Paw Prints to Learning
Teach young people about animal welfare and how they CAN make a difference in animals' lives.
School Bridge LEAGUE
Enhance math knowledge and critical thinking skills. Visit the School Bridge LEAGUE website.
Activity
At-a-Glance
Time:
50 minutes
Materials:
- Paper money: $100, $1000, $5000, $10,000,. $25,000, $50,000
- Each participant should receive $250,000
- 2: $50,000
- 5: $25,000
- 4: $5,000
- 5: $1,000
- Handout: "How I'll Use My Gift Chart"
- Blank Check for each participant
Physical Setting:
Large room, space where paticipants can fill out their Chart
Sequence:
- 10 minutes for an introduction and hand out money and charts
- 30 minutes to determine how they will spend their money
- 5 minutes for completing the chart 5 minutes for reflection
Youth as Philanthropists
Objectives:
- To ask young people to consider the giving of “treasure” to an organization or cause in which they believe
- To seek a balance between those tangible things and the intangible things in one’s life
Activity:
“No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been received for what he gave.”
~ Calvin Coolidge
The facilitator begins by taking on the role of the attorney for Mabel Dear, a long, lost great Aunt of each participant. Ms. Dear has left a bequest in her will to her nieces and nephews (the participants). The facilitator says:
“Thank you for gathering to witness the reading of the will of Ms. Mabel Dear. I am (facilitator’s name) her attorney. You are her last relatives, her great-nieces and nephews, and though you did not know Mabel, or were even aware of her existence, she was proud of you and included you in her will. Let’s begin.”
(Read from a paper as if you are reading her will. You might want to pull the paper from an envelope.)
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF MABEL LORRAINE DEAR:
I, Mabel Lorraine Dear, of All County, USA, being of sound mind, declare this to be my Last Will and Testament and I revoke all prior wills and codicils heretofore made by me.
To each of my great nieces and nephews, I give, devise, and bequeath the sum of $250,000 each. The remainder of my estate, valued at approximately $5 million, I do give, devise and bequeath to my favorite non-profit organization, school, faith-based group.
Activity:
The facilitator explains that today every person in the room has received a check for $250,000 from Great Aunt Mabel’s bequest.
“Today you are going to decide how you will spend the money. The Allocations Chart will give you some idea of things you might want to do and an approximate cost for that thing. You may know of something you want that is not on the chart. If so, add it to the chart and estimate the dollar value.”
The facilitator explains that the participants may not go over the $250,000 received, so they will have to pick and choose very carefully with their dollars. Upon completing the chart, answer the questions which follow. The participants should find a comfortable place to work on the activity.
After the participants have had time to work on the allocations of gift handout, the facilitator brings the participants back to large group and gives each one a blank check. The participant is to write a check to the cause or organization they put on their allocations chart.
Processing:
- What was it like to pay 20% of your gift right off the top to the Internal Revenue Service?
- What are our tax dollars used to fund?
- Are these things important to you?
- Do you know that by giving money to charitable causes, less money is paid in taxes?
- What percentage of your gift from Great Aunt Mabel went to causes you believed in?
- Of the money you allocated for you, how well did you balance it between “fun” things and “philanthropic” things?
- How much went to areas which would make you a better person, such as education?
- What might Great Aunt Mabel want you to learn from her gift to you?
Application:
The facilitator then hands out budget sheets to each participant. They are now to put on the budget sheet their current income: salary, allowance (if given), baby-sitting fees, etc. They then need to estimate what they spend each week on:
- Gas
- Clothing
- Entertainment
- CDs and Software
- Food
- Savings Account
- Donation or Contribution to organization, cause, or church
REFLECTION
How many give a donation on a regular basis? and to whom is it given?
If no giving is done, is there a way you can re-budget to address the problems of your community?
What would you need to lessen or eliminate to do that?
REMEMBER: Whether giving $5 or $50 you are taking philanthropic action on behalf of your community. You are on your way to becoming a Philanthropist!
Option:
The Director of Training for Community Partnerships with Youth likes to use this activity to introduce the young people to the philanthropy activities in the curriculum. He asks them to complete the “Allocations of Gifts” chart and put it aside. When he completes the training session, he gives them the chart again and asks them to “re-allocate” based on the knowledge they have now of philanthropy.
Note:
To create a more interactive exercise, you might give the participants a check for $250,000 from Great Aunt Mabel. Have the participants move to the Bank to cash it, then to the IRS office to leave the 20%.
Inform the participants that this 20% is inheritance taxes and they will also have to pay income taxes on the amount based on the tax bracket they are in which is probably the lowest: 15%.
You will probably get groans and protests. In the processing of the activity, plan to talk about how our taxes are used, and the difference between giving and being taxed for something.