More Ways to Support KCH
Join the KCH Founders Club
For more than four decades, Kerrytown Concert House has been fortunate to have a special group of loyal supporters known as The Founders, friends who contribute $300 or more annually to KCH. As of 2024, The Founders are now formally organized as the Kerrytown Concert House Founders Club, an unincorporated association with a Club License from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.
What does Founders Club membership include?
As a KCH Founders Club member, you may purchase beer or wine for yourself and one guest at designated concerts and special events, as indicated on our website. Members may purchase up to two drinks, and guests may purchase one. At eligible events, simply present your Founders Club badge when ordering. Badges are kept at the House and will be provided to you when you check in for the concert, then returned to KCH staff when you depart. (Non Founders Club members may also purchase beer and wine, but must first purchase a $5/person day pass to do so.)
About the Founders Club
The KCH Board of Directors formally established the Founders Club and adopted guidelines for its operation. The Club holds an annual meeting each September, typically accompanied by a special Founders appreciation event. Club members elect a Chair and Vice Chair at the annual meeting. The KCH Board’s Secretary and Treasurer serve as the Club’s Secretary and Treasurer. We are deeply grateful for the loyal friends and generous supporters who make up the KCH Founders Club.
Make a Tribute Gift
Making a gift in honor or in memory of someone special is a meaningful way to celebrate that individual while simultaneously supporting Kerrytown Concert House. To do this, you can mail us a check and enclose a note indicating your tribute. If you’d like us to inform that person or someone else of the gift, please provide their address or email. You can make out your check to “Kerrytown Concert House” and mail it to: Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Alternatively, if you donate via our website, there will be fields for you to indicate the tribute information.
Join our “Friends of Jazz” Group
The Don Chisholm Friends of Jazz at Kerrytown Concert House is a membership group dedicated to supporting jazz programming at KCH. The original purpose of this group was to provide a platform for jazz in Ann Arbor when all of the local venues folded. In the 1990’s and early 2000’s, there were two prominent jazz clubs in Ann Arbor: The Bird of Paradise and The Firefly Club. Although there was an appetite for jazz performances in town, neither business was able to stay afloat. With the closures of these venues, there was a significant void of jazz in Arbor. Jazz fans Dallas Dort, John Lilley, and others, alongside musicians Ellen Rowe, Paul Keller, and Pete Siers, collaborated with KCH Founder and then Artistic Director Deanna Relyea to bring more jazz programming to Kerrytown Concert House. It was during this time that a jazz membership group was established at the House, named in honor of Don Chisholm, an Ann Arbor icon and major supporter of local jazz artists. As of 2026, the Don Chisholm Friends of Jazz at Kerrtytown Concert House is 30 members strong and continues to provide critical financial support for our jazz programming. Many of the original members are still active members of the group.
Membership in the Friends of Hazz is conferred at two annual giving levels: $500 (“Friends of Jazz Circle”) and $1,000 (“Chisholm Circle”).
If you would like to join our Friends of Jazz group, you can click the link below which will take you to the Donations page of our website. Simply walk through the steps to make an online donation and in the “Designation” drop-down menu please select “Don Chisholm Friends of Jazz”, and in the Amount field select either the $500 or $1,000 Friends of Jazz option.
Donate to The Sharon & Dallas Dort Fund for Kerrytown Concert House
If you’re interested in supporting the long-term vitality of KCH, you might consider donating to The Sharon & Dallas Dort Fund for Kerrytown Concert House. Established by loyal KCH supporters at the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, this fund serves as KCH’s de facto endowment. A gift of appreciated assets allows you to avoid capital gains tax while securing a tax deduction.
Learn more about the Sharon & Dallas Dort Fund for Kerrytown Concert House
Make a Planned Gift
You can benefit Kerrytown Concert House during your lifetime via a number of strategic giving options, and/or you can benefit KCH after your death with a legacy gift in your estate plan. By combining your desire to make a difference through charitable giving with careful financial and estate planning you may be able to:
- Make a substantial impact – perhaps greater or sooner than you dreamed possible
- Receive regular lifetime income
- Realize immediate tax savings
- Reduce potential tax burdens for your heirs
Individuals who’ve made planned gifts to the organization and informed us of their gifts are recognized as members of our planned giving society, called The Counterpoint Collective at Kerrytown Concert House. You are welcome to download or print a copy of our planned giving brochure:
Download our Planned Giving Guide
If you would like some sample language that you can use in your estate plan, click here for various options:
Sample Language to Include in Your Will or Trust
Here are the most common ways to leave a gift though your will or trust, with with sample language for naming Kerrytown Concert House as a beneficiary. You may also change your beneficiaries at any time, should your circumstances change.
Residual Bequest
This is a very popular choice for charitable bequests because it ensures that loved ones receive their distribution before any distribution to charity:
“I devise the residue of my estate, after the satisfaction of all specific bequests and the payment of all taxes and other costs attending my death, to Kerrytown Concert House, a not-for profit corporation, Tax ID# 38-2542823, with principal offices currently located at 415 N. 4th Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48104.”
General/Fixed Dollar Bequest
A stated sum of money, usually cash, to a beneficiary.
“I bequeath the sum of $____ dollars to Kerrytown Concert House, a not-for-profit corporation, Tax ID# 38-2542823, with principal offices currently located at 415 N. 4th Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48104.”
Percentage Bequest
Enables your bequests to grow as your assets grow.
“I bequeath to Kerrytown Concert House, a not-for-profit corporation, Tax ID# 38-2542823, with principal offices currently located at 415 N. 4th Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 an amount equal to ______ percent of the net value of my estate as finally determined for federal estate tax purposes.”
Contingent Bequest
Assumes you want to leave your entire estate to family and friends. However, in the event that you outlive any of your beneficiaries, it provides an opportunity to designate Kerrytown Concert House to receive that portion of the estate.
“In the event that (name of the beneficiary) does not survive me, I designate Kerrytown Concert House, a not-for-profit corporation, Tax ID# 38-2542823, with principal offices currently located at 415 N. 4th Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 as the devisee of this bequest of (see above for language specific to different types of bequests.)”
Disclaimer
The information on this page is intended to assist you in your charitable planning. It is not legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Please consult with your attorney or other advisor for professional advice and to discuss how this information can benefit you as your consider your financial and philanthropic goals.
For more information about your planned or estate gift, please contact us at
kch@kerrytownconcerthouse.com
or (734) 769-2999.
If you have questions about supporting Kerrytown Concert House via any of the options outlined above, please reach out to our Development Manager, Nia Spongberg. She would be happy to answer your questions.
Nia Spongberg
(734) 769-2999 ext. 2.
nia@kerrytownconcerthouse.com