2017-12-13 Landmark Alerts

Holiday giving and gift ideas

The holidays are a time of giving–giving to your loved ones and giving back to your community. This holiday season, we offer you a number of ways to do both–or to treat yourself (we won’t tell!). Check out the options below…

Landmark Society Holiday Package

It requires no dusting or storage, has no calories, and is always the right size and color. A one-year membership plus 2 tickets to the House & Garden Tour, June 9 and 10, 2018. All for only $60 (an $89 value!). This is a limited time offer and must be ordered by December 15. >>Take advantage of this offer on our website or by calling 585.546.7029 x16.

Support the 80th Anniversary Campaign

As The Landmark Society celebrates 80 years of serving and preserving western New York’s irreplaceable historic places, we are also embarking on our 80th Anniversary Capital Campaign to help us continue to serve our communities.The three areas of focus will enable us to continue providing Preservation Grants–the first step in making positive improvements to at-risk historic places; maintenance and improvement of our own historic properties; and funds for the many mission-driven services that we provide free of charge. You can give back to your community by donating to the Campaign. For that special someone who already has everything, you can also consider a gift in honor of someone else. >>Visit our website to make your contribution to the 80th Campaign.

Give the Gift of Stock

 You can also support our work and the 80th Anniversary Campaign with a donation of stock. Gifts of stock are a smart way to help support our mission while also receiving great tax benefits. As long as you have held the stock for more than twelve months you can deduct its full fair-market value at the time of your gift, regardless of how much you paid for it. You also have the chance to reduce or completely eliminate your capital gains taxes. Many companies have matching fund benefits for employees. If an employee is in this category, he or she should use their allotment before year-end. The Landmark Society accepts gifts of stocks or securities and sells them upon receipt. The revenue is treated like cash donations. >>Contact Director of Finance, Andrew Lambrix, for details.

Purchase a Park Ave. t-shirt and support a good cause

Several Park Avenue neighborhood groups and The Landmark Society have teamed up to raise funds to create a Park Avenue Historic District listing in the National Register of Historic Places. To date, we’ve raised $25,000 in grant funds. We’re asking you to help us get the rest of the way. One way you can support the project is by purchasing a custom-designed “Park Ave. is Porches” t-shirt, between now and January 2nd. By purchasing a t-shirt, you’ll not only be showing your city and neighborhood pride, you’ll also help neighbors maintain the character of this historic neighborhood.

3 color options available. Soft, high quality Next Level brand t-shirts, with graphics custom-designed by local artist, Virginia McDonald (check out her work on Instagram @veebabay)

>>Click here to make your purchase.

(You can learn more about the Park Avenue historic district project at: www.landmarksociety.org/parkave)

Give the gift of travel

Treat yourself or a loved one to a trip to one of America’s most enchanting historic cities. This is your last chance to join our five night/six day adventure–registration closes December 18th! What better time to go than when our partners at the Historic Savannah Foundation are holding their annual Savannah Tour of Homes and Gardens! We’ll also tap into their years of experience to show you the Savannah that tourists don’t always get to see – those hidden treasures that only the locals know. Not to worry: we won’t miss Bonaventure Cemetery from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil or the iconic fountain at Forsyth Park. But we’ll also get on the campus of Savannah College of Art & Design, where our colleagues in the Preservation Design Program will introduce us to the preservationists of the future. >>Visit our website for complete details.

Federal Historic Tax Credit update from the Preservation League of NYS

On December 2nd, the U.S. Senate passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by a narrow margin of 51-49. Unlike the House version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, H.R. 1, which would eliminate the 20% Federal Historic Tax Credit, the Senate version retains the 20% credit.

According to National Park Service data, during the 2016 fiscal year New York State led the nation in investment incentivized by the federal Historic Tax Credit, with over $831 million in that year alone. In 2016, the Historic Tax Credit created almost 14,000 jobs in New York State, where we again led the country in Historic Tax Credit job creation. Projects completed as part of the Historic Tax Credit program also generated over $242 million in local, state, and federal taxes. These investments reflect projects in every corner of our state.

What can you do?

Senators Schumer and Gillibrand have consistently supported the federal Historic Tax Credit. Please contact their offices using the links in this post and thank them for their appreciation of the Historic Tax Credit’s importance to New York State.

In New York’s Congressional Delegation, Democratic Representatives and their Republican colleagues John KatkoElise StefanikDan Donovan, and John Faso have voiced their support for the Historic Tax Credit. If you live in one of their districts, please thank them for their support and ask them to continue supporting the Senate’s proposal to retain Historic Tax Credit spread over 5 years. Despite the loss of credit value when taken over time, this is a win for preservation.

Upstate House Representatives Chris Collins and Claudia Tenney have not joined sign-on letters to support the Historic Tax Credit. If you live in one of those districts, please contact them to urge them to support the Senate’s proposal to retain Historic Tax Credit spread over 5 years. Despite the loss of credit value when taken over time, this is a win for preservation.

Southern Tier House Representative Tom Reed is on the Ways and Means Committee so has refrained from joining sign-on letters. He was quoted in the Buffalo News as supporting inclusion of the Historic Tax Credit (http://buffalonews.com/2017/12/05/wny-voices-left-off-tax-reform-conference-committee/). If you live in his district please thank him for supporting including the Historic Tax Credit in bill reconciliation and make sure to note that we hope the Senate’s proposal for the 20% phased over five years is what is included. This came from an amendment, as the original Senate bill had the tax credit reduced to 10%.