In the world of online tools for people battling illness, nothing quite compares to those sites that help build a community around someone who is sick.  The two most popular patient websites are CaringBridge and CarePages, both of which provide free patient blog sites so friends and family can keep up on the progress of a loved one.

Two possibly lesser known sites take this sense of community to a new level, offering patients and their caregivers a way to connect and collaborate.

Lotsa Helping Hands, offers free online collaboration tools to help people to come together in caregiving.  A calendar, message board, blog, and event invitations make it easy for friends and family to volunteer to cook dinner, drive to doctor’s appointments, or schedule visits.

MyLifeline.org provides cancer patients with free blog sites to update friends and family.  They provide cancer resources and help build an online community for patients and their caregivers.

Much like these sites, GiveForward aims to bring people together to help a loved one battling an illness.  That’s why we make it easy for people to leave words of encouragement, email organizers, update stories, and list upcoming events.  But the real purpose of GiveForward is to help bring together friends, family, and strangers to contribute directly to the recovery of someone they care about.

Because of this, GiveForward is a natural complement to patient web sites like CaringBridge, CarePages, MyLifeline.org, and Lotsa Helping Hands.

To raise money on any of these sites using GiveForward.org, all you have to do is create a GiveForward page and paste the customized url for your project into the descriptions or links on any of these sites.  Then, friends and family who read about a patient’s updates can visit the GiveForward page to make a donation.

Soon GiveForward will make it that much easier to fundraise on sites like these.  Our widget (to be released in early April) will allow you to fundraise using the GiveForward platform all the while staying on your current website or blog.

Stay tuned for updates, but in the meantime if you have any questions about how to fundraise on a CaringBridge, CarePage, MyLifeline.org, or Lotsa Hands Page, shoot us an email at info@giveforward.org.

vs.  

While GiveForward may be one of the few sites focused on helping people raise money for medical expenses, the reality is that people have been raising money like this for years.

We’ve all seen change boxes at convenience stores collecting money for a child’s surgery or driven by a church hosting a spaghetti dinner for a congregation member with cancer.  Over the last 10 years, people have taken these fundraising efforts online, first sending emails and creating websites asking for checks via snailmail and later creating sites with PayPal buttons going into personal accounts.

The PayPal Donate button has become fairly ubiquitous across blogs and smaller non-profit websites.  So, it is no wonder that we are frequently being asked why GiveForward is better than a PayPal button.

Here is our answer…

1. Expertise – We understand the strategies that make peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns successful. We are constantly adding new tips and best practices to our blog and have fundraising experts on staff available to answer questions and provide fundraising tips to our users. PayPal is a merchant processor not a fundraising expert.
2. Ease of use – We have had users start fundraising pages and raise $15,000 within 24 hours of signing up for an account.  We made our platform very simple and straightforward.  If an individual can send an email, they can use GiveForward.
3. Superb customer service - Although we provide a turnkey platform that anybody can use, when a user does ask for help, we pride ourselves on our ability to assist. Whether this means providing fundraising tips and advice over the phone, recommending a useful cancer support organization, or even helping users draft press releases for their local newspaper, we do everything within our means to make sure our users achieve their desired results.
4. Trustworthiness – The GiveForward platform is more trustworthy than a PayPal system. Donors feel more secure knowing that they are donating through an intermediary like GiveForward that holds the donations in escrow rather than going directly to an individual’s PayPal account.
5. Ability to leave comments – Upon making a donation, the donor has the ability to leave words of encouragement for the beneficiary. We’ve heard on a consistent basis from our users that this moral support from friends, family and strangers throughout the world is equally as important as the actually monetary contributions.
6. Easily measured progress— Unlike a PayPal button, GiveForward pages track the success of a fundraiser, making it easy for donors to see and build off of the momentum of a well executed fundraiser.
7. Ability to donate anonymously or semi-anonymously—PayPal requires donors to give their name and email address, making it impossible for people to leave anonymous gifts.   GiveForward protects donors by allowing them to donate completely anonymously.  Or, for those donors who may not want to display the amount, they can leave their first name and comment but hide the amount given.
8. Integration with Social media—GiveForward provides seamless integration with Facebook upon checkout, allowing donors to help spread the word quickly about a fundraiser.
9. Visually pleasing layout – Users have the ability to add pictures, calendars and even video to their fundraising pages to help bring their messages to life.
10. Personalized URL – Each GiveForward user selects a personalized URL for his or her fundraiser (e.g. www.GiveForward.org/Johan) making it easy to share with friends and family around the world.
11. Emailing system – Each user has the ability to import contacts from Gmail Yahoo! and MSN accounts to easily spread the word to friends and family.
12. Added visibility – Because each fundraiser is in a searchable database, anyone who is browsing the GiveForward site may choose to donate to fundraiser.
13. Automatic thank you notes - Every time a person donates, the donor receives an automatic thank you note from the organizer of the fundraiser as well as from GiveForward.
14. Ability to thank donors individually – In addition to the automatic thank you, GiveForward users can send personalized thank you emails directly to their donors even if the donor is anonymous.
15. Automatic Donation Alerts – GiveForward sends an automatic donation alert to the fundraiser’s organizer every time a donation is made.
16. Technical support – GiveForward staff members are available to answer technical questions five days a week.
17. Automatic email receipts to the donors- If  a 501(c)(3) has been set up for the individual beneficiary, this email serves as a tax-deductible receipt to the donor.
18. Lastly, we have a strong reputation and proven results – The GiveForward name and feel of the website engenders a sense of community that encourages donations and generosity. The Chicago Tribune has labeled GiveForward “the future of medical fundraising in the Internet Age”.  And with numerous projects on the site raising $10,000, $50,000 and even $80,000+ we have the track record to back it up.

Earlier in the month, GiveForward joined forces with our friends at let’s dabble to shoot two videos.  The first captured people on streets of Chicago sending words of encouragement to the people of the Haiti. view here

The second video (below) captures the experience of a nurse practitioner friend of GiveForward’s who was in Haiti volunteering at a clinic when the earthquake hit.  We hope that her story will remind people that there is still so much that is needed there right now.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voByy_g13Qs[/youtube]

We see a lot of fundraisers on GiveForward to pay for pet medical expenses and we’re always thrilled when they do well.

Recently, we received a “virtual high five” from one of our users, Courtney Pierce, a veterinarian who was raising money to cover the costs of surgery for Surfer, a wounded dog that got hit by a car in Nicaragua.  She gave us permission to reprint her email, so we thought we’d share it with you all:

Sarah,

I just received the proceeds from Surfer’s fundraiser and was so touched at the personal note included with his check. It brought a smile to my face and warmth to my heart. I have been so pleased with the GiveForward.org site, it has made our fund raising easy, efficient and effective! I will most certainly share my positive experience with others. Keep up the good work!
read more…

Yesterday, our very own co-founder and second banana Ethan Austin was interviewed on Blog Business World by blogger Wayne Hurlbert. Blog Business World focuses on business, marketing, public relations, and SEO search engine optimization for successful entrepreneurs, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it! Check out the interview below or at the original site to find out Ethan’s thoughts on GiveForward’s philosophy and future!

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Ethan Austin: GiveForward.org – Interview

Co-founder and Second Banana of the personal and community fundraising site www.GiveForward.org, Ethan Austin, who along with colleague Desiree Vargas, was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions about their grassroots organization.

Thanks to Ethan Austin, Desiree Vargas, GiveFoward.org, and their representatives for their assistance and their time.

What is the mission of GiveForward, and how does the organization help fundraising efforts?

Ethan Austin: Our goal is to provide a simple and effective way for people over the world to contribute financially to a loved one’s recovery from illnesses like cancer. We do this by giving users free, personal fundraising pages where friends and family can donate online with their credit cards to help defray loved ones’ medical, living and travel expenses not covered by insurance.

What sort of help does GiveForward provide for fundraisers large or small?

Ethan Austin: Whether we’re helping a large non-profit organization or a first-time fundraiser raising money for her sister’s chemo treatments, we try to inject as much humanity and compassion as possible into each user’s experience. Sometimes that may mean writing a press release or calling up a local newspaper to help a fundraiser get some media attention. Other times it may mean recommending a cancer support organization to an individual to help with the emotional aspects of cancer entirely outside of the fundraising realm.

Can GiveForward assist someone creating a page for one person even if that person is not part of a larger organization?

Ethan Austin: Definitely. In fact, more than 80% of the fundraisers on the site are for individuals battling illnesses like cancer.

Ethan Austin (photo left)

What other types of online support is provided by GiveForward when a site is created to ensure its success, especially if the person has no previous fundraising experience?

Ethan Austin: We take great pride in being very hands on about teaching people how to fundraise effectively. We send out an email to each new user when they sign up for the site that directs them to our fundraising blog with lots of tip and strategies. We also have two fundraising coaches on staff whose primary responsibilities are to help teach our users how to be more successful fundraisers. Fundraising isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but when people use our tips, they generally succeed.

Could you provide some examples of successful fundraising efforts that has the assistance and guidance of GiveForward?

Ethan Austin: Last year a young woman was raising money for her sister’s kidney transplant and asked for our help. We came up with the idea to do a 24-hour Facebook Awareness campaign for them where people “donated” their Facebook status message for a day. Thousands of people ended up visiting their fundraising page, making it go “viral”. In the end, the sisters ended up raising over $31,000 and were able to get a life saving kidney transplant. www.giveforward.org/jess

More recently, the organizer of a fundraiser for a young father with renal cancer emailed us because they had reached their $10,000 target so quickly and asked if it was appropriate to increase their goal. We told them it was definitely appropriate and drafted the language they used to email their friends and family notifying them of the change. Just five days after they increased the goal, they had raised an additional $15,000 for his treatment! www.giveforward.org/johan

It appears from the GiveForward website that even one person can make an important contribution toward creating a better world and helping others. Is that a core belief that is held by GiveForward?

Ethan Austin: Definitely. Our whole philosophy is that one person may not be able to change the world all by herself. But each person does have the ability to change someone’s world. For instance, we had a user who once received a $3 donation and a $1000 donation in the same day for her multiple sclerosis treatment. She later told us that the $3 donation meant more to her than the $1000 donation because the woman it came from was actually in worse financial shape than she was. To be sure, the generosity of our community never ceases to amaze us!

What is the first step a person should take toward setting up a fundraising site with GiveForward?

Ethan Austin: Go to www.GiveForward.org and click the green button that says “start fundraising”. It’s a pretty simple process. We like to say that if you can send an email, you can set up a fundraising page.

What is next for GiveForward and what does the future hold for the organization?

Ethan Austin: 2010 is all about partnerships for us. Since the new year, we’ve partnered with a lot of great cancer organizations like the Colon Cancer Alliance, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation and the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. Our goal is to continue partnering with non-profit health organizations and hospitals to spread word to patients and families who could benefit from our services.

Tags: GiveForward.org, Ethan Austin, Desiree Vargas, fundraising, interviews.

Labels: interviews

GiveForward is looking for bright, enthusiastic, highly-motivated rising juniors, seniors, new graduates and grad students who want to really sink their teeth into a project and run with it.  You must have excellent writing and communication skills, and a sense of humor is a REQUIREMENT. Additionally, the ability to finish a two pound burrito from Chipotle in one sitting is viewed favorably (see below).

If you are interested in applying, please send a resume and a short cover letter explaining why you want to work with us to jobs@giveforward.org.

Please include which position you are applying for in the subject line. We are currently hiring for the following positions:

Fundraising Coach Extraordinaire: Are you a fundraising king or queen? Do you enjoy helping people and coming up with creative ways to raise money for good causes? If so, you could be perfect for this position.

We need someone who is an excellent communicator both with emails and on the phone.

Responsibilities will include:

* Working closely with individuals and organizations to help them better understand the ins and outs of online fundraising  (don’t worry, if you don’t know the ins and outs, we’ll teach you)
* Reaching out to new users to help them do a better job of fundraising
* Helping to write fundraising tips on the GiveForward blog
* Serving as the “face” of GiveForward to the Giveforward community and the outside world
* Issuing checks and personalizing the letters we send to beneficiaries
* Ensuring that our users have the absolute best user experience possible

read more…

Check out this article on GiveForward user Adam Chowski! He’s currently raising money on our site to get to Haiti and work in Haitian hospitals as a surgical technician. You can read the article below or on the original site. Don’t forget to check out Adam’s GiveForward page too—his fundraiser ends TOMORROW!!

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Adam Chowski: Haiti Update

Oh yeah, it’s my birthday today too!

February 11, 2010, 8:20 PM

By: Cody York

Cody York

Adam Chowski

Adam Chowski checked in with me today with an update about his upcoming trip to Haiti. Since I had originally posted about Chowski trying to raise money for Haiti, he’s received a bunch of attention and extended help from others. Ethan from www.youthnoise.com did a 10 question interview with Chowski, about his Haiti efforts and interest as a surgical technician; you can check it out in full here.

Adam Chowski: Youth Noise Interview

Chowski also setup a fundraising page at Give Forward.com, as an easy way for people to donate towards his cause. The page states that the fundraiser ends this Saturday but Chowski said a lot of riders on BMX Board have asked him to extend that date. So Chowski is extending it until the end of next month. As you’ll notice on his page, Chowski is way short of reaching his goal and still needs a lot of help. Right now, he has sadly resorted to putting the expenses on his credit card for the time being. Chowski said he is leaving this Saturday morning for Haiti, regardless of how much it puts him in debt. If you would like to help a good cause and a fellow BMXer, go donate here.

Adam Chowski’s Haiti Fund

On a side note: It’s my birthday today and I can’t believe I’m 27-years-old! I found this old Polaroid of myself today, posted on my Dad’s bulletin board above his desk. I guess technically this was my first BMX bike, I was 3-years-old in this picture, so that means I’ve been riding BMX for 24 years?! Cheers!

Me at 3-years-old, Superman outfit and my new BMX bike for Christmas.

February 4 is World Cancer Day—a global day of awareness created by the International Union Against Cancer.

With so many members of the GiveForward community battling cancer, we hear every day from our community that words of encouragement from friends and family can make a HUGE difference in a cancer fighter’s attitude and health.

In honor of World Cancer Day, we’re  encouraging everyone to take five minutes today to call or email someone you know battling cancer just to remind them that they’re not fighting this battle alone.   If you really want to make a SUPER-DUPER, HUGE difference, take two minutes to email your friends or office workers and encourage them to do the same.   If your friend battling cancer gets 10 emails today from friends and family just imagine how much that will cheer her up.

In addition to phone calls and emails here are some other silly ways you can cheer up a friend:

• Mail them random cheesy postcards from not-so-distant locales
• Surprise them with an inappropriately funny video
• email them a joke
• email them this photo
• Take a goofy picture of yourself on your phone and send it to them as a text message.
• Send them an annoyingly cute ecard from Hoops and YoYo
• Secretly hide a $20 in their jeans pocket when they are not looking ( Note: if they are wearing skinny jeans this may take ninja-like skills to pull off…)

For more ideas on how to cheer up a friend battling cancer, check out a great organization called Spirit Jump, whose motto is “fighting cancer one gift at a time”.

Lastly, don’t forget to smile today! Laughter really is the best medicine.

Last week, GiveForward was lucky enough to be featured on Nebraska Radio Network, 4imprint.com’s Fundraising Basics Part II “Blue Papers”—a collection of guides to help “improve the effectiveness of your marketing and promotion initiatives,” AND in ChicagoNOW for our Haiti fundraising efforts! Read the Nebraska Radio Network article and ChicagoNOW articles below (or on their original sites) and download the 4imprint Blue Paper PDF here.

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There is a new, easy way for Nebraskans to fund raise for a family member or friend who may be suffering from an illness and can not afford the high medical bills. Desiree Vargas is the Co-Founder and President of the website “GiveForward.com. Vargas says this is a very easy way to use social networking sites help get the word out that a friend of family member is ill and others can help.

“So, you create a free fundraising page on our site and from then you spread the word using our e-mail so it will pull in the e-mail addresses that you want and you can shoot out an e-mail that way. There is also a tele-friend button that brings in all the social media sites and you can post directly to Facebook, Twitter or MySpace. But the other thing we recommend is creating a Facebook group for your campaign so a lot of people will use Facebook to connect their friends from all over the world and they put the links to the “Give Forward” page within that group.”

Vargas says it doesn’t matter if a person has health insurance or not however they to check each page created to make sure the fundraising effort is legitimate.

“Shelly from Cincinnati was just diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer and they have insurance. They are a middle class family working hard but they 10-thousand dollar deductible. Her friends started a site for her and in 10 days they raised three-thousand dollars so it is a great way to help those you love. One other thing we hear from our users is that it is great that the money does come in but one of the best things we help people do is not to feel so helpless when a loved one does get sick.”

Vargas says everyone has seen the collection jars at check-out counters or dinners sponsored to fund raise for a person who is ill. This is basically the same thing but many more people can be reached via the internet.

“We have helped people raise three-quarters of a million dollars in the last year. The average fundraiser in medical raises about four-thousand dollars on the site. The top fundraiser has raised 32-thousand dollars.”

Vargas says there is also a “wish page” on the website where people can ask for certain requests.

“People can ask for anything… a night in a hotel or airline miles or a place to stay on their journey.”

Again, the website is GiveForward.com and there is no cost to create page.

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Not Just for Haiti: Online Fundraising Helps Your Friends, Too

Barry Moltz on 01.18.10 at 7:36 AM | no comments Share

The eyes and emotions of the world are deservedly focused on Haiti now. But American business has always been good at raising money for charities and a variety of causes. With $6M being donated along through text emails to the Red Cross for Haiti, the infrastructure of the Internet certainly has made it easier. But what about raising money for more personal causes like your family’s or friends medical bills?

Desiree Vargas founded Give Forward in 2009 to provide a free online fundraising page  so anyone could raise money to help their family or friends pay expensive medical expenses. In 2009, the organization helped raise over $600,000.

Desiree says she has learned a lot in the past two years:

1. Customer service is key to growing your business. They found this early on when the site did not work well and lost many potentially good customers. Today, over 1/3 of users comes from referrals.

2. Ignore all the things you can’t control. Competition is out there. Focus on doing what you do well and build your business.

3. Adapt your business. Desiree thought that people would use the site to establish non for profit organizations. 80% of site users use it as a medical fundraiser to directly pay family and friends bills.

4. Hire interns to do the stuff you shouldn’t be doing. They are especially good a social media and marketing relations.