ASAC Foundation

What is the ASAC Foundation?

Established in 1999, the ASAC Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that raises tax-deductible contributions in support of a wide range of arms and armor educational and literacy related activities designed to provide the general public with information and understanding on the history of arms and armor throughout all periods of human civilization.  Our activities are designed to educate the general public about all forms of firearms, edged weapons and armor in their historic, technological, and artistic context.

The Internal Revenue Service granted the ASAC Foundation tax-exempt status and classified the ASAC Foundation as a public charity – the most tax advantageous classification sought by donors who make tax-deductible gifts to public charity organizations.

What does the ASAC Foundation do?

The ASAC Foundation will provide funding and support to a number of activities designed to promote the study and recordation of the history and development of arms, armor and accoutrements.  The ASAC Foundation seeks to perform such tasks as:

  • Underwriting or guarantee of publication costs of manuscripts and treatises pertaining to the history of arms and armor.  Many of these books and papers are written about historically important but obscure topics that many times are impossible to justify for commercial publication, yet they provide a tremendous contribution to the body of knowledge and scholarship on an important topic.
  • Assisting in the semi-annual publication and distribution of the Bulletin of the American Society of Arms Collectors, which represents scholarly researched works by members of the American Society of Arms Collectors, and other scholars.
  • Assisting in the publication and distribution of photographic reproductions of significant items of antique arms and armor, as well as the distribution of such material to museums and libraries throughout the United States and foreign nations.
  • Underwriting or guarantee of costs and expenses directly attributable to the invitational visits to the United States of learned scholars and researchers in the field of antique arms and armor in connection with speeches, seminars and lectures, of an educational nature.
  • Underwriting or guarantee of the expenses and costs attributable to special exhibits for the general public of collections of antique arms and armor.
  • Underwriting or guarantee of the furtherance of development of museums and libraries in regard to the addition of collections of scientific and ancient documents pertaining to the history and development of arms and armor.

Why should you help the ASAC Foundation?

It is increasingly difficult for an educational institution or academic scholar to have the ability to study firearms, edged weapons, and armor.  Over the years many museums and institutions are no longer able to acquire and display such historic arms and armor.  Furthermore, the environment is becoming increasingly more difficult for public venues to facilitate the display and study of historic arms and armor.  Many records from centuries past have been destroyed or are no longer available to the public for research and study in the context of historical analysis.  The availability and affordability of acquiring a historic firearm or sword or similar arms and armor artifact is rapidly dissipating for individuals and institutions.

The ASAC Foundation seeks to support individuals and organizations that seek to further the study of historic firearms, edged weapons, and armor.  Through its grants and scholarship program, the ASAC Foundation provides essential funding to eligible participants, to ensure the ability to conduct and record research on historic arms and armor.  Such grants and scholarships lead to the publication of research and analysis on a variety of topics designed to develop, expand and enhance the public’s understanding of historic arms and armor.

As an advanced collector of antique arms and armor you are exactly the type of like-minded person needed to help the ASAC Foundation achieve its goals, the same goals that led you to become an active member of the American Society of Arms Collectors.

How can you help the ASAC Foundation?

You can help the ASAC Foundation achieve its goals through your financial generosity and by volunteering your time to help the ASAC Foundation perpetuate the study of arms and armor.  There are a number of ways you can financially contribute to the ASAC Foundation.

Who do you contact to discuss a gift?

For more information on how you can help the ASAC Foundation through a contribution or by means of gift from your estate, please contact Craig D. Bell, President, ASAC Foundation, by telephone at (804) 775-1179 or by mail at the following address:

The ASAC Foundation
c/o Craig D. Bell
McGuireWoods LLP
Gateway Plaza
800 East Canal Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219

The easiest way is to send a check to:

The ASAC Foundation
P. O. Box 460
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

The ASAC Foundation will provide you with a written acknowledgment of your donation you may rely upon when you prepare your tax return.

It is simple to make a charitable contribution in the form of individual stocks, bonds or mutual funds.

The ASAC Foundation offers you the opportunity to make a gift as part of your estate plan through a bequest in your Last Will and Testament or through some of the more advanced estate planning techniques by means of a trust, life insurance, retirement accounts and annuities.  The ASAC Foundation will work with your estate planning attorney to assist you in determining what type of gift will work best for you and to achieve your charitable giving goals.  Planned giving enables both you and the ASAC Foundation to benefit in a tax favorable or tax-advantaged manner while supporting an important cause you believe in.  This form of giving generally involves much planning by you and your lawyer to maximize your estate plan goals. The ASAC Foundation has access to tax lawyers who will work with you and your attorney in this regard.

A gift of a firearm, sword, armor, part or all of an arms and armor collection, to the ASAC Foundation will also help support the mission and purposes of the ASAC Foundation while providing you a tax-deduction for the value of the property.  The ASAC Foundation can help preserve your collection by working with a non-profit museum, or by generating income for the ASAC Foundation by their sale.