Nebraska treasurer establishes crowdfunding website as savings program for people with disabilities

Josh Swanson, Josh Whitfield, Kathy Rohwedder and Whitfield's service dog, Albert Noah Pooper, from left, joined a news conference announcing a crowdfunding website for Nebraskans to donate to accounts for people with disabilities. Aug. 14, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN — A new crowdfunding website led by the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office is seeking to help Nebraskans with disabilities live a full, involved life in their community.

State Treasurer Tom Briese, State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil and a dozen other lawmakers Wednesday morning announced GiveToEnable.com . Assistant State Treasurer Stacy Pfeifer, director of the Enable Savings Plan , said unlike other crowdfunding sites, the new state-managed website won’t factor into someone’s benefits.

Nebraskans with disabilities can’t receive earnings above a certain level or they risk losing state or federal benefits.

Account holders do not pay fees or taxes on the account, and Briese said donations are tax deductible — up to $10,000 (or $5,000 for married taxpayers filing separately).

“It’s a win-win for everyone involved,” Briese said.

Qualifications and requirements

The “Enable Savings Plan” is Nebraska’s qualified ABLE program, referring to the federal Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014.

The program can be used to pay for qualified disability expenses. Those include housing, transportation, employment training and support, health and wellness, financial management, legal fees, oversight and monitoring expenses, funerals and burial expenses and other expenses to enhance an account owner’s quality of life.

Pfeifer said she grew up alongside her brother, who has special needs and taught her patience, compassion and a different worldview while having an “unmatched, infectious joy.” At the same time, people with disabilities face increased costs — on average, about 28% for someone with a disability compared to someone without a disability, just to live their daily life.

Eligible individuals can open an ABLE account at any time if their disability exists at the time the account is opened and the onset of the disability was prior to their 26th birthday (or 46th birthday, come Jan. 1, 2026).

About 40,000 Nebraskans are currently eligible to participate in the Enable Savings Plan and the crowdfunding program, according to Pfeifer. Once the onset of disability age increases, she said that number will double. There are about 4,221 accounts holding $44 million in assets.

“We continue to work hard at letting people know about this program and helping these individuals save,” Pfeifer said in an email.

‘I’m just saving up’

Josh Swanson, who grew up in Meadow Grove, Nebraska, said Wednesday he’s worked at Home Depot and with hogs and cattle and has a dream of owning an acreage in the country.

“I’m just saving up,” Swanson told the Nebraska Examiner, adding that he also would like to travel and see the world.

Kathy Rohwedder of Lincoln is Swanson’s legal guardian. She is also the shared living provider for Josh Whitfield, who founded a dog poop scooping company about 13 or 14 years ago: PooPatrol.

PooPatrol has grown to include a handful of employees in addition to Whitfield, serving 125 customers in Lincoln, Waverly, Ceresco, Valparaiso and Eagle. Whitfield said he is saving up for a “shiny blue patrol truck.”

Whitfield already has a crowdfunding profile that people have donated to for a separate goal: he wants to raise at least $7,000 to assist with training his service dog, Albert Noah Pooper. The total cost could be $7,500 for five training modules, conducted in Iowa, for both Whitfield and his service dog, according to Rohwedder.

‘He’s thinking about the future’

Edison McDonald, executive director of The Arc of Nebraska, which advocates with and for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, said Enable Savings and the new crowdfunding website will help thousands of Nebraskans live a full life in their community.

He echoed concerns that “a couple of cents” could be the difference between receiving or losing benefits. McDonald said that makes it hard to be financially responsible or plan for the future.

“It prevents them from being able to thoughtfully save and, instead, they’re forced to make rash expenditures,” McDonald said.

Murman said the crowdfunding website will be another step in allowing people to be supportive as people with disabilities face economic hurdles.

“That’s why the Enable program is, for some Nebraska families, not just another benefit but an economic lifeline,” Murman said. “And, as the name implies: a way to empower Nebraskans to achieve a better life experience.”

For Whitfield, Swanson and Rohwedder, Enable Savings has helped provide a sense of what savings is about.

“For the first in these last few years, he’s thinking about the future,” Rohwedder said of Swanson. “Not about the past and what he doesn’t have but what he’s going to be able to get.”

How to make an Enable account and donate

To create an account or donate through the new givetoenable.com crowdfunding website, as part of Nebraska’s Enable Savings Plan, go to the website and follow these steps.

To create an account:

1. Click on “register” at the top of the screen, fill in all the boxes and click “Sign Up” at the bottom.
2. An administrator will review the registration and spell out any revisions that might be needed. The administrator will alert the applicant when the account is approved and activated.

To donate:

1. Click “Members” to read stories, learn more about required needs and decide which member to give to.
2. Copy the member’s “Ugift code,” which is found on the member’s profile, and click the link for ugiftable.com.
3. Paste the code into the new website and follow the instructions. A confirmation page can be printed for recordkeeping.
4. Using the Ugift code, donors can deduct the amount of the gift from state income taxes — up to $10,000 annually, or $5,000 for married taxpayers filing separately.

Source: Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office

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