Giving more to help the homeless

See how Fidelity Charitable donor Michael Bradley discovered a hidden need of the homeless on a site visit—and is now helping to address it.

Michael Bradley first heard about Boston Health Care for the Homeless on the radio, and he decided to use his Giving Account to make a one-time grant recommendation to the charity as a symbol of backing. But when an invitation to tour the facility followed, he gladly accepted. It was then that he was able to see the team in action and meet the patients who benefit from their compassionate care.

During the tour, he met with Dr. Colleen Anderson, associate dental director at the clinic, and they spent some time talking about the dental needs of the clinic’s patient population and how the levels of oral disease among the homeless are at epidemic levels. “Donations give us a certain amount of flexibility,” Anderson explained. “It allows us to provide services that are not otherwise covered, purchase equipment, and send staff members out to other sites.”

Taken by the beauty of what she was doing and her selfless commitment to it, Bradley says, “I’ve always admired people who can invest of themselves when there’s not a lot in it for them except the satisfaction of doing good things.”

Much of his own desire to give back stems from receiving a scholarship when he was about 13 years old. “I didn’t think about it as philanthropy,” he says. “But it was the seed that got planted—that there was someone behind the $1,000.” And by making a contribution (of long-term appreciated assets and more) to the donor-advised fund, “you’re dealing with a system that really is built to make it possible to put 98 percent of your thinking into the giving and 2 percent into the execution.”

Ready to learn more about how donors can best make an impact on the organizations they care about? These resources about choosing a nonprofit can help you uncover key information about the organizations you are considering supporting and their needs.