The Covid-19 imposed times are challenging for all of us.  Some of us are infected, some of us have lost dear ones, some of us have suffered setback in business, some of us have been laid off, some of us are mentally impacted by the lock down. 

In short, this Covid-19 event has impacted  every person on this planet directly or indirectly. And probably, this is happening for the first time in history.

In such testing times, to survive, having a strong emotional and financial support system is very critical. 

And the emotional wellness and financial wellness are connected to each other to some extent. 

For the middle class and lower middle class folks like us, not having money to pay bills is one of the key reasons for stress and anxiety. And the fear of losing jobs and business is adding to this anxiety.

There is a possibility that some of us are in need of some financial help. For some, it could be easy to go and talk to friends and family, but for some it might not be. The reasons for could many.

You might not want to ask for help to avoid embarrassment, you might not have any one financially strong in the immediate Family. This could be our own imagination. Why somebody thinks in a particular way is a different discussion and not the agenda of this post.

The fact is that there is some one in our family who needs help and there are people who are ready to help. But the connection is not being established between the two. 

So, is there is a solution here. The solution should allow one to get help without going through the stigma of asking for help.

To come to the solution, let us draw parallel to the banking system. If I need money, I would go to bank and take a loan if its possible.  We do not feel embarrassed to take a loan from bank. 

So why don’t we create a family fund similar to PM Cares Fund

The design of the Family Fund  - It is similar to PM Cares fund

This solution is used everywhere. There are trusts, foundations that are formed to financially help the retired army officers, families of deceased army personnel and so on. 

The idea here is to create a similar trust or fund specifically for the family members.

When I say family, I am not limiting myself to immediate family of sibling. We could include uncles, aunts and whoever you trust and share the same values. Its like any other voluntary club. People of the same interests and values join similar clubs.

How will the Family fund work

1. All the members of the family join willing and contribute a certain amount in the trust.
2. There is no compulsion on the amount of money to be contributed. Remember, the agenda is to help. The amount of money contributed by a member is not known to others. Its all anonymous. The idea is to help without focus on name.
3. The money of the trust is managed by a professional bank. This is a new revenue stream for banks.
4. Based on the need, the members of the trust can withdraw money from the fund anonymously. The bank will know, but the trust members will not. As one of the purpose was to avoid the stigma of asking for monetary help.
5. We could list down the situations in which the trust members are allowed to withdraw
6. To ensure everybody benefits, there could be terms and conditions on withdrawal limit/situation.