Givers Provides Money Management To Caregivers

Ask someone who has found themselves in the position of being the caregiver for a family member, and they’ll tell you that it’s one of the toughest jobs in the world. The stress comes from all directions and it’s relentless. And while other family members may be able to help, that’s not always the case.

But the emotional toll isn’t the only source of stress. The financial stress is frequently just as bad. Caregivers can only watch as their loved one’s savings are depleted, then the savings of family members, while there are frantic searches for relief from Social Security, perhaps the Department of Veterans Affairs or other sources of funding including charities.

Until now, caregivers had few prospects of finding help working through the maze of agencies and offices that could help identify funding, but that’s changing. Givers provides a financial management platform designed specifically for caregivers.

“We believe that equipping family caregivers with a 21st century financial tool is the first step to supporting and engaging them in as part of the larger care ecosystem,” explained Max Mayblum, founder and CEO of Givers. “So what we’ve really focused on doing is building the financial system for family caregivers to manage their money and to find ways to save money on care.”

Three Pillars

Mayblum said that the Givers platform is broken down into three functions, which he calls “pillars,” which are plan, track and save. In the planning pillar, Givers will help them calculate their total expenses, and refer them to their companion bank, Red Bank, where they can set up the accounts they need. It also gives users a way to separate their caregiving expenses from their personal expenses.

The bank provides caregivers a debit card that can be used for care, but it also helps track expenses. By tracking expenses, caregivers can get the information they may need for expense reimbursements.

“The third pillar is savings. We help people tap into different savings sources as family caregivers, be that through discounts that we’ve negotiated with partners, or helping them understand what’s available to them through government benefits that have been extended to family caregivers.” Mayblum said that the savings include tax credits, as well as tax filing for caregivers.

“In 2017, which is the latest year for which data are available, there were $3.2 billion in that tax credit claimed, however, only 119 million of the 3.2 billion were claimed by those taken care of older adults. The rest were claimed by parents taking care of their children, so there’s this big arbitrage of family caregivers who are taking care of their elderly parents who don’t recognize the opportunity to claim their loved one as a dependent,” Mayblum said.

“The first is that they don’t know what exists,” Mayblum explained. “The second is if they do know it exists, it’s too hard to navigate or too hard to figure out how to actually get what you you’re eligible for. And then the third is family caregiver saying that not enough programs exist.”

Mayblum said that when someone signs up for Givers, they fill out a questionnaire that describes their life and helps them set several financial goals as well as a self care goal.

“So knowing that burnout is a very real thing for family caregivers, how can we help earmark just a little bit of budget every month to make sure caregivers are taking care of themselves?” he asked.

“We know family caregivers are three times more likely to have suicidal ideas than the non-family caregivers,” Mayblum added. “So there’s a huge emotional burden and mental stress to this. And I think by helping people do this in a really streamlined and easy fashion, it’s off of their plate, and they can rest easy that it is being taken care of.”