The live animal exhibit trail and all hiking trails are open on Saturdays and Sundays only, through November 30.
Children laying on dock looking down at water at Upper Pond

Nearer to Nature Annual Fund

Give Online

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Join me and many other members and volunteers by contributing to the Nearer to Nature Annual Fund.

Your generous support will ensure that visitors of all ages and backgrounds have the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of ecology and a lifelong respect and appreciation for the natural world leading to active environmental stewardship.

Here are a few examples of what the Nearer to Nature Annual Fund achieves in a year:

  • Teaches ecology and improves environmental literacy to almost 13,000 students
  • Brings over 65,000 people nearer to nature
  • Ensures over 7,300 pounds of food are prepared for our animals
  • Raises awareness about Squam Lakes’ fragile ecosystem and inhabitants including Loons and Bald Eagles, with over 8,200 visitors enjoying Squam Lake Cruises
  • Nurtures the next generation of environmental stewards at Blue Heron School, our nature-based Montessori early learning center

Please consider making a gift to the Nearer to Nature Annual Fund to help ensure that we can continue to enrich your life, the lives of our visitors and their families, and our animals.

With sincere thanks and appreciation,
Iain MacLeod, Executive Director

Mail checks to PO Box 173, Holderness, NH 03245 OR

Give Online

Fill out my online form.

For more information about Annual Fund Gifts please contact Rachel Saliba, Development Director at 603-968-7194 x 126 or

Make a stock gift

The policy of Squam Lakes Natural Science Center is to immediately sell any donated securities. Please inform us if you wish to allocate your gift to a specific fund or purpose. Otherwise it will be used for the Annual Fund to support ongoing operations and programs.

Please send information regarding gifts of securities to our account at Wells Fargo Advisors.
Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name for Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC.

Wells Fargo Advisors, Dennis Lynch
900 Elm Street, Suite 700
Manchester, NH 03101

Phone: 800-654-3031; 603-625-6500
Fax: 603-624-8719

SLNSC Account # 5883-0503
DTC # 0141
SLNSC Tax ID # 02-0271824

Make a gift from your IRA

If you are 70 1/2 or older, an IRA charitable rollover is a way you can help continue the Science Center’s work. You can make a gift to the Science Center directly from your IRA without having to pay federal income taxes on the money.

The IRA Charitable Transfer allows individuals age 70 1/2 and older to make direct transfers totaling up to $100,000 per year to 501(c)(3) charities, without having to count the transfers as income for federal income tax purposes. No charitable deduction may be taken, but distributions will qualify for all or part of the IRA owners required minimum distributions.

Transfers must come from your IRA directly to charity. If you have retirement assets in a 401k, 403b or other plans, you must first roll those funds into an IRA, and then you can direct the IRA administrator to transfer the funds from the IRA directly to Squam Lakes Natural Science Center.

Every individual who is the owner of a traditional IRA account, such as your spouse, may use the IRA Charitable Transfer for up to $100,000 each year.

Please make sure your plan administrator knows your gift must be sent prior to December 31 to qualify as an IRA Charitable Transfer. Check with your plan administrator to find out how to best execute the transfer. Please contact us when you direct the transfer so we can watch for the check from your IRA administrator.

It is helpful to include information and instructions to your IRA administrator:

  • Your name, phone, address, and email address.
  • Ask for a qualified charitable contribution from your Individual Retirement Account Number: [insert account number] as provided by the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2015 and Sec. 408(d)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
  • Issue a check in the amount of $________ payable to Squam Lakes Natural Science Center at the following address:
    Squam Lakes Natural Science Center
    PO Box 173
    23 Science Center Road
    Holderness, NH 03245
    TAX ID: 02-0271824
  • Ask them to inform the Science Center of your name and address as the donor and any other relevant information.

Share this information with your attorney or financial advisor to determine whether this gift plan is right for you. This information is general and does not consider your specific situation or other factors that may be important in making tax and investment decisions. This information is not meant as tax or legal advice.

Make a gift from your Donor Advised Fund

There is more than one way you can support the Science Center’s mission through your donor advised fund.

  • Recommend an outright gift to the Science Center through your donor advised fund by contacting your fund administrator to request a distribution or initiate a grant online from your administrator’s website.
  • Set up recurring grants to help sustain the Science Center’s work. Contact your fund administrator to arrange recurring grants or plan them online at your administrator’s website. You may choose how often the automated grants occur.

Or use the DAF Direct widget below to make a recommendation from your DAF to the Science Center.

Please include your name and address as the donor so we may thank you. For direct and recurring gifts, ask your fund administrator to make checks payable to Squam Lakes Natural Science Center (SLNSC) and mail to:

Squam Lakes Natural Science Center
PO Box 173
23 Science Center Road
Holderness, NH 03245
Federal Tax Id: 02-0271824

You can help to continue the work of the Science Center after your lifetime by naming the Science Center as the beneficiary of your donor advised fund to receive all or a portion of the fund value upon the termination of the fund. Contact your fund administrator or download the beneficiary form to arrange the gift.

If you include the Science Center in your estate plans, please let us know so we can thank you for your generosity. You should use our legal name, Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, Inc. and Federal Tax Id 02-0271824.

Share this information with your attorney or financial advisor to determine whether this gift plan is right for you. This information is general and does not consider your specific situation or other factors that may be important in making tax and investment decisions. This information is not meant as tax or legal advice.

Make a wire transfer

Please contact Rachel Saliba, Development Director, at 603-968-7194 x 126 or for wire transfer instructions.

Honor someone with a tribute gift

Create a lasting memory to honor or remember a person or celebrate a special occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary. Honor someone with a Tribute Gift

Our Impact

Squam Lakes Natural Science Center is a non-profit organization with a mission to advance understanding of ecology by exploring New Hampshire’s natural world. As a non-profit, we depend on support from our members and people like you. By making a 100% tax-deductible donation to our Nearer to Nature Fund, you’re furthering our mission and helping introduce more people to the transformative power of the natural world.

The IRS and the State of New Hampshire recognize Squam Lakes Natural Science Center as a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. Our federal tax identification number is 02-0271824. Unrestricted contributions are tax deductible to the extent the law allows. Donors to the Annual Fund may be listed in the Annual Report or online unless requested otherwise.

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