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The Sherret Spaulding Chase Legacy Society

Sherret Spaulding Chase was the Founding President of the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development after he, and a group of Catskills enthusiasts with a passion for the bright future of the region, founded the Catskill Center in 1969. 

After spending his childhood summers and holidays in the Catskills, Chase and his family finally moved to Olive (from Wayne, Pennsylvania) in 1933. Later, Chase studied botany and forestry at Yale, Cornell, and Harvard and went on to produce ground-breaking work in “doubled haploids'' which revolutionized corn breeding. His life’s work was continuously inspired by his home, the Catskills. Chase’s deep love and appreciation for the Catskills not only shaped his career but also the land itself.

Today, the Catskill Center works to protect both the environmental and economic well being of the Catskill region. This mission began with Chase when he determined the two were not contradictory goals; rather, they could work together by prioritizing conservation to foster beneficial development. This revelation is the foundation of Chase’s deeply-rooted Catskills legacy. Read more of Sherret Spaulding Chase’s important history with the Catskill Center, as well as his 1967 essay titled, “The Catskills of New York: Past, Present, Potential,” here.

Our hope in creating the Sherret Spaulding Chase Legacy Society, is to allow you the same opportunity to leave your own philanthropic impact on the land you love.  

Legacy Society members are supporters who have included a gift to the Catskill Center through their estate plans. We urge anyone who has included the Catskill Center in their plans to let us know, so we can give you the opportunity to be honored by the Catskill Center and included in the Sherret Spaulding Chase Legacy Society’s membership. If you wish for your gift to remain anonymous, please indicate in your estate plan how you would like to be recognized for your generosity. 

Planned Giving with the Catskill Center

You can leave your own legacy throughout the Catskills by becoming a part of the Catskill Center’s Planned Giving Program and a member of the Sherret Spaulding Chase Legacy Society. Methods of donation include bequests, gifts of stock, bonds or securities, gifts of real estate, and gifts of life insurance or retirement plans. By including the Catskill Center in your will, or listing the Catskill Center as a beneficiary in your life insurance or retirement plan, your role in protecting the region can continue for generations to come.

There are many ways to make a charitable contribution with a planned gift; it can be as easy as adding The Catskill Center as a beneficiary or adding a few sentences to your will (please see sample language below under “For Your Financial Advisor”). The Planned Giving Program is flexible and non-binding. If your priorities change, you can simply change your bequest. Be sure to ask your financial advisor about the many tax benefits of planned gifts when you consult with them on leaving a bequest. 

By becoming a member of the Sherret Spaulding Chase Legacy Society, you make a bold statement of your sincere and enduring concern for and love of the Catskill Park and Catskill region. The Legacy Society is an opportunity to be an everlasting steward of the Catskills, and an inspiration to others to support the Catskills for generations to come.

Catskill Center staff are happy to answer any questions you may have on the Planned Giving Program. We will work with you to determine how you wish your gift to the Catskill Center will be put to use, and how you would like to be recognized. Please contact Dean Klingler, Donor Relations Manager, for more information about the Sherret Spaulding Chase Legacy Society.

For Your Financial Advisor

Designate donations to the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, Inc.: EIN 23-7058142, in your estate plan.

Suggested language for an undesignated gift of either a specific amount or percentage of the remainder of your estate: “I bequeath the sum of ____ to the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, Inc. PO Box 504, Arkville, NY 12406, to be used as its Board of Directors in its sole discretion deems appropriate.”

“I bequeath all or ____% of the remainder of my estate to the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, Inc. PO Box 504, Arkville, NY 12406, to be used as its Board of Directors in its sole discretion deems appropriate.”

You can also designate the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, Inc. as a beneficiary on your retirement plan and life insurance policy.  In that instance the beneficiary should be named as “Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, Inc.,”, the IRS EIN number is 23-7058142, the address is PO Box 504, Arkville, NY 12406 and the phone number is 845-586-2611.