An Invitation to Give…

As a Pilgrim, you know and appreciate the virtues of generosity and gratitude. Most of us return from the Camino with a desire to give back to the unique and timeless culture that has been formed by centuries of collective contributions.

As an organization, American Pilgrims on the Camino has steadily sought out opportunities to support  Camino culture through volunteer efforts and financial grants. Both are critical to keeping the Camino the unique and compelling human experience that does so much good for so many. We are grateful for donations that enable us to offer this support. We have no paid staff, we joyously do our work with dedicated and mindful volunteers, and have almost no overhead costs. Well over 90% of any donation is spent on direct support to Camino infrastructure and programs. Our efficiency has been recognized by our Platinum rating from GuideStar- placing us in the top 15% of nonprofits nationwide. 

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The Work We Do

By donating to the American Pilgrims on the Camino, you will be supporting the only nationwide Camino organization in the United States. Since 2003, we have dedicated our efforts to:

Camino Ingles donativo shell box.
A donativo box on the Camino Inglés. Photo courtesy of Carol Guttery.

Ways That You Can Support Our Mission

American Pilgrims seldom actively solicits donations, but we recognize that it’s within our purpose to enable those who wish to give, and to help see that collected monies perform real and lasting good. After two decades of successful grantmaking, we have become a worldwide model of effectiveness. As a result, motivated individual pilgrims in both the United States and Europe have approached American Pilgrims on the Camino with an interest to widen their methods of giving.

You can be assured to know that your generosity will be used in accordance with our Donor Bill of Rights, and your personal information will never be disclosed or shared. 

You can make a direct donation….

MAKE A DONATION

In addition, we have recently been approached by some of you to discuss the possibilities for giving through through retirement accounts, trusts, estate plans and similar methods. To this end, we have developed a Legacy Program where pilgrims can memorialize their gratitude and enable future pilgrims to walk in their footsteps. This can include:

  • Donor Advised Funds: These are funds administered by financial companies that maintain an account in your name for distribution to charities of your choosing. These funds have current tax advantages for you.
  • Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from retirement accounts such as IRA, 401k, 403b, and others – this is a Internal Revenue Service requirement to withdraw a certain amount from your account each year depending on your age. We can assist you with accepting tax deductible distributions that maximize both your contribution and tax advantage.
  • Estate Planning Bequests: We can discuss how and when you can support American Pilgrims by designating us in your will.
  • Corporate Matching Funds: If your employer offers donation matching, you may be able to expand the value of your contribution.
  • Other donations: We are always open to help “maximize the Good” for both donors and recipients and are grateful to discuss the possibilities including non-monetary donations.

If you feel that any of these areas may be of interest, or if you have any questions, please contact Tom Coleman for an informal and confidential chat. In doing so, you will be continuing the timeless tradition of Pilgrims helping Pilgrims.   

American Pilgrims on the Camino is a platinum-level GuideStar participant, demonstrating our commitment to transparency. We are a registered 501(c)(3) organization, EIN: 01-0725409.