Choose Your Option to Give Where You Live
Linda Hampton
When SaddleBrooke residents respond to the oft-asked question, “Why did you move here?”, their replies often include comments about the weather, or the mountains, or the amenities, or the low cost of living, but, more often than not, a deciding reason is “because the people are so friendly.” This friendliness and helpfulness is especially epitomized by the “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” mission of Senior Village.
The month of October is the Village’s Give Where You Live annual fund drive. When you donate to Senior Village, you are expressing your belief in the importance of taking care of each other in our community. Every dollar contributed to Senior Village stays here in SaddleBrooke where our volunteers offer their services for transportation, helping around the house and yard, consulting about electronics, making social phone calls or home visits, and planning events to offer fellowship.
In addition to sending a contribution check to the general Senior Village fund, there are several other ways to participate as a Give Where You Live supporter.
* Monthly Auto Pay: All it takes is a visit or call to your bank, or log on to your bank’s website and follow the instructions for setting up an easy monthly auto pay to Senior Village that can be cancelled at any time.
* QCO Arizona Tax Credit: As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, donations to Senior Village are eligible for the Arizona Tax Credit, up to $400 for single filers and up to $800 for those filing jointly when you designate Senior Village at SaddleBrooke as your Qualified Charitable Organization (QCO) (ID# 20990).
* IRA: If you are 70.5 years or older and need to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your traditional IRAs, you can avoid paying taxes on them by donating that money to charity. Your contribution up to $100,000 must be transferred directly from your traditional IRA to the qualified charity to avoid being a taxable distribution. Talk to your IRA custodian about how to make this happen.
* Matching Donations: As a retiree, check to see if your former employer offers a corporate giving program that will double your donation to an eligible nonprofit organization like Senior Village. Caterpillar, Boeing, Eli Lilly, GE, IBM, State Farm, Home Depot, Microsoft, many airlines and grocery stores, and other corporations match employee donations.
* Legacy Gifts: Planned giving through your estate is a way for you to participate in the mission of Senior Village for decades to come. Your gift will make it possible for future residents to age in place thanks to the volunteer services of Senior Village.
No matter how you choose to support the Village and its Give Where You Live campaign, your donation will provide quality of life and increased independence for generations of SaddleBrooke residents.
To learn more about donation options, or to become a member or volunteer, call Senior Village at 520-314-1042. Contributions may also be sent to Senior Village, PO Box 8584, Tucson, AZ 85738.
Check out the website at www.seniorvillage.org.
Village volunteer Kathy Anderson helps Nancy Chuba organize and fill out financial documentation.
Meet the New Senior Village Forms and Documents Team
Stephanie Thomas
After the death of her husband, Nancy Chuba wanted to close out a small account that was in both their names. It should have been a simple procedure, but the brokerage firm froze the account and sent multiple pages of paperwork and documentation for Nancy to complete. Feeling overwhelmed, Nancy turned to Senior Village to help her sort through the process. As she later exclaimed, “Senior Village saved my sanity.”
If your loved one were to die, do you know whom to contact, how to pay bills in your household, title accounts so they avoid probate, attend to legal issues, access computer passwords, and submit necessary paperwork for estates?
In the past year, Senior Village has received a growing number of requests from members seeking guidance and clerical help like Nancy. Meeting this need became a priority for the Village. The end result is the newly created Forms and Documents Team.
The purpose of this team is to:
* Help members gather and fill in important personal documentation
* Provide information on legal and financial procedures, especially for estates
Volunteer advocates from the Forms and Documents Team will assist members in organizing paperwork. This assistance is strictly informative and does not constitute legal advice.
Village members who work with the Forms and Documents Team receive a 70-page handbook titled Planning Ahead for Those You Love, which includes sections to complete about the member’s personal background, legal, medical, and financial details, insurance and property, as well as forms for Arizona medical directives (Living Will, Health Care Power of Attorney).
The final chapter of the handbook describes steps to take during the first two months of widowhood: how to plan a funeral, what documents are needed and whom to contact for legal and financial assistance, survivor benefits, canceling services, or changing names on accounts. A few pages at the end offer information on the Arizona probate process to settle estates.
The Planning Ahead for Those You Love handbook is like an insurance policy, critical to have, might not be used for a long while, but will save your sanity when you find yourself facing these issues on your own.
Get busy today filling in these pages so you won’t ever hear yourself say:
“If only I had known…”
“I wish I had asked my husband/wife/partner about…”
To become a member of Senior Village, call 520-314-1042. Annual dues are $60 for a single and $96 for a household, which includes 72 service requests a year. To volunteer, check our website at www.seniorvillage.org. Donations are appreciated and may be sent to Senior Village at PO Box 8584, Tucson, AZ 85738.