David Clarke, a 34-year-old researcher, received a £100,000 inheritance from his mother over 10 years ago. Recently, he decided to give the money away to four charities in Liverpool, after letting 12 strangers decide what to do with the money. Clarke sent letters out to 600 people in the L8 postcode area, where he resides, inquiring if anyone would like to participate in the project. Out of the 38 people who responded, he picked 12 to act as visionaries and make an executive decision on what to do with the sum.
Clarke, who wanted to tackle inequality in his area, gave the power to local residents and neighbours to decide how to spend his inheritance. He explained that his desire wasn’t for the affluent or the financially well-off, but for the common people to make a collective decision on the issue. Although not an easy task for the 12 strangers to come to a unanimous decision, all parties involved endured “lively” and respectful discussions about how they could best help their own community. Clarke was proud that such an equal and balanced initiative could lead to a rewarding outcome.
The money was given to four Liverpool-based charitable organizations that target poverty in underprivileged communities. Each of the four charities received £25,000 to help aid their individual projects. The Florrie Community Centre, Dingle, Granby and Toxteth Collaborative Schools Network, The Team Oasis Children’s Charity, and Granby and Toxteth Development Trust worked with vulnerable and economically deprived individuals of all ages in the area.
Clarke’s initiative brought joy to each of these organizations, which usually rely on donations, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. As businesses shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, non-profit charities face the brunt of regressive economic conditions that leave those suffering from poverty stuck in even more challenging conditions. Clarke, happy to make a difference in his community, has established a website named Wealth Shared to inspire others to give their wealth away to more pertinent causes and identified his initiative as an excellent example of democratising wealth that should involve, more or less, the existing institutions and centres of power.
Speaking on his experience, Clarke stated he couldn’t have imagined anything better to do with the money, “I’m not planning to give any more money away for the foreseeable future, but I’m happy with how the money has gone away, it went better than I could have ever imagined.” Clarke’s story is another example of how small initiatives towards large schemes can change people’s lives and drive community togetherness
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