If your question is not listed above, please
contact any of our officers.
Q: Is NAPRI
a qualified tax-exempt organization, and are donations to NAPRI deductible
as charitable donations?
A: The answer is “Yes” on both counts. NAPRI has received IRS
approval as a 501© (3) tax-exempt entity.
Q: Is NAPRI
interested in donations other than cash?
A: The answer is “Yes”. Like many other non-profit
organizations that intend to serve their members long-term, NAPRI will
welcome any donation that can be readily converted to cash through auction
or other means, including silent auctions to members. NAPRI is also very
interested in any available grants, endowments, and remembrance in wills.
We would like to be able to fund our activism in support of retiree
benefits through long-term support mechanisms, as opposed to relying
solely on recurring member dues payments.
Q: Are any
NAPRI Executives and Officers paid a salary out of dues receipts and
donations?
A: The answer is “No”. There is only one paid employee in
NAPRI. She is the Executive Secretary who manages and administers NAPRI
membership. The Secretary’s work is performed on a part-time basis for a
nominal hourly rate, to handle the periodically heavy and intrusive
workload of new memberships, renewals, and special mailings. All work
performed by NAPRI officers and Directors is done on a volunteer basis.
Q: Who is
eligible, to join NAPRI?
A: As noted in the Home Page welcome text, NAPRI membership is open
to Prudential retirees, active employees, and “Vested Terminators”.
Your current employer, employment status, or retirement status does not
matter, if you are or were vested in the Prudential Retirement Plan.
Q: What do I
have to do, to join NAPRI?
A: Simply fill out the membership form (by clicking here), select the
desired level of membership (standard, Charter, Charter Silver, or Charter
Gold), and mail it as shown on the form, along with a check for your dues.
Q: What is
the significance of the different levels of NAPRI membership?
A: The multiple levels of NAPRI membership
(Standard, Charter, Charter Silver, or Charter Gold) originally reflected
the financial commitment of those who formed NAPRI. Now the organization
has stabilized, with a larger (and growing) membership base. The multiple
membership levels now provide a convenient means, for those who are able,
to provide an increased level of financial support for NAPRI. The Charter
level represents payment of the annual dues amount, plus a generous
tax-deductible donation to further support the organization for the year.
The Charter Silver level provides advance dues payment for ten years. The
Charter Gold level provides Lifetime Membership. At some point in time the
membership levels may also provide historical data, to help recognize all
those who have been able to provide “above and beyond” financial and
other support, in NAPRI’s quest to attract members and make possible
even larger efforts to protect our retiree benefits.
Q: Do I have
to be computer literate to join NAPRI?
A: Absolutely not. We have many members who rely on written
communications and phone contact. Having said that, we strongly encourage
the use of computer access. NAPRI’s website is designed to quickly make
available a large variety of information that offers many benefits to its
members. Use of the website to share information costs far less than mass
mailings to members. It also enables NAPRI to reach current and
prospective members country-wide, even world-wide, with immediate
information. The website is also the primary means of attracting new
members to NAPRI, as mass mailings to all former employees would be
cost-prohibitive, even if NAPRI had access to the mailing information (we
do not, for privacy reasons). Computer usage has the potential to
dramatically improve the quality of life for most retirees (low-cost
communications with friends and family, health care and drug knowledge,
at-home shopping, fraud education and avoidance, immediate access to
weather and financial information, etc.).
Q: What must
I do to reach other NAPRI members?
A: Please visit and register in the Guest Book. Then visit and
register in the Bulletin Board. Between these two features, you should be
able to locate and reach any NAPRI member who wishes to share their
contact information. Many of our members can also help members locate
other former coworkers, who are not yet members themselves.
Q: What do I
have to do to contribute ideas, and to participate in NAPRI discussions?
A: Please visit the Bulletin Board, and register to participate in
any of the many forums and topic threads within each form. Some of the
forums provide the means for making suggestions and for obtaining extra
help with membership problems.
Q: What do I
have to do, to volunteer to help NAPRI in some capacity?
A: We can always use help in many capacities, especially service as
a club Officer. Please contact the nearest NAPRI officer (see the NAPRI
Officers page), or the NAPRI President, to discuss possible opportunities.
Q: Why
should I join NAPRI, when there are other retiree organizations such as
AARP?
A: NAPRI is primarily focused on the welfare of Prudential
retirees, and related aspects such as Prudential’s financial status and
provisioning for retiree benefits. A large membership count in NAPRI also
helps NAPRI lend political clout when we affiliate with other national
retiree organizations such as GE retirees, IBM retirees, etc.
Organizations focused on specific companies can affect retiree policy in
those companies, as well as achieving broader objectives for all retirees.
Q: Why
should I join NAPRI, when there are regional retiree organizations such as
the PERA groups?
A: The regional PERA groups are very enjoyable, and provide social
outlets for the Prudential retirees within reach of their gatherings. A
great many Prudential retirees do not believe that they have access to a
PERA group, or are unaware of them. The regional and social focus of the
PERA groups is very different from that of NAPRI. In most cases, NAPRI
membership is complementary to PERA membership, not an exclusive
alternative to it. Most or all of the PERA groups have actively publicized
the benefits of NAPRI membership within their own membership group.
Q: Why are
NAPRI dues so much higher than the dues for most or all of the PERA
groups?
A: At least up through 2003, the PERA groups have been granted a
support budget from Prudential. This budget is intended to cover the free
retiree lunches for the attending members, and to cover mailing expenses
for the PERA Newsletters. NAPRI (understandably) does not receive funding
like this from Prudential. All expenses for NAPRI communications (website,
mailings) have to be paid from membership dues. NAPRI also needs funding
to pursue support for state and national legislation favorable to
Prudential retirees. One small example might be providing materials and
publicity for a retiree write-in campaign, similar to the one that helped
secure Prudential’s recent Demutualization-related payout to both
retirees and employees.
