If you won the euromillions (or had a similar amount of money) how would you spend some of the money to try and make a difference?

[Aspanielstolemysanity]

Partly inspired by driving through some fairly deprived areas and realising what a sheltered /privileged life my children live, and how much difference that makes to their life chances and childhood

And partly just that I like to day dream about having the power and resources to really make a difference in the climate change battle...

So I was just idly day dreaming and wondered what others would do?

I feel like it would be quite daunting to have that much money and know that if you used some of it wisely you could make a difference

I would be helping local small cat rescues as a priority.

I would focus the majority of the money on education and support for women and children escaping domestic violence.

I would want to support state education where that was possible, perhaps with funding for specialist teachers or facilities. I would also donate so that lower income families could access extra-curricular activities.

I would also place a significant amount into trusts for bursary funds to allow children to access the benefits of private education that otherwise wouldn’t be able to pay the fees. I have seen first hand the life changing opportunities that can be provided, but would also balance this with provision for those still in the state system.

I think I would like to do some volunteering in the local area. Thinking foodbank would be a good start and to see where I could make a difference. Not just in terms of donating money to the foodbank but use that as a way of talking to local people and get a feel for where financial contributions could really help. I would also like to help the homeless.

My ds has severe autism. I worry about his future constantly.

I'd create a mock village/ gated community for people like him. It'd have shops, cafes, swimming, animals, cinema, bowling etc where the young people could safely go but also work if they wanted to (supported). There would be onsite ot/slt's/pt's/ dietrician and lots of other support staff with suitable accomodation for all and lots of sensory experiences/ facilities. Also some spare accomodation that families could use to visit. I'd charge LA's for some of the people's costs and subsidise others. There would be visuals everywhere too.

The number of people who are hospitalised (in alocked ward) or locked up for no other reason than they have autism and cost too much money to be looked after appropriately is scandalous. There are too many accounts of abuse.

I want to open up a canoeing trail thru Great Hoveton Broad. That would cost £1 million, apparently. needs a maintenance budget for at least 10 yrs too. So another £4million maybe.

I'd like to sink a huge amount (£millions) into prisoner rehabilitation, get people in prisons more skills and a lot of therapy.

I should think of something frivoulous for me, too, how to spend the money. Maybe a DIY slave. I flipping hate DIY and utterly fail at it. I can't even specify what I want without screwing up the result to be something I don't like after all. I would happily delegate all DIY thinking, planning and doing to other people forever more.

ps: i think gambling is stupid so will never win euro millions lol

I have an old friend who returned to the part of India where he grew up and started a school for tribal children who couldn’t get in to government schools, especially girls. I’d give him a shedload!

I’d also give lots to a charity that provides youth mentoring relationships in some of the largest cities in Asia and Africa, helping kids build community and helping with schoolwork and scholarships.

I’d aim to give at least half away, so I’d have to research other places too. Also, enough money to my church to renovate the toilets, which are frankly a disgrace!!

This is similar to my plan too … if I ever win I will give you the money for yours

Perzival

see my last post - I will share with you too!

I have quite complex feelings about this. I run a small but (to my mind!) impactful grassroots charity - a foodbank feeding hundreds a week. When we have worked with the big aid charities the level of (also to my mind!) waste has been astounding. Multiple FT roles on social media, for example, and really capitalising on the latest disaster for funding. So for me large charities would be out (bar, oddly, RNLI, who I haven’t heard a bad word about).

But lots of grassroots charities like mine are also poorly run - duplication of effort, lack of professionalism where it matters and frankly sometimes just people on an ego trip. So giving money there needs some careful due diligence. (A few years ago we had a local guy come good give us £5,000 unprompted - and my main memory was how trusting he was with our plans for it.)

I think supporting a few individual families might be my approach - finding people who were stuck in a spiral where for example buying them a house would be life changing. Ideally anonymously.

Yes, I've worked in the charity sector,.I have seen amazing work and also structural problems/bureaucracy. It's.why I keep mulling over the best ways to target my fantasy money.

I’d set up a charitable trust to provide funding for disadvantaged young people to access training in areas that you normally need money to be able to access because of the costs - so to pay for music college places, drama schools, ballet schools etc training to become a barrister etc.

Chuck a load at charities that provide support for women and children escaping domestic abuse. Also fund education and training for current and ex prisoners (like the family who run Timpsons)

If I had any left then fund as many extra curricular clubs and trips as I could for as many schools as I could manage so no child has to miss out due to lack of funding.

Mind if I chip in my (theoretical) lottery win?

Like the idea of preservation of green spaces. I'd give money to create some youth services provide money for educational/recreational visits, sponsorship for under privileged kids to further their education and put money aside for grants to provide home from home nursing/ care homes for those who can't afford it.

Adult services a good idea too

I'd contribute to this. My cousin would thrive in a place like this and she's in her 40s. So somewhere people can live until they die basically. That would be amazing, to know your person would be okay for as long as they need.

I'd like to fund a scheme for women to train as electricians, plumbers, handy women etc to then provide services for vulnerable women (such as Womans refuge).

My husband - funding to allow low income families access to sport at all levels.

Me - publicly I'd focus on affordable housing to rent in high cost of living areas local to me. I'd also fund some of the local fundraising you see for special equipment for disabled children etc but be very under the radar.

I definitely wouldn’t advertise my charitable contributions! I think a lot of people would be the same.
Best to go under the radar.

I was talking to DH a few weeks ago about how winning an absolutely huge amount would actually be a burden. I wouldn't keep all of it because wtf would I personally do it with it after I'd bought a big house and invested some to generate enough to live on. But giving that much money away is actually proper work. I would want to make sure that it wasn't just being squandered on well-meaning but ineffective projects, or even worse being skimmed for someone's personal gain. I'm an introvert, I really don't want to be smoozed or begged by loads of strangers who want my money. On the other hand I would really want the money to be useful to people who need it, not just sit in some wealth management fund and then have the tax man take a huge lump of it when I die.

I think what I would end up doing is transferring a lot of the money into a trust of some sort with an anonymous sort of name so it's not easily connected to me and have a small team of employees to research charities on my behalf. The final decision on how much goes where would be mine, but I wouldn't have to all the checking of books and facilities or deal with strangers. If there is a need but no existing charity then perhaps I could set one up, again anonymously, but I would prefer to support those who are already doing something. The sort of thing that attracts me is shelters/therapy for women suffering from violence, education funds - especially for girls in countries where they are less likely to complete school than boys, support for troubled teenagers, put facilities like playgroups and toy libraries into poorer areas where the population don't have spare cash for that sort of thing. I would like to buy up a lot of land and plant native woodland with trails through it, I would keep that for myself because I love woodlands despite having quite a severe tree pollen allergy, but by the time that I die it should be fairly mature and I will donate it to the nation along with a trust fund to pay to manage it. I have a sort of nebulous idea about some sort of life skills institute, people who are struggling in life can have a sort of one stop service where they have a counsellor who goes through their struggles with them to identify the root cause and then give them a choice of short courses to learn skills or therapy to help with trauma based bad decisions, a way to catch people who have fallen through the cracks.

Oh definitely, same, I would hate to be remotely in the public eye

Omg, I love this idea.

we are in the same position and it’s a constant worry. However, your idea sounds so awesome 😊

I'd buy a new guy for the guides and scouts in low maintenance materials, with good mouse proof storage, decent bathroom and toilet including handicap shower.

I think I would look at setting up a property company or trust to buy up quite a lot of decent 3 bedroom houses locally and rent them out long term to working families who need them at a fair rent. Even in my area where those solid ex council semis sell for approx £400k each I should be able to help improve quality of life/security for some local people, so they can put down proper roots, have pets if they want to, live somewhere maintained properly and repaired promptly and not constantly worry about how long they're there for.

Last time me and DD planned what we’d do we decided we’d have a housing association - so that - good quality affordable housing is the baseline on which so much is built. We’d prioritise care leavers and families in temporary accommodation and have effective support.

I would donate it all to my favourite foreign animal rescue.