What to do with $ I don’t want

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would donate the money to a cause overseas where you get more bang for your buck. Throwing money at some of these problems in the US isn't going to change anything.

The NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund, mentioned above, absolutely has changed things.

Or try Equal Justice Initiative. one of our favorite charities, money goes to the actual cause, not the "board"/management

[Anonymous]

Hang on, Lemme send you my Venmo….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am about to come into an inheritance of about $225k from family money from the Mississippi Delta. The money is largely from land and assets derived from former plantations. My husband and I are not wealthy but we are comfortable enough. Retirements and pensions on track. Kids’ college educations funded well enough.

I don’t want to keep the money and would rather channel it into something better. Looking for ideas of where I could send it.

TIA.

Honestly I would donate to organizations who fight modern slavery ( forced labor, child forced labor, kids sex trafficing, etc) Nearly 50 million people worldwide are part of modern slavery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With all due respect, you're crazy.

Are you a good person? Don't you live by precepts of earth-friendly stewardship, and teach your children to respect all peoples? Don't you want to build generational wealth for these kids whom you have raised to be caring citizens of the world?

If I were you, I would take the money, and when your children are older, gift it to them in several batches so they can invest when young.
Investing early is how I became wealthy in middle age. Buy and hold is an excellent strategy for stocks, but it takes time to come to fruition.

Here’s how well-off lots of descendants of wealthy former slavers are: they have so many advantages in life and so much wealth that they can give away $225K and it’s no real hit to their bottom line.

OP here again. Exactly. We aren’t rich like my great greats were, but we’re plenty comfortable. We’re comfortable enough to be able to decline that money because it feels dirty. We work for our money, and I’d love for others to be able to be in our shoes.

I love these ideas. Especially the donor advised funds. Anonymous is great. Thanks for the great ideas.

OP, I work with high net worth individuals as a grantmaker; I've done this work for many, many years. I agree with the ideas to 'hold' it for a period of time (perhaps a year), and you can always put some or all of it in a donor advised fund if you need to 'park' the money somewhere and don't want to be 'tempted' to spend it. You might think about making some 'small experimental' grants for a year and seeing how it goes. Are you a reader? I can recommend some books you could get to help you think about the legacy work here. You might also want to spend a few thousand of that money to hire someone to talk with you and help you plan how to spend it in an impactful way. That person could also be your 'go between' if you want to truly remain much more anonymous.

In the realm of donor advised funds, the cheapest fees are usually at Schwab. You could also see if there is a local community foundation in your geographical area and invest the funds in a DAF at the local community foundation. They may have a staffperson you can consult with there, who can help guide you on doing your giving (without hiring someone extra). you have to know that when you set up a DAF, they have a vested interest in getting you to keep money in the DAF/not spend it down.

OP here. Yes would appreciate book recommendations, thank you! I guess I thought this amount is too small to set up something lasting under my own control. It isn’t millions of dollars. On the other hand, surely it can help some people. Thank you for all of this information. Very helpful!

Why do you still want control over it if you think you received it from “ill gotten gains” and isn’t really yours?

[Anonymous]

I received money I didn’t want either. Set up investment accounts for my kids and will just let it sit their till they are old enough to do what they want with it.

[Anonymous]

Consider Southern Poverty Law Center. Fights hate groups. https://www.splcenter.org/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would donate the money to a cause overseas where you get more bang for your buck. Throwing money at some of these problems in the US isn't going to change anything.

The NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund, mentioned above, absolutely has changed things.

I don't doubt they do good/important work. But American problems generally pale in comparison to the problems of people in other countries. Poor people in other countries are literally starving, while poor Americans are dying from health related issues from eating massive amounts of food. I used to donate to US organizations until I saw the extreme suffering in other countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would donate the money to a cause overseas where you get more bang for your buck. Throwing money at some of these problems in the US isn't going to change anything.

The NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund, mentioned above, absolutely has changed things.

I don't doubt they do good/important work. But American problems generally pale in comparison to the problems of people in other countries. Poor people in other countries are literally starving, while poor Americans are dying from health related issues from eating massive amounts of food. I used to donate to US organizations until I saw the extreme suffering in other countries.

While that may be true OP wanted to contribute to easing the racial inequalities in the lands that their ancestors profited from. NAACP legal fund seems a good outlet.

[Anonymous]

Reparations Generation

https://reparationgeneration.org/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep it and invest it. Revisit this issue in 30 years when it is worth more.

+1

[Anonymous]

I'd invest it. Money doubles in 7-10 years. The money doubles in a decade or less, you take the profit and help yourself/your kids etc. and then donate the "dirty" principal.

Sorry but no way would I give up 225k without profiting from it myself first - and I too have a well funded retirement, kids college etc. but we're not rich rich so I wouldn't short change my own kids over principles.

[Anonymous]

DCUM posters will tell you that no one but no one has any business telling rich people what to spend their money on, from private schools to leases on tacky cars to exploding submersible jaunts that kill your dang kid. But let someone say "I want to use money in my possession to help Black people" and here comes every jerk on earth to say "that's not how you use money!!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd invest it. Money doubles in 7-10 years. The money doubles in a decade or less, you take the profit and help yourself/your kids etc. and then donate the "dirty" principal.

Sorry but no way would I give up 225k without profiting from it myself first - and I too have a well funded retirement, kids college etc. but we're not rich rich so I wouldn't short change my own kids over principles.

Except when it comes to values. Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree it is smart to wait a year and think about what you want.

The ideas to help fund HBCU's and scholarships for African Americans are great.

Thurgood Marshall College Fund sounds like a viable option.

Here's a list of organizations helping black youth:
https://www.elitedaily.com/p/where-to-donate-to-support-black-youth-organizations-focused-on-the-future-22973734

Love this. My company works with Thirhood Marshall and they are well run and everyone is do move!

[Anonymous]

I'm just wondering how much of the money that you and your husband 'earned' was also sourced from advantages built on the backs of black and brown Americans. I would consider how much more you should be sharing with others. But I do appreciate the first step, OP!