How to Help
There are so many ways you can help.
Providing financial support to ROI can be rewarding in many ways.
ROI raises funds for two purposes: to support the Independence Fund, which provides medication, prosthetics and community integration opportunities to the people we serve; and the ROI Endowment, a fund managed by the Kalamazoo Community Foundation that helps ensure ROI’s continued existence and growth for the future.
Below are just a few of the ways in which your donation can accomplish both tasks, and many options can be combined. (Ideas presented below are examples only; not every option will be right for every donor. ROI strongly encourages prospective donors to consult a professional financial planner before committing to any major donation.)
Here are ways you can contribute to a healthier, more independent community.
Text to Donate
A one-time donation of $5.00 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. All donations must be authorized by the account holder. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on most carriers. Donation are collected for the benefit of Residential Opportunities, Inc. by the Mobile Giving Foundation and subject to the terms found at www.hmgf.org/t. Messaging & Data Rates May Apply. You can unsubscribe at any time by texting STOP to short code 20222; text HELP to 20222 for help.
Donate Online
Perhaps the easiest way to make a one-time contribution − using either a credit card or direct bank debit − is an online donation via PayPal. Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated, helping us to help those with disabilities. If you would like to make a more specific donation through PayPal, please indicate where you would like to allocate the funds in the “Notes” section of the donation form.
Monetary Gifts
Cash donations can be made using a variety of methods, many of which multiply the value of the donation to ROI while providing benefits to the donor. ROI accepts checks, money orders and cashier’s checks made out to Residential Opportunities, Inc. Remember to save your records for tax purposes. Please send all donations to
ROI Administration Office
1100 S Rose Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49001
Charitable Remainder Trust
A Charitable Remainder Trust allows a philanthropist to donate to ROI while providing an income for himself, another person, another charity, or another trust (the beneficiary). In this type of fund, principal is put into an income-generating trust. A percentage of the trust’s assets are paid to the beneficiary on a regular basis. When the beneficiary dies or a set time limit is reached, the funds remaining in the trust are given to ROI. There are many variations of this kind of trust, and there are generally considerable tax benefits to this type of plan.
This plan might be used by someone who has a relative with a need for a perpetual source of income after the donor has died, or someone who has a parent in a nursing home who wishes to provide a steady income for that parent and fund a significant memorial.
Charitable Lead Trust
A Charitable Lead Trust is similar to a Charitable Remainder Trust. The main difference is that ROI is the beneficiary of the income, and the remainder of the trust is given to the trust’s recipient at the end of specific period of time. The tax benefits are not typically as dramatic as those of a charitable remainder trust, but they are still considerable under most circumstances.
This type of trust is useful for someone who wishes to give her child or grandchild a large cash gift at a future date, and help fund ROI in the interim. For instance, a woman may want her grandchild to work his way through college but then have a "nest egg" to use once he graduates. To accomplish this, she could set up a charitable lead trust that would pay all generated income to ROI until her grandson reached 23 years of age, at which time the remaining funds in the trust would go to her grandson. Not only has she provided for both her grandson and ROI, but she has ensured that the money will go where it was intended, even if she should not live long enough to give her grandson the gift herself.
Bequests (Gifts from Wills and Estates)
Another way in which ROI can receive your support is through your will. Bequests allow a person to make a much larger contribution to ROI than was typically possible during his life. Under some circumstances, they can also reduce the tax burden of the other recipients of the estate. Bequests to ROI can be specific sums, a percentage of the estate, or the residue of the estate. In any case, this option allows you to leave a legacy and make a donation to ROI that you may have wished you could afford during your life.
Gifts of Life Insurance
Many people have purchased life insurance policies for a specific reason and then outlived that original purpose. For instance, someone may have purchased a policy to provide for her husband if she were to die, and then outlived her husband. Or, she may have purchased a policy to provide for her children, who have since become successful and would no longer receive great benefit from the policy. In many of these circumstances, naming ROI as the recipient of the policy is an excellent way to make a gift with little effort on the part of the donor.
Naming ROI as the irrevocable owner and beneficiary of a life insurance policy also brings with it a substantial income tax deduction, and, like the gift of a bequest, allows you to give a much larger gift than you might have been able to afford during your life.
Donating Goods
There are a great number of ways in which philanthropists can donate to either of ROI’s fundraising efforts. Although cash is usually the first thing that comes to mind when people hear the word "donation," ROI can use donations of almost any type.
Many donations — such as cars, clothing, furniture, wheelchairs, land and houses— can be used directly by ROI or the people we serve. And even if ROI cannot use donated items directly, partnerships with Midwest Business Exchange (MBE) and similar organizations allow us to convert to cash donated items that we cannot use.
All donations are, of course, tax-deductible, making donations of excess inventory an extremely attractive option for businesses. No matter who you are or what you give, donations to ROI provide important resources for us and the people we serve.
Volunteer
Residential Opportunities, Inc., welcomes and values the services of volunteers! Our staff and volunteers work together to increase independence and enrich the quality of life for the Individuals we serve and help us reach a variety of agency goals. Opportunities to volunteer your time and service to support the mission of ROI are posted on the Volunteer Kalamazoo website http://volunteerkalamazoo.org/. For more information or specific inquiries, please contact Human Resources Assistant Michele Tarver (mtarver@resopp.org or 343-3731, ext. 226).
Other Forms of Giving
The number of donation methods is almost as great as the number of potential donors. For information about which method of donation works best for you, contact your financial planning professional, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, or ROI Development Director Ross Hamilton. No matter how you give to ROI, you’ll know your donation will be used responsibly and have a great impact on the lives of people in the community.