Technology Connections to donate surplus revenue to charity

Preface: Since we're in high drama mode I wanted start by saying this isn't an attack or attempt at comparison to any other YTer. Sharing because it's heartwarming and feel we could use more positivity.

Alec at Technology Connections posted on his Patreon yesterday...

So it’s time to announce a new policy. I’ve gone through my housing, business, transportation, energy, and general life expenses (like health insurance, what fun). After adding those up, making room for my regular retirement investments and a monthly stipend for food and whatnot, your support on Patreon currently represents a monthly surplus of approximately $4,500. I will be donating those surplus funds to social services organizations in my local area which provide housing, food, job training, and legal counseling to those in need. Shortly I will be setting up recurring donations totaling that amount and I will provide receipts for you. I will also be re-evaluating income and expenses on a quarterly basis and adjusting amounts as needed.

With the revenue shared from YouTube, this feels like the right thing to do. Unless things turn sour extremely quickly, I still have quite a rainy day fund. To myself, I’ve been rationalizing my “fun” purchases as coming from that chunk of the business and now I’ll make that explicit: your support here covers my expenses and the surplus beyond that will benefit my community.

I have been donating to two local organizations that I trust (in no small part because I volunteered for them in the past) since 2020 and they will both see an increase in support. Those are the People's Resource Center in Wheaton and the Elmhurst-Yorkfield Food Pantry. I would like to support more organizations, though - so please feel free to make suggestions for Chicago-area orgs you trust. I would like to keep my impact local but would also like to help those living in the City proper.