Donations

Before launching into all the ways available for you to support the Margaret Austin Center, let us first honor you for your presence at the Center as you lead or attend retreats and as you allow us to be part of your life and your spiritual growth. Your presence blesses the Center, and for that we are thankful.

We hope you will recognize that in Margaret’s Farm we have preserved a precious Texas resource for this and future generations. Beautiful retreat centers have been built the world over by those who give in order to give back to the universe a portion of the bounty they have received. May your generosity contribute to the happiness of all beings everywhere.

If you are moved to support the Margaret Austin Center financially – thank you! Please read the information provided below as it is intended – to give you all the options we could find, so that you can choose the method that works best for you and your family.


Networkforgood.org
Donate Now!
Networkforgood.org is a non-profit website that makes it easier and more convenient than ever for people to learn more about the causes they care about and to take action to help. The Margaret Austin Center can be found at this site, along with other charities you support.

Annual Gifts
We invite you to consider making the Margaret Austin Center one of the charities to which you lend support each year. We send out annual appeal letters each fall to encourage you to remember us as you prepare your taxes. Our annual appeal makes many things possible here at the Center, so thank you in advance for responding!

Randalls and Tom Thumb Good Neighbor Program
The Good Neighbor Program allows customers of Randalls, Tom Thumb, and Safeway stores to make a contribution to the their favorite charity (like the Margaret Austin Center) simply by designating that charity as a recipient on their shopping card. Randalls/Tom Thumb/Safeway then sends the charity a percentage of the cost of your groceries as a community service. To participate, either go to the customer service desk at any Randalls/Tom Thumb/Safeway store to fill out their form, or call the Center and we will send you a form. You must fill out the form and submit it directly to the store. When completing the Randalls/Tom Thumb/Safeway form, you will need our number, which is #3162.

Kroger Shopping Card
To connect Margaret Austin Center as your designated charity on your Kroger Card, please download the Margaret Austin Kroger letter and present to the cashier at checkout. Download pdf letter (81 KB)


Volunteer your time
Many volunteer opportunities are available. Please see our Volunteer Page for current listing of needs.

General Information
Taxpayers who itemize can qualify for the federal income tax charitable deduction by making gifts to the Margaret Austin Center. Maximum limits for such deductions may apply, depending on the type and size of the gift and the total of a donor’s gifts to charitable organizations during any one year. Gifts to the Margaret Austin Center may also qualify for favorable treatment in connection with capital gains, estate, and inheritance taxes. These advantages will depend on the circumstances of the gift.

The importance of working with professionals in estate planning and making a will or establishing a trust cannot be overemphasized. Whenever desired, counsel for the Center will consult with you and your attorney, or other adviser, in order to ensure that your gift arrangement carries out your specific wishes. All communications will be held confidential unless you wish us to disclose information regarding your gift to the Margaret Austin Center.

Bequests
Making the Margaret Austin Center a beneficiary of your will is a very simple and uncomplicated way to help provide for the future excellence of the Center. Depending on your tax bracket, it may help lower your estate taxes as well. Please consult your attorney to see how this type of gift can help you in planning your estate.

Codicil To Will for Download

The Margaret Austin Center has established an endowment. The seed was planted with an anonymous gift of appreciated stock in the amount of $5,000. to an account set in the name of the Margaret Austin Center with Charles Schwab. It is to be managed by the board as a permanent fund. It is envisioned that it will grow to help sustain and secure the Center rather than be used for ongoing operations.

To facilitate participation in the endowment, either name the Margaret Austin Center in your Will or fill out the following codicil that can act as an amendment to an existing Will. Simply complete it, have it witnessed, and notarized, and forward a copy to either John Eldridge % Haynes and Boone attorneys or to the Center in Chappell Hill, 6650 Trackside Rd., Chappell Hill, TX 77426.

Please call either John M. Howard, Jr. or John Eldridge at 800-836-4757 with any questions or informational needs that you might have.

Outright Gifts

The value of an outright gift immediately benefits the Center. Outright gifts include:

  • Cash
  • Securities
  • Property
  • Tangible Personal Property
  • Corporate Gifts
  • Corporate Matching Gifts
  • Gifts-in-kind


Life Income Gifts
This group of planned gift options allow you to make a substantial gift to the Center, while still retaining income. Please consult your attorney to see if any of these planned gift options would be of benefit to you in planning your estate. Life income gifts include:

  • Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts
  • Charitable Remainder Unitrusts
  • Charitable Remainder Trusts
  • Pooled Income Funds
  • Charitable Gift Annuities
  • Charitable Lead Trusts
  • Living Trusts
  • Retirement Plan Proceeds
  • Life Insurance
  • Real Property Subject to a Life Estate


Please consult your accountant or attorney to determine the best vehicle for your Gifts

The Dhana Basket By Hilde Tipton, Former Resident Manager

The first time I attended a retreat at the Margaret Austin Center, I was amazed and a little offended when I was asked to make a donation to the Center in addition to what I had already paid. The retreat I attended was not inexpensive! I had paid what they asked for room and board. I brought my own bedding. I washed my own dishes. And now they wanted more money?!? For those who may find themselves in a similar state of astonished confusion, let me share what I have learned.

The Margaret Austin Center was established with very little money, a substantial mortgage, and a lot of goodwill. In the first years of the Center, volunteers organized retreats, built buildings, cooked meals, maintained the grounds, and gave money when they could. They shared a common vision: making available this place of peace and beauty to everyone, regardless of spiritual orientation or philosophy, at as modest a price as possible, and by so doing, honoring the memory of Margaret Austin who had shared her home so hospitably during her life.

Many of those founding friends were practicing Buddhists. In the Buddhist tradition, the priceless teachings of the Buddha have always been offered for free. Those who hear the teachings make gifts to the teacher in proportion to their ability to give and in proportion to the value they receive from the teachings. The gifts are called “Dhana” (also spelled “dana”). So originated our custom of asking retreatants for a freewill offering. By making a gift to the Center, you join us in making it possible for all who pursue a personal spiritual path to find a welcome here.

Over the years the vision blossomed and the Center grew. We added a second dorm, an office, a computer, a paid manager, part time office staff, and part time cleaning staff. The fees charged by the Center remain low. They pay for the day to day operations of the Center, but provide little margin for big expenses that inevitably occur: a new AC unit, a new coat of paint, comprehensive termite treatment…the list is quite long, and not particularly glamorous. We don’t yet have an endowment fund and we aren’t supported by a large parent organization to bankroll our needs. We are sustained, as we have always been, by those who volunteer their time and talent and by those who share with us their hard-earned money, ensuring that this place of sanctuary remains available to all. In other words, you are our endowment.

And so we ask you to share in proportion to what your experience here has meant to you, by leaving cash or checks made out to Margaret Austin Center in the Dhana baskets usually found in the dining hall, the dorms, and the Teachers’ Quarters. Your gift is fully tax deductible and if you leave us your name and address we will send you a receipt. Your gift sustains the Margaret Austin Center so that you and others like you will continue to enjoy this sanctuary for the spirit. Thank you for your generosity. Margaret would be so pleased!

Please Contact Us for further information