What happens if we lose participants in a child’s Community of Elders?

We understand that people's lives and life circumstances change for a variety of reasons. That is the nature of life. If working through an organization that provided a Trust Committee, the Committee will work with parents to develop a Community of Elders that can participate for the entire 20 year time period. This will also include the selection of potential alternate members should an original member stop participating. The Committee will work with the parents to help select additional members should life circumstance require changes to the membership of their baby's original Community of Elders. Parents, grandparents, or friends participating on their own can contact us for suggestions on building and maintaining an engaged Community of Elders.

What if I don’t know enough people able to make the required monthly contribution to the child’s TFAC Trust Fund? Can I still participate?

Yes, you can still participate. You could contribute a lower monthly amount. The TFAC Committee will endeavor to have enough people participate to have the monthly total be $110. Again, parents, grandparents, or friends participating on their own can contact us for suggestions on building and maintaining an engaged Community of Elders.

What if we want to contribute more or less than $11 a month?

Of course you will be able to contribute more or less than the suggested monthly $11. Anyone can also make an additional contribution to the baby's trust at anytime. Donations made when the baby is small will greatly increase the monthly distributions that the child will eventually receive, as well as the amount going to the TFAC Global Fund to end poverty upon the individual’s death.

What happens if we need the invested money before the age of 18?

The sole purpose of a TFAC Trust Fund is to provide a monthly financial floor for the baby-child-adult during his or her entire life. It will also provide a private sector social security payment when elderly. The Pooled Income Fund program is used so that the monthly distributions will be larger for the entire life of the person. In exchange for this, the balance upon death is used to end poverty on Earth. There is no provision for any other distributions.

Why can’t I just do this on my own?

Many families lack familiarity with investing, savings, and the investing expertise TFAC provides. Additionally, TFAC has a relationship with the Internal Revenue Service that allows the capital to grow without taxation the entire life of the child. This will result in a TFAC Trust Fund providing on average a consistently greater monthly distribution. Finally, the willingness of relatives, family members, and friends to participate is increased by knowing not only that the monthly distributions will be larger but also upon the death of the child the capital will be distributed to the TFAC Global Fund. There it will be invested forever with any annual profits used to begin TFAC Trust Funds for poor children around the world until we end poverty on Earth from the bottom up.

How are the funds invested?

Parents can choose to have the funds in their children's TFAC Trust Funds invested according to their values: traditionally, socially responsibly, or faith-based.

How is this different from a 529 plan?

The primary difference between this and a 529 plan is that the funds of a 529 plan must be used almost exclusively for education. At any time after the age of 18, the yearly TFAC Trust Fund distributions can be used at the discretion of the individual.

Is a TFAC Trust Fund a safe place to invest for the future?

Since the Great Depression in 1929, the stock market has been one of the safest places to invest your money for the long term and have it also grow at an average of 10% per year. In the 1970s, Terry Mollner, the founder of Trust Funds for All Children, was one of the earliest pioneers of value-based investing. In 1982, he was also a founder of the first family of such funds, the Calvert Social Funds. Today it has $21 billion under management. Dr. Mollner is also a founder and chair of Stakeholders Capital, a socially responsible asset management firm with offices in MA, NY, and CA. He is Chair of both TFAC’s board of directors and its Investment Committee that will oversee the investment of our assets.