Daily writing prompt
If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?
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Oh WordPress, you always know how to get people going! This is a week late (at least), but still a good topic to be writing about because what if you come into a large sum of money, what do you do?

This conversation always pops up around the time that Powerball hits a huge amount of money. What would you do with a million dollars (which isn’t even that much money)?

I’d give a large portion to my two daughters. I’d probably set up some kind of trust that is open to them when they turn 30. I love for them to be successful on their own, and then suddenly, this windfall shows up! $250,000 per daughter would seem to be a good amount for someone turning 30. They are in the midst of possibly having kids, buying a house, the “adulting” portion of life, and the money would be a wonderful addition to a growing family or just to put to use somehow.

A donation to our local food bank would be the next place. Our local food bank is always looking for other funding sources. They struggle to keep up with the demand and it’s only grown as they’ve grown. It is a food bank that so put together through the local church and serves the school district that I worked with. As I said, the need grows as rural Iowa loses good-paying jobs and people are forced into lower-paying jobs with few or no benefits. A cool $100,000 gift would keep them going.

So $400,000 left, were next? Music and fine arts. My daughters both benefited from having band and choir in their lives. Both have enjoyed their instructors, the various people who’ve come through their lives because of music, and the places they’ve been able to go. Every four years, our school tries to get everyone to Washington DC, do a few concerts along the way, and get the kids out of their small-town environment. There are always students who don’t sign up because of the cost. I’d love to have a fund set up where that takes away that fear. $250,000 to seed that fund would go a long way towards making that a secure trip.

The final $150,000 would go to local animal shelters. They are always struggling to find grants, funding opportunities, and money like this would help to take some of that pressure off. Our local shelter is in a small little building with many animals out in the community. They’d get $100,000 as we’ve adopted two cats from there and they are always fundraising. Another shelter south of us is where we adapted another cat. We don’t hear about them quite as much, but know the need is there. They’d get the additional $50,000.

This is WAY late now, but still a great, thought-provoking prompt! It’s one that got me thinking and I may give it to my sixth graders to see what they’d do!

So, I’ll ask you, fine reader, what would you do if you had to give away a million dollars? Where would your money go? I’d love to hear your responses! 🙂