So… I can no longer receive donations.

Not here anyways. Just got done with a hearing over our inflated rent; as a refresher: as of February, GoFundMe was being counted as income by our income-based housing, negatively impacting our ability to maintain shelter.

Well, as it turns out, I can't receive donations at all, unless its one time and lump sum. — Under HUD's guidance (That's the United States Department of Housing & Urban Development), all reoccurring funding, even if it is from multiple people one-time, is considered income. It does not matter if there were gaps in the donations. It does not matter who the donations are from. All that matters, by their guidelines, is that it be money, which you can use, or which pays for your necessities. This apparently includes other people paying your expenses directly. So, no being on someone else' phone plan; no having someone pay your utility bill.

If it is reoccurring, no matter what for, no matter how, no matter if you see that money itself or not, no matter whether or not that money is earmarked for explicit needs, not even whether or not it classifies as income by the standards of the IRS, or even the dictionary definition of the word; it is income. All that matters, by HUD's guidelines, is that it is money that has, in some way, benefitted the household.

And here's insult to injury...

If we were to have been given that money up front? Were the entire culmination of all our donations given to us in one, lump sum? It would have been fine. One time, lump sums are exempt. It's not the amount, it's just how it was paid out.

So donations from multiple donors over the course of the year = income. Those same donations payed out all at once? Not income. Go figure.

And now my partner and I are at risk of homelessness...

The reason we're asking for donations in the first place is because I have no income, and my partner is getting screwed over by his employer using quasi-legal accounting processes, theft (unreported hours), and the federal concept of "tipped wages", to greatly reduce his income (in which, here's the kicker, doesn't as badly effect his gross income, which is what is used, per H.U.D, in rent calculations.

We can't afford rent. We can barely afford food. We have multiple bills we cannot keep up with. And now I am being told that I can't even ask for help, lest that increase our rent even more.

Money would have to fall into my lap, in one lump, or I would have to be on somebody's payroll, out of generosity; a private "basic-income" high enough to account for the difference; to survive.

So fuck the U.S. Dep. of H.U.D; Fuck Mean Testing;

And fuck the U.S.A.

_{For the curious}

social security has only given me enough money to get sicker

once my rent went up and they reduced my benefit because my employed roommate was paying more than i was

this shit is entirely evil

Here's the American hack. Found a religion. Call yourself a prophet of some sort and register your religion. They can't fuck with those donations.

The U.S H.U.D's definition of "income" is as broad as can be, and as far as I am aware, based on today's hearing and the documentation they gave me, there is no exemption for donations from a religious institution in income calculations, or any donations (save for one-time, lump sum payments).

Exceptions tend to specifically be from [X/Y/Z] government programs (See: Food Stamps), lump sum payments (See: Insurance & Lottery payments), and other such things.

It's that bullshit.

Annual income includes, but is not limited to: […] Periodic and determinable allowances, such as alimony and child support payments, and regular contributions or gifts received from organizations or from persons not residing in the dwelling;

— 24 CFR 5.609(b)(7)

I tried arguing that, because it was from different people, and sporadic, it falls under 24 CFR 5.609(c)(9):

Annual income does not include the following: […] Temporary, nonrecurring or sporadic income (including gifts);

But because the deposits reoccur in a somewhat regular (albeit sporadic) fashion, and are from a centralized source (GoFundMe), they do not qualify as such.

Even if it were from different people on the statement, it still occurs with some regularity; their definition of sporadic is basically "once in a blue moon".