Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Hardship funds/resources

[Buzz Harris (buzz_harris]

Hi Ruby.
We have such a fund at Mosaic Commons.  It's called the Good Neighbor Fund.
Members of the community who want to contribute give either a monthly amount or 
occasional one-time gifts.  It's administered by three of our members.  Those 
in need make private (and, I believe, confidential) requests to the Fund for 
assistance if they need it.  I believe that the funds are kept in a private 
account at a local financial institution and tracked by the three member body.
The Fund reports to the community from time to time on how much money they've 
issued in grants, but not to whom.  They also let us know when they need 
additional funds.
Speaking as someone who has worked in the nonprofit/public interest world for a 
long time, I am not aware of any reason that a 501(c)(3) public charity could 
not issue cash grants to people in financial need.  I think that the way we 
handle it is simpler than creating a (c)(3) for the purpose, but to the best of 
my knowledge you could.
If you want more detail about the Good Neighbor Fund I could ask one of my 
neighbors to give you more details.
Thanks,
BuzzMosaic Commons CohousingBerlin, MA



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Buzz Harris


What used to be called liberal is now called radical,
What used to be called radical is now called insane,
What used to be called reactionary is now called moderate, and
What used to be called insane is now called solid conservative thinking.

-Tony Kushner


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    On Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 03:50:02 PM EDT, Ruby Reay <rurubux [at] 
hotmail.com> wrote:  
 
 Hello all,

I am curious how communities deal with financial hardship experienced by their 
residents, specifically, do any of you have a fund that is used for such 
things, and if so, how to do approach the accounting of such a fund. I am 
thinking non-profits can't do such things, so there might be alternatives. I am 
aware that religious organizations (churches) have hardship funds/resources and 
have a means of accounting for them.

At any rate, curious to hear what others are doing.

Thanks,

Ruby Reay
Phoenix Commons
Oakland, CA
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