Donation Certificates

Problem: Our 501(c)3 organizations, especially progressives ones, are constantly lacking in operating funds, and are constantly begging for money to keep afloat and fund their initiatives.

Problem: Our national savings rate is the lowest it has been since the Great Depression. People are pulling money out of their equity, taking out unsecured loans, living on credit cards and not preparing for the future. At the same time, Social Security is under attack by people who want to shut the entire system down by privatizing it. SSI should not be the only resource that people count on to pay for retirement at any time, and especially when the conservatives are trying to destroy it.

Problem: The American People no longer own our own country. From the ports being sold to Dubai to the massive list of companies on economyincrisis.org, we are watching the ownership of our infrastructure being transfered to private corporations that are unaccountable to the people.

Solution to all three of these problems:

I want to create an investment method where people put money into a savings program by buying bonds or what I call "Donation Certificates". The money would go into an account that earns interest in a local bank, and each person that buys a certificate increases the money in that account. Each month when the bank pays the interest on that account, the returned interest is split in half, with half going back into the account and the other half going to the charity. The more people that buy the certificates, the more money we will have to earn interest on.

Now, I call these bonds because they are redeemable. If someone purchases a $100 certificate, they would be able to come back after 5 or 10 years and cash it in. The value of the certificate would increase based on half the interest rate the account earns. It wouldn't be as much as if they had put the money into an account by themselves without making any donations with it, but with so many organizations to donate to, it would be good for people to know that their money is going to help provide for the charities they care about.

I need help looking at the numbers and figureing out how to create this kind of funding stream. I'm thinking a 501(c)3, but the accounts would be making a profit, selling certificates, etc. So a for-profit company might be a better choice. But I don't know enough about the law to know how to do this.

If you know anyone who might be able to help me create this, please let me know. I want to turn charity fundraising on its head with a brand new idea that encourages people to save and puts people into the mindset that they are owners of the future of their society.

Chad Lupkes
chadlupkes@gmail.com