Once I designate a dollar from my retirement check what happens?

Each month that $1 will be deducted from your retirement check by PERA and then transferred to the Strength in Change Foundation bank account at US Bank.   When a nonprofit is selected to receive funding a check will be written directly from Strength in Change account.

Really, only one dollar?  Can I donate more if I want?

If you want to designate more than one dollar you may.  To do this just write the amount you wish to be deducted monthly on the bottom part of the form and sign there too.   Or on the on-line version you will just type in the amount you wish to donate.   Just know we will never bug you to donate any amount more than one dollar.

    
Can I nominate a nonprofit?  If so how?

Any PERA retiree who is currently contributing is eligible to nominate a nonprofit.   The nomination form is available via this website on the home page.

How much will a chosen nonprofit receive?

Ultimately our plans are for one nonprofit, each month, to receive half of the donations while four other nonprofits will each receive 10% of the donations.     Our desire is for the donation given to be generous enough to really have an impact.    We expect it to take a few years to reach such amounts as retirees are learning about the opportunity and signing up to participate.   Currently the selected nonprofits have been receiving around $1500.

Who decides which nonprofit to receive the donations?

The process is purely random.    Once the nominations are received from retirees they will be divided into regions.     The name of each nominated nonprofit will be written on a card and put in a corresponding regional bucket.   The board will then, in a public setting, randomly draw from each regional bucket.    Those nominations will be thoroughly vetted.    If the nonprofit passes the review they will receive the designated donation.   If the nonprofit does not pass the review, the next nonprofit, which was randomly selected, will go through the same review process until one does pass the review.

What process will be used to review the application?

The Strength in Change Foundation wants to insure the nonprofits randomly chosen are financially fit, have good reputations, are well run, meet our youth focused criteria, and so on.     The committee will utilize various sources to ensure the nonprofit meets our standards (ie contacting the local United Way, touching base with retirees, reviewing online documents filed by their organization, etc.).

What about frivolous board expenses?

We hear you.   There is nothing worse than learning the money you contributed to a great cause was eaten away by seemingly frivolous expenses.    Our board is committed to simplicity, accountability, and transparency.   We never want to lose the trust of you, our donors.   We plan to utilize technology for our meetings and rarely, if ever, expect to travel.    There is no paid staff – we are all volunteers.     Our expenses to date have been limited to setting up our foundation.   Future expenditures might evolve around the website and getting the word out.

If limited administrative spending is the case, why then are ten percent of donations being held back?

Strength in Change is new and still in its infancy.    The Board is committed to keeping administrative expenses low and being transparent.  Reaching out to retirees and spreading the word about this amazing opportunity to be part of something big for an amount so little will have some costs associated with it so we want to be ready.    You can review our monthly expenses by clicking on the tab The Nitty Gritty.The Board also felt if we had some funds kept in reserve they would be there and available to donate if a cause was brought to our attention which was worthy of emergency funding. The floods in Boulder came to mind during this discussion.

What process will be put in place to ensure the money is spread around the state and does not all go to the Denver metro area?

The state will be broken down into PERA’s  five regions based on benefit recipient numbers and ultimately on number of monthly donors.     The random selection of nonprofits will be split by region.    We are considering regional informational meeting to be the site for our public selection process.

I retired to Florida.    Why can’t I nominate a non-profit in my current home state?

You are receiving your retirement check due to your employment while in Colorado and we want the impact of these donations to be for Colorado youth.   Who is it to say kids helped by these donations won’t eventually move to Florida (or Washington DC or where ever) and make a huge, positive impact on your life there or all our lives?