paracelsus Circle $500 or more
Gold $250–$499
Silver $100–$249
Bronze $40–$99
Individual
Recognition Level Cumulative Contribution
Lifetime Paracelsus Circle Visionary $50,000 or more
Lifetime Paracelsus Circle Futurist $25,000–$49,999
Lifetime Paracelsus Circle Leader $10,000–$24,999
Lifetime Paracelsus Circle Benefactor $5,000–$9,999
Lifetime Paracelsus Circle Member $5,000 Commitment

Individuals are designated as a Lifetime Paracelsus Circle giver and will be recognized by their cumulative gifts at the point that they make an initial contribution of $500 or more and indicate their intention to make additional contributions to reach $5,000 or more within 10 years. Individuals who make cumulative gifts will be recognized as noted in the above table.

SOT Heritage Fellow
Identify the SOT Endowment in your will and become an SOT Heritage Fellow. The Heritage Fellow program provides a way to ensure that through the Endowment Fund, the SOT's education program, international outreach activities, strategic initiatives, and awards are funded continuously, and can support those in the profession today and the generations toxicologist to come.

Lifetime Paracelsus Circle Member
Recognition on the SOT website and Invitation to President’s Reception.

Lifetime Paracelsus Circle Benefactor
All the benefits of a Lifetime Paracelsus Circle Member; plus,
Guaranteed Room in Headquarters Hotel (at the prevailing SOT rate).

Lifetime Paracelsus Circle Leader
All the benefits of a Lifetime Paracelsus Circle Benefactor; plus,
Recognition in the Membership Directory.

Lifetime Paracelsus Circle Futurist
All the benefits of a Lifetime Paracelsus Circle Leader; plus,
Participation in an EFB luncheon during the Annual Meeting..

Lifetime Paracelsus Circle Visionary
All the benefits of a Lifetime Paracelsus Circle Futurist; plus,
Special Article in Newsletter and/or put a bio on the website;
Have the Undergraduate Educator Award named for them for one year, and Assistance with registering for the Annual Meeting.

All the above recognition levels are based on all cumulative contributions.

Corporation/Institutional Recognition

Corporate/Institutional Recognition Levels for the SOT Endowment Fund are shown below.

Corporate/Institutional Recognition Levels
Diamond $10,000 or more
Platinum $5,000–$9,999
Gold $2,500–$4,999
Silver $1,000–$2,499

You can support SOT with gifts that don't impact the way you live by either designating SOT to receive estate assets in the future or by making immediate gifts to SOT of assets that are "out of sight and out of mind." Such gifts can help protect your income or provide you income all while supporting the future of toxicology.

In response to interest from SOT members, the Endowment Fund Board has explored various avenues by which individuals can purchase Charitable Gift Annuities. These Annuities are designed to provide lifetime income to the individual purchasing the Annuity. They offer an opportunity for tax benefits to the Annuitant when the Annuity is purchased and a portion of the income is tax-exempt. Most importantly, the Annuitant can name the Society of Toxicology Endowment Fund as the beneficiary of the assets remaining in the Annuity on their death. The Endowment Fund Board recommended, and the Council approved in September 2007, an approach for SOT members to purchase such Annuities. Elizabeth K. Weisburger was the first SOT member to secure one of these Annuities. She has identified the Vera W. Hudson and Elizabeth K. Weisburger Scholarship Fund as the beneficiary of her Annuity.

Go to: Planned Giving Opportunities and Information

James Popp.

“I appreciate the opportunity to join my many colleagues in supporting the future of toxicology by contributing to the SOT Endowment Fund. The funds provided through the Endowment will certainly enhance our chosen profession in the future.”

James Popp

The SOT matching fund campaign is currently suspended. SOT encourages donors to identify employer matching programs to amplify their donations.

Some SOT Endowment donors are employed by corporations that have programs for matching employee contributions to charitable organizations like the Society of Toxicology. Individuals are encouraged to check and see if their employer has such a program and, if so, make that known to the SOT when making their contributions to the Endowment Fund. The donor is also encouraged to process the necessary forms within the company to ensure that the employer matching funds are transferred to the SOT. If SOT matching policy applies and funds are available, they will be applied to both the individual’s original donation and to the employer’s matching contribution.

Join other SOT members who feel an allegiance to toxicology and its future; identify the SOT Endowment in your will and become an SOT Heritage Fellow. The influences on our lives are many: family, colleagues, schools, employers, professional organizations, civic groups, religious organizations, to name a few. As toxicologists, one organization has been guiding us through each phase of our professional career, from graduate school until now: the Society of Toxicology. The Society, our scientific family, aids the progress of the science and its ability to make the world a safer and better place.

Becoming an SOT Heritage Fellow provides a way to ensure that through the Endowment Fund, the SOT’s education programs, international outreach activities, and awards are funded continuously and can support those in the profession today and the generations of toxicologists to come. Consider joining other SOT Heritage Fellows and leaving a legacy gift from your estate to the SOT Endowment Fund.

Your gift can take any number of forms such as a portion of your estate, securities, pretax retirement accounts, property, art, or other assets. Such gifts can assist in defraying estate taxes for your beneficiaries, leveraging your contribution. Unless a specific purpose is noted and allowable, your gift will be contributed to the SOT Endowment Priorities Fund.

Go to: Planned Giving Opportunities and Information

Jon C. Cook.

“As a graduate student, I was honored to receive the Carl Smith Award. Carl was a wonderful person and the Smith Award had a positive impact on many graduate students. It was gratifying to be able to direct my gift to the Smith Fund and know that I am giving back to sustain this Award. Even better was knowing that my company’s match as well as the SOT match meant my contribution was increased four-fold.”

Jon C. Cook

If the donor wishes, they may indicate that their contribution to a specific Fund is being given to honor a living individual, such as a family member or colleague, or in memory of a deceased individual. The donor only needs to make their wishes on this matter known on their Donor Contribution Form.