Why I Give

Ways to Give

> Gifts of Cash

Gifts of cash enable funds to be made available for immediate use by NECC and are fully tax deductible. To make your gift, simply complete and return the enclosed envelope with your check made payable to NECC Foundation, Inc. or give online at www.necc.mass.edu/giving.

> Securities

Gifts of appreciated securities offer significant tax advantages to the donor. Please call Institutional Advancement for further information and instructions for their transfer.

> Matching Gifts

Many companies match contributions made by a current or retired employee or spouse. Contact your Human Resources Department if your employer has such a program and, if so, obtain the proper forms and forward them to Institutional Advancement.

> Life Income Gifts

You may make a charitable contribution to NECC and also receive income for life while obtaining significant tax advantages.

> Bequests

Any asset may be transferred to NECC by bequest. The gift may be made under your will, through a trust, or by designating NECC as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy or retirement plan.

> Gifts of Real Estate

You may make gifts of real estate and gifts of future interests in real estate and obtain tax savings.

NECC’s Institutional Advancement Office can provide you with additional information about the many ways of giving to NECC. Call or email Jean Poth, vice president of institutional advancement; executive director, NECC Foundation, Inc. at 978-556-3624 or jpoth@necc.mass.edu.

From Top Notch Stage to Boston’s Huntington Avenue Theater

Three years ago, Kiara Pichardo of Lawrence was performing on the stage of NECC’s Top Notch Theater. Last spring, she had a role in Top Girls at Boston’s acclaimed Huntington Avenue Theater.

Written by Carly Churchill in 1982, Top Girls explores what it means to be a successful woman. The Huntington Avenue performance was directed by Liesl Tommy, an award-winning stage director, who Pichardo calls “amazing” and “down to earth.”

The only non-equity actor in the cast of seven women, Pichardo landed the role after three auditions. She played the waiter, Kitty, and Shona, all with a British accent, which she first experimented with on stage at Northern Essex in the 2013 performance of The Beaux Stratagem

While at Northern Essex, she also performed in How the Other Half Loves, Real Women Have Curves, and Front

Pichardo received a Liberal Arts Degree: Theater Option from Northern Essex in 2015, graduating with honors. She later transferred to Fitchburg State University, where she received, in 2017, a bachelor’s degree in communication media with a concentration in theater.