An app is currently in development to create a platform where money can be donated to the homeless electronically. The project, developed by Peter Kormanyos, hopes to give the homeless community not only the opportunity to get supported, but also a chance to watch their own investments grow.
Introducing, BumPay
Giving cash to the homeless has always been ill-advised. There’s no telling what a person whose life is the streets might do with immediate money, and Kormanyos hopes to relieve that worry by making these donations electronically. BumPay is a system designed to give individual members of the homeless community a donation towards their betterment.
The way it works is, as members of the homeless community sign up for the BumPay program, they are given an ID number, which they can write down and hold up in signs or carry in their wallets or however they choose. People can then use this number to access this specific person’s account, and they are able to give however much they choose to that person.
The Details
Out of every donation, 85% is deposited immediately into a homeless person’s debit card account (provided by BumPay); 10% goes into a micro-IRA system that stores it for tax paying and investment purposes, and the remaining 5% goes to support BumPay and their services.
To expand on the micro-IRA system, one of Kormanyos’ main goals is to give the homeless community the ability to file for tax returns by recasting 10% of the income from donations as 1099. This will enable them to file for tax returns and social security credit. Added benefits would include the ability to be able to claim earned income credit, and to claim retirement saving contribution credit.
In his words, if the homeless community is able to accumulate wealth, they will gain control, and most importantly, ambition to keep growing and going upwards.
Results Cannot Be Predicted, But The Project is Hopeful
There’s no say in how this will unfold if the app really does hit the market, and people and the homeless alike start to use it. As with anything, there is always the possibility of misuse, but being a charitable cause, BumPay should at least set gears in motion to change peoples’ minds about how they view the homeless community. In the end, they should always have the chance to rehabilitate, and see the growth and change in themselves.
Check out more information and give your support here.
