Nov 20, 2014
What if there was one thing everyone eligible for senior discounts can do today that will reap rewards for the rest of our lives? As of November 14, there is! The new organization Boomerang Giving asks you to click on www.boomeranggiving.org and take the “Boomerang Pledge”:
I pledge to make my community stronger by reinvesting all or part of the money I save from senior discounts into charities of my choosing.
This simple but powerful idea takes advantage of discounts that many seniors do not need and gives seniors the power to use their discounts to help people and bolster communities. Non-profit activist and co-founder David Harrison says this new way to “give back” could redefine the baby boomer generation – 3.5 million of whom turn 65 and become eligible for senior discounts each year.
The process is easy. After taking the pledge, participants look for discounts they could redirect to nonprofit organizations. They pay the discounted price and then send the amount of the discount to a favorite charity. They can "save up" their discounts for a month and then send the accumulated amount directly to their preferred charities or they can use the link on the Boomerang Giving website to make the donation through Network for Good.
Boomerang Giving is working on ways to redirect discounts at the point of sale. This is an exciting development, which pledge participants can help implement by showing nationwide support for a simple but powerful new idea.
Encore.org, the national leader in engaging older Americans as a vital source of talent to benefit society, invited co-founder Harrison to present Boomerang Giving at its annual assembly in early November. The presentation was received very enthusiastically, with Encore.org and many attendees committing to publicize Boomerang Giving and encourage eligible seniors to take the Boomerang Pledge.
By inventing multiple ways to give back, Boomerang Giving is creating opportunities for existing seniors and baby boomers to increase their charitable giving. Boomerang Giving was founded by seven community leaders from Seattle and Bainbridge Island, Washington and qualifies as an organization eligible for charitable donations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contact information can be found at www.boomeranggiving.org.