{"id":4206,"date":"2014-11-28T06:23:22","date_gmt":"2014-11-28T10:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=4206"},"modified":"2014-11-28T06:24:28","modified_gmt":"2014-11-28T10:24:28","slug":"the-new-york-times-getting-a-senior-discount-heres-how-to-give-it-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=4206","title":{"rendered":"The New York Times: Getting a Senior Discount? Here\u2019s How to Give It Away"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"the-new-york-times<\/a>THREE dollars can go a long way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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Moviegoers 65 and older who bought tickets at the Bainbridge Cinemas or the Bainbridge Performing Arts center in Bainbridge Island, Wash., could pay full price for their ticket and have the $3 senior discount redirected to a local charity that provides child care to low-income families.<\/p>\n

The program, called the Boomerang Giving project, raised $630 in a two-month trial this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a good start,\u201d said David S. Harrison, who co-founded the group with his wife, Cindy, and five friends. Last week, the concept went national with the nonprofit\u2019s official start, and a number of organizations are already working on Boomerang Giving projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think the idea of providing baby boomers and older Americans the chance to \u2018give back\u2019 through donating discounts will become commonplace,\u201d said Mr. Harrison, 66, former director of the Nancy Bell Evans Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy<\/a> at the University of Washington\u2019s Evans School of Public Affairs.<\/p>\n

The intent of the charity is to encourage older people in a financial position to forgo discounts they receive on public transportation, movies, restaurants and other outlets to invest in their community by donating, or redirecting, some or all of the savings to charities of their choice. \u201cMany seniors do need their discounts, but not all do,\u201d said Mr. Harrison. \u201cWhy not let someone else benefit from that \u2018found\u2019 money?\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, the Boomerang Giving website<\/a> allows consumers to track how much they save from their discounts over the course of a month or so. Then, they can select a nonprofit organization from the GuideStar<\/a> database on the site and make a donation via the charity\u2019s partner, Network for Good<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Boomerang Giving<\/a> is one of myriad ways charitable giving is getting up a head of steam. Charitable giving has rebounded in recent years, according to the 2014 Giving USA annual report<\/a> from the Giving USA Foundation and its research partner, the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.<\/p>\n

The $335.17 billion Americans gave to charity in 2013 was up 4.4 percent from 2012, coming close to 2007\u2019s prerecession peak of $349.50 billion (adjusted for inflation).<\/p>\n

According to a 2013 survey by Blackbaud<\/a>, a software provider for nonprofits, baby boomers \u2014 those between the ages of 49 and 67 \u2014 make up roughly one-third of adults who gave, and contributed 43 percent of all the dollars donated in the United States, an average of $1,212 a year across 4.5 charities. But it is people 68 and older who give away more in cold cash: $1,367 was the average donated annually across 6.2 charities, making up roughly one-fourth of givers. By comparison, Generation X \u2014 people 33 to 48 \u2014 report giving an average of $732 across 3.9 charities.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the amount of the donation, though, giving to charity can be a victory not just for the recipient but also for the donor. A crucial conclusion from a study <\/a>published last year in the International Journal of Happiness and Development by Lara B. Aknin of Simon Fraser University, in British Columbia and colleagues at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, and Harvard Business School, concluded that people feel good when they make a charitable donation \u2014 especially through a friend, relative or social connection.<\/p>\n

READ THE STORY ON THE NEW YORK TIMES<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
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And Harvard researchers found in an experiment <\/a>that donating to charity can increase physical strength. After giving $1 to Unicef, participants were able to squeeze a handgrip more than 20 seconds longer than nondonors, according to the lead researcher, Kurt Gray, now of the University of Maryland, College Park.<\/p>\n

An increasingly popular way for retirees to stay active mentally and socially is to join a local giving circle.<\/p>\n

For Claudie Williams, 64, of Washington Crossing, Pa., it was retiring seven years ago from a three-decade career in marketing and business development with health care companies that spurred her to join Impact100 Philadelphia<\/a>, a giving circle whose members pool their money to make grants to local organizations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got involved because a friend of mine was joining and I was at a point when I was thinking about what am I going to do beyond my career,\u201d Mrs. Williams said.<\/p>\n

The circle consists of women whose ages range mostly from 45 to 80. Each donates $1,000 and their contributions are pooled to make one or more $100,000 grants annually to nonprofit groups.<\/p>\n

To date, the circle has awarded grants totaling more than $1.2 million to 24 groups. Membership is expected to top 300 this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re living on a fixed income in retirement, the urge to give may be strong, but it\u2019s critical to approach it as you would any investment,\u201d said Judith Ward, a certified financial planner at T. Rowe Price<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Contributions to a majority of public charities are deductible as long as the donation doesn\u2019t exceed 50 percent of adjusted gross income.<\/p>\n

Retirees might even be able to bump up their contributions with some help from their former employers. For example, Johnson & Johnson donates $1 for every $1 retirees donate to qualified nonprofit organizations, up to a maximum $10,000 company contribution per year. IBM retirees can make donations directly from their IBM pensions. \u201cRetirees like the ease and automation of having their donations directly transferred from their pension,\u201d said Ari Fishkind, an IBM spokesman.<\/p>\n

Before deciding how much to give to charity, make sure your retirement accounts are solid and you have enough money to avoid outliving your savings, Ms. Ward said. Several web-based retirement calculators includingT. Rowe Price<\/a>\u2019s Retirement Income Calculator<\/a>, Fidelity\u2019s Retirement Income Planner<\/a>, and Vanguard\u2019s Retirement Expenses Worksheet<\/a>, can give you a feel for how much room there is in your budget for giving.<\/p>\n

Since there is very little regulation of the 1.1 million charities in this country, says Ken Stern, author of \u201cWith Charity for All: Why Charities Are Failing and a Better Way to Give,\u201d<\/em> it is important no matter what your age to choose carefully.<\/p>\n

Mr. Stern\u2019s advice: First, consider charities that are working for your values. Then make time to seek out the ones that can prove they\u2019re having the impact they say they are. By scribbling checks to the charity that has sent the most requests or bombarded you with phone calls, you\u2019re only rewarding the best marketers.<\/p>\n

For help reviewing a charity, check out organizations like GiveWell<\/a> or The Life You Can Save<\/a> Foundation, which have spent thousands of hours researching the best charities, he said. Go to a charity\u2019s website and review its reports. \u201cThe best charities will publish specific goals, research and evidence-based assessments on their websites and elsewhere,\u201d Mr. Stern said.<\/div>\n
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The free watchdog websites Charity Navigator<\/a>, the Better Business Bureau\u2019sNational Charity Report Index<\/a> and Guidestar<\/a> also evaluate charities on what percentage of their revenues go to concrete programs and what is earmarked for administrative and fund-raising costs. If you want to learn more about large American charities than these sites provide, you can donate $50 toCharityWatch<\/a>, and you\u2019ll receive its Charity Rating Guide of roughly 600 groups.<\/p>\n

Another way to fund charitable contributions that have been vetted to some degree is through a donor-advised fund. This is a charitable account \u2014 the minimum contribution typically starts at $5,000 \u2014 set up through a charity, some of which are affiliated with financial services firms, like a mutual fund<\/a>or brokerage. Account holders can recommend grants to charities of their choice.<\/p>\n

At Fidelity Charitable, for example, over 50 percent of accounts are under $25,000, and you can grant as little as $50 to a charity, said Amy N. Danforth, president of Fidelity Charitable.<\/p>\n

Some people who want to give, but not right now, opt to name a charity as the beneficiary of their I.R.A.<\/a>, according to Ms. Ward. \u201cThis is often good strategy for single retirees,\u201d she said. \u201cFor married couples, you only do this if you\u2019re certain your surviving spouse or other dependents won\u2019t need the funds.\u201d The charity receives the funds tax-free, and your estate will also be eligible for a charitable deduction.<\/p>\n

You can also split your I.R.A.<\/a> into separate accounts and earmark a portion for charity and the rest to your spouse or children.<\/p>\n

A parting note: \u201cWhether you\u2019re an individual donor, or a small-business owner, you can do more than just write a check. Ask, \u2018What more can I do?,\u2019 \u201d said Jenny Lawson, vice president for corporate strategies at Points of Light<\/a>, a national volunteering group.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question opens doors for volunteering on all levels \u2014 from office support to strategic planning to serving on a board,\u201d Ms. Lawson said. \u201cYou and the charity will get more out of your donation when you give your time and talent, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

By KERRY HANNON<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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