Goes to families
Everything that is not one of the few costs in the next box.
- Rent, paid to the landlord
- Power and water, paid to the utility
- Car payments, paid to the lender
- Groceries and gifts, paid to the store
How it will work
Simple, direct, and out in the open.
None of this is running yet. This is how it will work once our paperwork is approved.
Part 1
Helping families directly
We look for real families going through illness or hardship who have fallen behind on a bill. Someone who knows them nominates them, we talk with them privately, and we pay the bill straight to whoever it is owed to.
- Rent goes to the landlord, a power bill to the utility, a car payment to the lender, groceries to the store.
- Never cash to a person, and never through a payment app.
- A family's request and story stay private. Only the paid result goes on the ledger, with no names.
- Our draft rules say no board member, and no relative of a board member, can ever receive help from the Foundation.
Part 2
The Giving Tree
Each holiday season, the Giving Tree puts people who want to give together with families who need a hand. Anyone will be able to give, families can be nominated privately, and every gift will light up the tree and show up on the ledger.
Coming when we're approved- Josh will start it with a $100 donation, the first line on the ledger.
- Give with your name or give anonymously. Either way, the gift is listed.
- A running total right on the page.
- The full amount of a Giving Tree gift goes to the family's bill. Our general fund pays the card fee on it.
Part 3
The public ledger
Every gift in and every payment out gets one line, with a running total. This is what it will look like. It is empty because we are not accepting donations yet.
| Date | From or to | Amount | What it did | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No entries yet. We are not accepting donations. The first line will be Josh's $100 opening gift. | ||||
| Total | $0 | |||
Part 4
Where the money goes
Plain and simple. Nobody takes a profit, nobody is paid, and Josh charges nothing for his work. Here is everything a gift can be spent on.
The only costs
The only things paid from donations.
- Card fees the card company charges on each gift
- Government filing fees for Florida and the IRS
- Attorney or CPA fees, when the law requires them
Never paid from gifts
These cost the Foundation nothing.
- Salaries. Nobody is paid.
- Profit. Nobody takes any.
- Josh's time. He charges nothing.
Two kinds of gifts
Giving Tree gifts pay for a family's bill or item. The general fund covers the card fee, so the full amount of your Giving Tree gift goes to the family.
General fund gifts pay the few costs listed above, and everything left over helps families.
Our goal is for 95 to 99 percent of donations to go directly to the cause. That is a goal, not a promise, and we will never claim 100 percent. The ledger and a yearly report will show the real number, whatever it turns out to be.
Part 5
A thank-you for donors
Once donations open, we plan to thank donors with one year of the top AIM subscription, fully unlocked. We will spell out exactly how that works, including what it means for your taxes, before we accept a single gift.