Tzedakah for tuition crisis – NEED DONORS

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  • #611282
    YOSSI151
    Participant

    I have an idea to help with the “Tuition Crisis”, but need the support of the tzibbur.There are B’H people who are looking to give tzedakah. I would like to form a tzedakah that will pool money toghther and then approach the various mosdos and ask them to identify the top 10 highest tuition balances. We will then give the mosod X amount of dollars, to help pay them down, and unbeknowning to those families, they will receive a letter with their next tuition statement that informs them that some donors have either paid some if not all of their balances. Imagine the peace of mind that family will have when they receive such a letter!!! This will all be done very discretely and left up to the administrators to decide who receives this allocation.

    The donors will not know who will receive this credit as well as the recipients will not know who contributed. Other than finding someone a job, this is the next best form of Tzedakah.

    This could be done on a monthly basis. I feel that instead of all the dinners out there to raise money for all the various institutions, which is also a big mitzvah, this will give some peace of mind to families who are truly struggling.

    As such, I am looking for sponsors/donors who would contribute to the pool, so this can start immediately.

    Please advise if the olom feels that this should be done with letters from local Rabbonim or the such.

    As always yasher koach for taking the time to read this letter/request, and please feel free to comment with any advice/opinion.

    The name of the Tzedakah will be called “Menuchos Hanefesh”.

    Thanks again.

    #986814

    The only thing that this will do is cause tuition to rise.

    #986815
    the-art-of-moi
    Participant

    YOSSI-

    That is an excellent idea! Don’t mind Veltz meshugener- he’s just being his pessimistic self. Good luck!

    #986816
    commonsense
    Participant

    Another idea that might help is as follows. If I’m not mistaken I am allowed to pay your child’s tuition and consider it tax deductible as a scholarship. Why can’t I pay someone elses tuition as a scholarship and they can pay my tuition as a scholarship.

    #986817
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    Why can’t I pay someone elses tuition as a scholarship and they can pay my tuition as a scholarship.

    Because the IRS reads Yeshiva World.

    #986818
    Nechomah
    Participant

    Not everybody gets to the level of deductions on their tax return that they can itemize them so they often end up taking the standard deduction. This obviously does not apply to wealthy people, but just wanted to put that out there.

    #986819

    Also because it’s outright geneiva in addition to geneivas da’as.

    #986820
    apushatayid
    Participant

    This idea is already in practice. However, the tzedaka is not c alled menuchas hanefesh, it is called the annual dinner, the chineese auction and all the other fundraising tools that are used. Yeshivos are able to give larger scholarships when they have the money available to do so. Support your local Yeshiva so that they are able to teach everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

    #986821
    rescue37
    Participant

    While you can pay someone elses tuition, it is not a bonafide charity expense and you cannot take the tax deduction (it doesn’t matter if the school gives you a receipt). As an individual giving money to pay someone elses bills is not tax deductible. Even giving money to a 501c3 for the specific benefit of someone is not tax deductible. In order to get a legal tax deduction, you must relinquish any right over the use of the funds for a specific person. You are allowed to restrict the funds by broad categories for a purpose such as to the tuition fund, scholarship fund, building fund, etc.

    #986822
    YOSSI151
    Participant

    apushatayid — I disagree – You might be right that Yeshivos raise money throughout the year for various expenses. However even with “Larger Scholarships” there are families still struggling to meet the tuition payments.

    If you run a business(Mosad,Yeshiva) and go over budget for whatever reason, either review your operating plan, and/or cut costs. Till today I do not understand what the yearly “Registration Fee” is. There are book fees, trip fees, shabboton fees, all I am saying is that with all these added fees, even with scholarships and dinners throughout the year, tuitions are still quite high.

    When the Chinese auction is finished, do the parents get to see how much was raised and what is was used for? Maybe to your point, on their next tuition bill it should state, since we raised “X” dollars from the dinner/auction you can skip this months tuition payment!!! If I were a parent who saw this, I could then have some sort of justification of how the money was allocated.

    Menuchos Hanefesh will give parents some feeling that someone is helping them out, very discretley and this would be Tzedakah to its fullest sense.

    Another thought, why are tuitions raised every year? The learning in 5th grade costs more than the learning in 4th grade??? Are the teachers/rabbaim more qualified as the years progress??

    the-art-of-moi, thanks for the support. Any leads you can throw my way??

    As always – Yasher koach for your time.

    #986823
    🐵 ⌨ Gamanit
    Participant

    YOSSI151- Although I do think there is a big problem with tuition, I don’t think this particular idea is a good one. Parents who are right now #25 on the list who have heard of it will just wait to be on the top ten and get it paid off. Almost everyone struggles to pay tuition. The only solution I can think of is to open a charter school geared toward frum kids- maybe starting later to allow them to attend torah classes before school or something like that.

    #986824
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    Apushatayid is right. Fundraising money subsidizes tuition for the neediest parents, and the tuition committees try to allocate scholarships according to the level of need.

    #986825
    apushatayid
    Participant

    Yossi, I dont know what reality you live in. No, the 4th grade does not cost more than the 3rd, however, the expenses of the yeshiva for electricity, food, cleaning staff, insurance, teachers, rabbeim etc. do go up every year. Yes, many, many parents struggle to pay tuition, even a small percentage of the requested amount, and yes, if someone is aware of a situation by all means call the yeshiva and make a payment for them. However, contributing to the yeshiva accomplishes the same purpose, in fact, might even be better than your suggestion. If the coffers are full and salaries and bills are paid the yeshiva is in a position to reduce the tuition they charge and be more flexible with the scholarships they hand out. So, before additional tzedaka organizations are created, people should be sure to answer the phone when someone calls before the yeshiva dinner.

    #986826
    kfb
    Participant

    Here’s a solution: vote for officials who are pro school vouchers. Also schools need to lower their tuition. It’s getting out of hand

    #986827
    YOSSI151
    Participant

    Gamanit – First off , only the parents receiving the credit will now about it. The parent body should not assume that if they do not pay, eventually they will be credited. Also, the money is given to the administrator to determine which people, based on their current matziv, are truly in need of relief. I picked the number 10 as a sample number. That will be determined as well by the amount that will be given from the Tzedakah.

    And your idea for a charter school is intriguing. follow that up.

    As always Yasher Koach.

    #986828
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    Also schools need to lower their tuition. It’s getting out of hand

    Yeah, why do rebbeim’s families need to eat?

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