Last year, four of our sponsored Maya scholars were able to fly to Austin for free using donated frequent flyer miles. This may be a surprisingly easy way for you to help, too!
A round trip from Guatemala City, Cancun, or Merida to Austin costs 35,000 frequent flyer miles presently
or 30,000 frequent flyer miles on US Air. If you have that amount accumulated from Frequent Flyer Miles programs with American Airlines, Continental, Delta, Northwest,
US Air or one of their affiliates, you may be able to help! If you have that accumulation of miles in your "account" and are willing to use it in this way, please contact us. We will supply you with the information that will be needed to purchase the tickets for one or more Maya scholars. The airlines ask for their full names, passport and visa information, emergency contact names and phone numbers, etc. We will try to coordinate flights so that the scholars can arrive and leave together on the same flights, as well as that can be arranged.
If you would like to supply a ticket for a Maya scholar, but find that your account is a little short of the 35,000 miles needed, it is also possible to purchase extra frequent flyer miles from you airline's program. Check that out on your airline's website and see if that makes sense for you.
If you want to participate in this program, please let us know right away! The airlines only allow a certain number of tickets per flight to be purchased using Frequent Flyer Miles.
Is this donation tax-deductible? No. Since you are making a "gift" directly to an individual rather than to a recognized non-profit entity, the IRS does not permit this gift, even if authorized by the organization, to be tax-deductible. Please don't let that idea discourage your generosity, however! We will investigate what can be done about making this very important gift tax deductible in the future. |
