The money granted by Frugal Givers to worthy projects
comes from my Social Security benefits.
I receive the minimum payment from the Social Security Administration,
called SSI for Supplemental Security Income.
The Social Security Administration deposits into my checking account
an amount that brings up total income up to about $700 per month.
And it is adjusted each year for the cost of living
and for any changes in my other income.
If I begin to earn more from other sources,
my SSI is adjusted downward by the same amount.
Thus, it could be said that I have a guaranteed annual income.
Another way to conceptualize these payments from the
SSA:
They are federal money allocated to me
because I have reached the magic
age of 65,
when everyone qualifies for this guaranteed annual income
if they do not have enough income from other sources.
And Frugal Givers is my way to passing thru some federal money
to others who need it even more than I do.
I hope observers will agree that no federal money
has ever been spent so wisely or carefully.
No other contributions are accepted.
(That would only create unnecessary record-keeping.)
However, at lease some grants will be listed on this website,
so that others might decide to give to the same projects.
No.
All expenses such as this website and mailing costs
are paid by me.
And no salaries are involved for any of the operations.
No office space means no associated costs.
I donate my time as well as my money
because I believe in the projects I fund.
WHAT IS THE AMOUNT OF THE GRANTS?
$100.
This is the only size of grant.
The amount is small and perhaps even symbolic.
But the publicity might yield some additional giving from others.
These grants are small because
the beneficiaries are also expected to be very frugal.
Frugal Receivers are able to put $100 to good use.
And they are expected to send thank-you notes
explaining what they did with their $100.
WILL THE BENEFICIARIES BE
IDENTIFIED PUBLICLY?
Yes.
Most grants will be named on this website,
with enough details to allows others to give directly
if they so wish.
Such public disclosure will discourage some people,
especially those who have something to hide.
But some cash grants might be given to anonymous
poor people,
who show some initiative to spend their $100 wisely.
These recipients will not be recorded or identified.
WHAT CRITERIA ARE USED TO DECIDE
WHERE THE MONEY GOES?
Because this is one person giving away his own money,
the criteria can be quite flexible and open to revision.
I will give to whomever I please.
And I expect I will make some mistakes,
giving money where it was not needed
and for purposes that were misrepresented.
But I hope that the media will help to investigate the recipients
to make sure that such mistakes are not repeated.
Recipients
should be as poor as I am.
For example, I do not have a car.
And I live well below the poverty level.
I am looking for people who are similar to myself.
Why should I give my money to someone
who already has more than I have?
But I expect that there are other people
who have chosen to devote their efforts to projects
that do not yield any cash—or
very little cash.
Recipients
should be able to show that their efforts are effective.
This means more than just a possibility of future benefit.
Something concrete should already have happened.
A good example of such concrete, public benefits
would be a website that provides some useful and meaningful information
without charging the public for those ideas.
The ideal
recipient is already spending his or her own money on the
project.
If you believe in something deeply enough,
you will volunteer your time
and use your own money to make it happen.
And when you are already using your own money to pursue your project,
I know that you will not waste any money that I add to your efforts.
No bookkeeping is required when you are spending your own money.
Likewise, there is no bookkeeping requirement for these $100 grants.
This has been the case with all of my own projects,
which are described here.
I do not keep track of the time and money I used in any of my
projects
because I know every hour and every dollar was being spent wisely.
If I decide that some effort or expenditure is not warranted by the
results,
then I can easily abandon such less-effective efforts.
Your chances of receiving a grant from Frugal Givers
will be improved
if you are moving toward becoming
a more Authentic person,
who is seeking to make your unique contribution to the world
without much concern about cash flow.
Here is a cyber-sermon of mine that explains such Authenticity more
fully:
"Your Unique Contribution to the World": http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-CONT.html
ARE THERE ANY TAX IMPLICATIONS
INVOLVED WITH FRUGAL GIVERS?
No.
The gifts come from me alone.
And I am well below the level of taxable income.
Therefore, there is no tax-deduction for the money I give.
This means that the tax-payers
are not subsidizing this giving,
as is the case with every kind of charity
that is reported as a tax-deduction
by anyone with enough income to owe income taxes.
When others follow my lead in giving to the same
projects,
they cannot expect to
receive a tax-deduction
because most recipients are not
tax-exempt organizations.
As soon as any recipient gets organized enough
to apply for tax-exempt status,
then that project is less likely to receive further grants from Frugal
Givers.
It will be large enough and well-enough-known to have other sources of
income.
In most cases, this means that anyone who supports a Frugal Receiver
will not receive any documentation of the gift for tax purposes.
If you want a tax-deduction, look for a standard
charity.
Some of the early recipients of Frugal Gifts
might later become more recognizable charities.
But Frugal Givers might be supporting them while they are just
starting up.
They are still too small (probably just individuals working alone)
that they have not gone thru all the paperwork
involved in applying for 501 (c) (3) status.
But if they do in fact keep good records of such early efforts,
that will be a basis for becoming a recognized charity later.
I never went this route with any of my projects
because they were all very low-budget efforts,
mostly involving my volunteer time.
Cash expenses were paid out of my own pocket,
without being reported to the IRS as tax-deductible gifts.
But projects with a vision of becoming major
charities later
should not hesitate to apply.
Almost all huge charities once started as individual, unfunded efforts.
The time and money you devote to starting up charities
will probably never be repaid in cash.
But you believe enough in the desired outcomes
to give your own time and money
without expecting any return on your 'investment'.
Almost all tax-exempt charities once started as
small volunteer efforts.
Your beginning efforts now might later become a means of making a
living.
In my own case, this was never my intention and it never happened.
Here are some of my volunteer
projects.
These grants are legally gifts, which are not taxable income to the
recipients.
But almost all recipients will have incomes below the taxable level in
any case. HOW DO I APPLY FOR A GRANT FROM
FRUGAL GIVERS?
The application process is very informal:
Send an e-mail to me explaining what you are doing
that might qualify you for a Frugal Givers Grant.
If you receive no reply, the answer was "no".
Here is my e-mail address:
James Park: PARKx032@TC.UMN.EDU.