Philanthropy

Generosity for a new generation of possibilities

Giving opportunities that honor Charlotte’s elders.

A generous spirit, expressed in diverse ways enriches many lives. Beyond the stunning outer beauty of Aldersgate lives the rich inner beauty of a big-hearted culture.

By giving generously to Aldersgate, you join a proud legacy that has been flourishing for more than 70 years. Your gift supports the Aldersgate mission: We honor elders and are committed to creating and fostering diverse, caring communities where everyone has a voice and value.

The Horizon Fund gives Aldersgate maximum adaptability in addressing the most urgent needs of our residents, campus and team. By giving to the Horizon Fund, your gift directly ensures the ongoing development of our community.

The Guardian Angel fund supports residents who experience financial hardship through no fault of their own. This assistance serves those residents who have outlived their resources.

The Legacy Fund helps sustain and strengthen Aldersgate through endowments and gifts from an estate. It allows us to serve our community today and for generations to come.

Thank you for your interest and your contribution. We are deeply grateful for your belief in us and your faithful support.

“Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.”

—Booker T. Washington

“It is the heart that does the giving; the fingers only let go.”

—Nigerian Proverb

Funds you can support

The Guardian Angel Fund - Aldersgate Life Plan Community

The Resident Assistance Fund

A soft landing for life’s unexpected turns.

Contributing to this fund allows you to support our residents who experience financial hardship through no fault of their own. This crucial financial assistance serves those who may outlive their resources and allows them to live with peace of mind and dignity. You can contribute to this vital program in several ways. Donations can be set up monthly and made year-round. We also ask you to consider a gift above and beyond for our Mother’s Day offering and through the Angel Tree offering during Christmas and the holidays. It is simple to set up an automatic donation online. Please click the “DONATE” button below or call our office for personal assistance, at (704) 532-7157.

“When I moved to Aldersgate, I had plenty of money to continue to pay my way throughout my life. However, my husband was diagnosed with a catastrophic illness that took a toll on our finances. He has since passed, and I was left with very few funds. I am so thankful that I chose Aldersgate. Aldersgate Resident Assistance Fund was my safety net.”
—Aldersgate resident and Resident Assistance Fund recipient

“I give to the Aldersgate Resident Assistance Fund because my philosophy is ‘There but for the grace of God go I,’ which to me means, do unto others as you would have done unto you. My Aldersgate neighbors are my family, and I love the idea of giving what I can to support this fund.”
—Donor to Resident Assistance Fund recipient

Beautification Fund - A Non-profit Life Plan Community

Community Beautification Fund

For those who like something tangible, please consider donating to our Community Beautification Fund. Sponsor a shrub in our rose garden or a bench to honor a loved one’s memory while adding more beauty to our scenic campus.

OMA

Opening Minds through Art (OMA)

Opening Minds through Art (OMA) is an award-winning, evidence-based, intergenerational art-making project for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of neurocognitive disorders.

Aldersgate is the only retirement living community in North Carolina to offer this unique, ground-breaking project to its elders. Through OMA, elders express themselves, despite their diagnosis of dementia. The projects are intentionally structured to promote the social engagement, autonomy and dignity of the artists with dementia.

The OMA art-making process involves carefully structured steps aimed at maximizing the possibility of creative expression. Elder artists are provided with manageable choices and failure-free activities that allow them to become active agents in their own creative process. Each artist is paired with a volunteer in six, one-on-one art-making sessions. The relationship-building between the elder artist and the volunteer is a win-win for all parties—elders with dementia have a no-risk environment for creative expression and volunteers can build meaningful relationships.

Horizon Fund - A Non-profit Life Plan Community

The Horizon Fund

Funding targeted at the greatest, most urgent needs at Aldersgate.

The Horizon Fund gives us maximum adaptability in addressing the most urgent needs of our residents, campus and team. By giving to the Horizon Fund, your gift directly ensures the ongoing development of our community by further putting our mission into action.

The Horizon Fund provides financial support for a wide range of projects that improve the quality of life for our residents. These can include new wellness or life enrichment programs, special campus wide events, beautification projects or support for new or existing amenities.

For example, during COVID-19, the Horizon Fund became vital in helping us manage the many unforeseen issues brought about by the pandemic. It was used in part to stock our Aldersgate Food Pantry to address food insecurity for team member families hardest hit by the pandemic.

It also helped us create the Learning Support Pod, ensuring that Aldersgate team members wouldn’t have to choose between childcare and online schooling or their jobs. This helped us retain experienced team members and avoid workforce shortages, which could have impacted our residents or quality of service.

Aldersgate is thoughtfully growing and always seeking to improve the lives of the elders we serve. The Horizon Fund assists us in that mission by looking ahead to what is next while giving us greater peace of mind for whatever surprises the future holds.

Legacy Fund - A Non-profit Life Plan Community

The Legacy Fund

Leave a lasting legacy at Aldersgate.

Legacy gifts help sustain and strengthen Aldersgate’s ability to serve our community today and for generations to come.

Gifts to the Legacy Fund at Aldersgate can be made through estate planning, retirement and IRA accounts, trusts, stock, insurance, real estate, endowment giving or a portion of the refundable Aldersgate entrance fee.

Whether you put your donation to work today or after your lifetime, you are making a meaningful investment and creating a lasting impact on the lives of elders, families and the community.

Begin your legacy at Aldersgate.

The Legacy Fund is essential to Aldersgate’s long-term planning by creating a predictable source of funding to address present and future needs. Donors who make planned gifts are inducted into our Legacy Society and honored at our annual luncheon.

Whether you’re giving back to Aldersgate because we had a profound impact in your life or in the life of an elder you know, your legacy gift will continue to nurture generations to come.

As you consider giving your support and leave a lasting legacy, we’d love to connect with you and begin the conversation about ways you can build your legacy with Aldersgate. Please contact Brooks Shelley, Chief Mission Advancement Officer at (704) 532-7157.

FreeWill.com

FreeWill - Aldersgate Life Plan Community

Need a will or want to update the one you have? FreeWill.com makes it easy.

A will is the best way to take care of the people and the causes you care about. We have partnered with our friends at FreeWill.com to give you an easy way to write a new or updated will today. FreeWill is free to use, and you can come back and make updates at any time. The service is free whether or not you choose to include a gift to Aldersgate. If you prefer to work with an attorney, you can use FreeWill to organize your thoughts, saving you time at the lawyer’s office.

Supporting team members in times of need

During 2020, we responded to the unexpected with vital programs and assistance for our team members.

Aldersgate Food Pantry provides food security.

The unemployment caused by COVID-19 adversely affected many of our team members and their families. To address that need, we created a food pantry stocked with free groceries that are highly nutritious, culturally inclusive and of ample variety. We will continue the food pantry for the foreseeable future.

The Hero Fund provided financial support.

In 2020, we created the Hero Fund as a temporary measure to help our team members who experienced financial setbacks due to the pandemic. We matched contributions from our residents and outside sources dollar-for-dollar. Aldersgate raised $131,000, all of which was given directly to team members.

Learning Support Pod assisted with online education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When school closures forced students online, many Aldersgate team members’ work schedules were affected. Not only did parents need to pay for childcare, they also required assistance with online learning for their kids. We created the Learning Support Pod to provide a stable learning environment where four Education Support Specialists assisted K-8 students. Our culinary team prepared nutritious breakfasts and lunches each day. Besides helping preserve financial earnings, team members could work and support our residents with the peace of mind of knowing their children were in good hands.

Your gifts allow us to be adaptable to meet resident and staff needs with the highest quality of response.

LEARN MORE
Facebook.com/AldersgateSeniorLivingCommunity
(704) 532-5333
Giving@AldersgateLiving.org

Easy online contribution from your IRA

Aldersgate friends and community members who are 70.5 or older are eligible to make tax-free donations from their IRAs, regardless of whether they itemize deductions on their tax returns. We have a new online tool that will help you cut through the red tape and make a tax-free donation directly from your IRA.

Access the online IRA tool today.

Generosity to fuel a new generation of possibilities

Everything we do, no matter how big or small, creates an effect. Your generosity impacts residents and team members at the local level and the national level. Aldersgate leads and redefines what is possible for the senior living industry at large in community engagement, social justice, diversity, inclusion, and equity.

Got Questions

Email philanthropy@aldersgateccrc.com to make a donation.