Making a Donation to Support the Planetarium

Below there are several ways to support the planetarium, but we currently also have a way for you to support students who are traveling to present their Astronomy research results at the American Astronomical Society conference in January. Four James Madison Memorial High School Students and Geoff Holt will be traveling. NASA will be paying for Mr. Holt and two of the students, but funds need to be raised to pay for the others.

You can mail a check, payable to Memorial Astronomy Student Travel, to: Geoff Holt, MMSD Planetarium, 201 S. Gammon Rd, Madison, WI, 53717. Or, you can donate via credit card by clicking on the graphic below:

Link to donate for student travel

There are many ways that you can support the MMSD Planetarium. Of course bringing groups to the planetarium and attending our public shows are two of the easiest ways! But you can also attend our fundraising events, join our Friends of the Planetarium organization, or make a tax-deductible donation to the planetarium through the Foundation for Madison's Public Schools. All money received through our fundraising events, "Friends" organization, and donations goes toward future upgrades to the planetarium.

Full Moon over Capital in MadisonCurrent Goals for Upgrades:

  1. New seats (actual planetarium seats, like theater seats with support for your head) DONE!
  2. Digital planetarium projector (greatly enhances our ability to simulate the view from anywhere on or OFF the Earth, and teach astronomical concepts) DONE!
  3. New carpet (DONE!) and wall coverings (aesthetic and acoustic upgrades) 
  4. New lighting system for the room

How to Donate to the Planetarium through the Foundation for Madison's Public Schools

Give a Gift Using a Check:

Simply send a check made out to FMPS to the address below with a letter stating that you are donating to our ABC Fund, the "MMSD Planetarium Fund."

Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools
101 Nob Hill Road, Suite 300
Madison, WI 53713
(608) 232-7820
fmps@fmps.org

Give a Gift Using a Credit Card:

  1. Go to the Foundation for Madison's Public Schools website at www.fmps.org.
    On the left side of the website is an option to DONATE in a red color.  Click on DONATE. 
    The fourth category of funds a person can make a gift to is “Give a gift to an ABC Fund.”  Click on the red CONTINUE under that paragraph. 
    At the top is a pull-down menu that says “My donation should be made to...”  Click on the menu and find the MMSD Planetarium Fund. 
    Complete the information requested on the FMPS website.  The “Comment” section can be used to write that the gift is in memory or honor of someone, or any other pertinent information about the gift.  When done, click on “Continue to PayPal.”
    If you have a PayPal account, you can use your account to make the donation.  If you do not have a PayPal account and do not wish to set one up, you can use the section titled “Don't have a PayPal account?” and click on “Continue.”  PayPal will then ask for address and credit card information to complete the gift.
    Go to the MMSD Planetarium Fund page on the FMPS web site.
  2. Enter the amount that you want to donate.
  3. Click on DONATE. 
  4. Fill out the form, including checking at the top if you want to send a check or pay with a credit card via PayPal (you don't need a PayPal account).
  5. Click Donate. 
  6. If you have a PayPal account, you can use your account to make the donation.  If you do not have a PayPal account and do not wish to set one up, you can use the section titled “Don't have a PayPal account?” and click on “Continue.”  PayPal will then ask for address and credit card information to complete the gift.

Our mission is to inspire and educate people of all ages in the areas of Astronomy, Space Science, and science in general. Thank you for helping us to work toward that goal!