How can I donate to help a family in need with medical expenses without someone "abusing" the system

[Anonymous]

In honor of outstanding care we received from a hospital, I would like to donate to help a family or families truly in need, pay medical bills. I will ask what options they offer. Here is my issue. I would like it to help those from undeserved minority groups. Through the special needs community (our child with medical issues also has SN), we know of 2 large families from wealth that have no issue taking advantage of these types of services. In both cases, based on the father's salary and family size, they qualify as low income. In both cases, the grandparents are extremely wealthy and give generous donations the families including purchasing their homes. They still qualify for all sorts of low income benefits including getting free tuition at a preschool through a program set up for low income families and in one case accessing a program that helped them pay medical fees for one of their kids. One family even accessed welfare benefits while the husband was in grad school.

I want to give back and help those truly in need and somehow weed out those who know how to play the system while getting handouts from wealthy mom and dad. Is there any way to do this? Otherwise, I will just donate to research or go another route. I cannot stand the idea of wealthy people taking money earmarked for those truly struggling.

[Anonymous]

oh man, a lot of strings attached. how much are you willing to give?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:oh man, a lot of strings attached. how much are you willing to give?

Honestly we have not decided, but we will not be giving unless it can truly go to those in need. Paying for medical expenses is a great way for those wealth grandparents to give more tax free gifts. We want to only help those who do not have such a safety net.

[Anonymous]

I doubt the hospital would accept your gift with that many strings attached unless you were going to set up a very large endowment and even then it would be hard for them to administer.

[Anonymous]

You probably cannot. So just keep your $

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You probably cannot. So just keep your $

+1 you’re asking for a perfect system. No perfect system exists. And if an organization did the vetting you want (which apparently is to look at the assets of any relative who might be ready and willing to help) that org would spend far more money on operating costs than helping. And then someone you deemed unworthy would still find some loophole to sneak through.

[Anonymous]

This is one of the reasons people set up family foundations, which allow you to donate to individuals you vet. As I recall, this is what Warren Buffet's sister did--donations to individuals in need whom she personally vetted.

[Anonymous]

One way is through your church where they often know a family in need. Our home cleaning person of 20 years came down with breast cancer and she was open enough with me upon questioning that she had a high insurance deductible so we covered the deductible.

[Anonymous]

reach out to social worker at the hospital you are considering

[Anonymous]

I believe that there is a charity that lets you “buy” medical debt to put people in the clear. This would alleviate your concern about rich people getting charity or whatever since I think most sane people avoid medical debt if they can.

[Anonymous]

Ask someone you've gotten to know at the hospital for a personal referral to a needy family and make the donation directly. There must be a nurse or a social worker there that could tell you.

I don't think what you are specifying is "too many strings attached." Good luck, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go search GoFundMe for people who need your help then do whatever research you want on them. You can't set up an organization to meet your own personal wholly arbitrary morals.

It's wholly arbitrary to want to give to someone in need, not someone who has access to family money?? That's really what you're saying? Oh brother. I think OP is 100% right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is one of the reasons people set up family foundations, which allow you to donate to individuals you vet. As I recall, this is what Warren Buffet's sister did--donations to individuals in need whom she personally vetted.

So she created a job for herself to judge whether people are pathetic enough! Man. Rich people.

No, she sorted out the scam artists. According to Warren, she was very good at this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: In honor of outstanding care we received from a hospital, I would like to donate to help a family or families truly in need, pay medical bills. I will ask what options they offer. Here is my issue. I would like it to help those from undeserved minority groups. Through the special needs community (our child with medical issues also has SN), we know of 2 large families from wealth that have no issue taking advantage of these types of services. In both cases, based on the father's salary and family size, they qualify as low income. In both cases, the grandparents are extremely wealthy and give generous donations the families including purchasing their homes. They still qualify for all sorts of low income benefits including getting free tuition at a preschool through a program set up for low income families and in one case accessing a program that helped them pay medical fees for one of their kids. One family even accessed welfare benefits while the husband was in grad school.

I want to give back and help those truly in need and somehow weed out those who know how to play the system while getting handouts from wealthy mom and dad. Is there any way to do this? Otherwise, I will just donate to research or go another route. I cannot stand the idea of wealthy people taking money earmarked for those truly struggling.

Don't get me started on how many Mormon families in Utah sign up for Medicaid due to family size/income, or while a parent is in school (because they choose to marry young and start having kids without the financial footing to support a family, despite overwhelmingly voting for a political party that opposes the social safety net--since 2000, Utah has voted Democratic 0% of the time and Republican 100% of the time for President, for example, even overwhelming supporting Trump). A quarter of mothers in Utah giving birth have coverage through Medicaid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: In honor of outstanding care we received from a hospital, I would like to donate to help a family or families truly in need, pay medical bills. I will ask what options they offer. Here is my issue. I would like it to help those from undeserved minority groups. Through the special needs community (our child with medical issues also has SN), we know of 2 large families from wealth that have no issue taking advantage of these types of services. In both cases, based on the father's salary and family size, they qualify as low income. In both cases, the grandparents are extremely wealthy and give generous donations the families including purchasing their homes. They still qualify for all sorts of low income benefits including getting free tuition at a preschool through a program set up for low income families and in one case accessing a program that helped them pay medical fees for one of their kids. One family even accessed welfare benefits while the husband was in grad school.

I want to give back and help those truly in need and somehow weed out those who know how to play the system while getting handouts from wealthy mom and dad. Is there any way to do this? Otherwise, I will just donate to research or go another route. I cannot stand the idea of wealthy people taking money earmarked for those truly struggling.

Don't get me started on how many Mormon families in Utah sign up for Medicaid due to family size/income, or while a parent is in school (because they choose to marry young and start having kids without the financial footing to support a family, despite overwhelmingly voting for a political party that opposes the social safety net--since 2000, Utah has voted Democratic 0% of the time and Republican 100% of the time for President, for example, even overwhelming supporting Trump). A quarter of mothers in Utah giving birth have coverage through Medicaid.

I honestly don’t see the hypocrisy in this. Even if they think they should pay less tax and not be able to have those programs, they *will* likely pay it back given Utahn median salaries. They’d rather not have that arrangement, but it is what it is.