if you could give recklessly...

If you had unlimited funds, where would you be tempted to give lavishly, even foolishly? (Don't think too hard about the wisest way to give, unless you just can't help being a financial planner type.)

We have a very close friend - the type who gives and gives - who is in a coma in the hospital. I'm not even sure he has life or health insurance. His wife will be left with debt and without a good way of making an income. This is one of the few reasons I wish DH were making a million a year in the North Dakota "tundra" so we could hand her some real money without feeling the pinch too much!

We also have a friend in residency who has a SAHM wife and two kids and is paying off their undergrad debt and his wife's grad school. They don't buy meat for their kids to eat b/c it's too expensive! (They're not vegetarians.) I want to buy them a chest freezer and fill it.

Would you want to give to individuals as you became aware of their needs, or would you rather give to a bigger cause?

[medpedspouse]

Re: if you could give recklessly...

I think both. There are some bigger causes that are dear to my heart. However, like you, I hear about family members/friends plights and I want to be able to give more than I can.

Re: your friends in residency paying back student loans, just from what you described I would think that they could be in forbearance if deferment was no longer an option. There was no way I could have paid back our student loans while DH was in residency...and that was with me working. I know this has nothing to do with your original question, I just wondered if maybe there was something (other than extra $$) that they may not have known about that could do to alleviate finances a little.

[DCJenn]

Re: if you could give recklessly...

If I had unlimited funds I'd first make sure my grandmothers were in safe places until the end of their lives. I'd build a place for my parents in our extra lot. I'd fund the college funds of all of the little kids in the family.

I've often thought about funding a scholarship at my college but since they changed their name, I'm annoyed at them.

I think the bulk of my wealth would go to environmental charities- my thought it we can argue about all of the social topics of the day, but if we can't breathe and don't have clean water, it isn't really going to matter.

J.

[SuzySunshine]

Re: if you could give recklessly...

I've always dreamed about what I would do if we had unlimited funds or if we won the lottery. Family would be first, making sure they were all cared for but not a large chunk of money which they could then go blow. Then alzheimers and parkinsons research would be next followed by kids charities, good ones that actually help the kids.

[bahama_mama]

Re: if you could give recklessly...

I agree w/ alot of you so far.

I'd want to set up some sort of trust fund to pay for my extended family's education expenses. I'd probably put a lot of stipulations on how they'd gain access to and be able to use the money though... I've got some real bums in my family

[houseelf]

Re: if you could give recklessly...

I'll play if we're talking crazy money, o.k.? I mean, the kinds of cash that evokes images of Gates, Guggenheim, Rockefeller, etcetera.

First, I know of a few good hearted people who are absolute trainwrecks when it comes to judgment, ESPECIALLY money judgment. I'd create some sort of fake anonymous monthly stipend for these individuals. It absolutely would have to be anonymous and a set monthly amount because otherwise these individuals would run through with the money. (I know, I know, throwing good money towards bad judgment is stupid, but I'm weak). My former sitter, my BIL, and my father would be towards the top of this list. I wouldn't want them to know the source because there would probably requests for more cash all the time.

I'd also like to go into an impoverished area and create a crazy impressive school. I'd hire the most qualified, dedicated teachers and pay them six figures to make the job too attractive to quit. I'd enlist a team of child psychologists and guidance counselors to help these kids get past their reality of rural poverty or urban ghetto. This school would have the most fabulous field trips and also offer moral and character development. I realize that some children still might not be able to overcome their past, but many, many would. That would be enough.

Kelly

[Meenah]

Re: if you could give recklessly...

My gut reaction is animal shelters. I'm sure if I thought about it I could come up with many more ideas, but right off the top of my head it is animals in shelters, and spay/neuter programs.

Re: if you could give recklessly...

Oooh I think about this question every time we drive past the huge lottery billboard on Route 1 (of course, I need to play the lottery to seriously think about this...and I don't). I'd set each of our parents up so we could stop worrying about how they are going to survive getting older (neither side is prepared for retirement). Then, I'd hand over as much money as I could to the Jimmy Fund in Boston for childhood cancer research. Boston Children's and DFCI are my gold standards for caring for cancer kids. Someday I WILL give them lots and lots of money!!!

[ladymoreta]

Re: if you could give recklessly...

I'd definitely take care of my family first. I would love to be able to give my parents and my in-laws enough to retire. Then I'd take my mom on the shopping trip of her life. She doesn't have a really high-paying job, but whenever we would go shopping when I was growing up (pretty rare since we lived in a town 1 hour away from the closest mall, 3 hours away from a major city), she would give my sister and me shopping money that I know she'd saved up for awhile.

After a few more family things, I'd like to give lots of money to rural schools. Inner-city schools get a lot more publicity, but sometimes the rural ones have it as bad or worse. My old high school is pretty much condemned, but there's nowhere else for students to go, so they have to keep it open. There is so much poverty in some of those areas, and schools with adequate funding could make a huge difference in those kids' lives. I'd also like to start a scholarship for students from my home town for the same reason.

[houseelf]

Re: if you could give recklessly...

Inner-city schools get a lot more publicity, but sometimes the rural ones have it as bad or worse. My old high school is pretty much condemned, but there's nowhere else for students to go, so they have to keep it open. There is so much poverty in some of those areas, and schools with adequate funding could make a huge difference in those kids' lives. I'd also like to start a scholarship for students from my home town for the same reason.

I couldn't agree more. The school near my parent's cabin in TN is apalling, like third world country apalling. Here in inner city Cinci, people are aware of it and there are magnet and school voucher options. If we want to talk about school choice, what the heck kind of school choice does rural America have? (Sorry, clearly this is a hot bed issue for me...I can't seem to leave it alone. Must. Get. Help. )

Kelly