GiveForward - Fundraising Made Simple

It’s hard to believe, but Saturday was the two-year anniversary of the launch of GiveForward.   We couldn’t be more grateful for all the wonderful people who have been a part of our community thus far and just wanted to send out a quick thank you to everyone.

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During this time, we’ve helped 1300 families raise almost $2 million for things like chemotherapy treatments, organ transplants and out-of-pocket living and travel expense. None of this would have been possible without our amazing community getting involved.  We appreciate the fundraising tips you have shared with us over the years, your positive (and occasionally negative) feedback and most importantly your willingness to spread the word about GiveForward to others who can benefit from our service!
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Finding out that a close friend or family member has been diagnosed with cancer is one of the hardest things a person can go through…it can be harder at times than being the person battling cancer.  Fortunately there are resources available to teach us how to help a friend with cancer.

In his book Life Over Cancer, Keith Block talks about building an A-Team to help a friend beat cancer.  The A-Team should provide a cancer patient with five basic areas of support–emotional, practical, informational, coaching, and decision-making.  Each of these roles should be taken by a different person.  And here are the questions you should ask when you’re figuring out who should play which role:*

The Comforter: Will this person be able to support our friend’s emotional ups and downs? Can they listen without feeling compelled to resolve or purge our friend of all distress?

The Go-Getter: Are they comfortable with being asked to perform various tasks even if they seem repetitive or mundane?  Will they admit when they feel overloaded?

The Researcher: Are they willing to spend at least a couple of hours per week digging through the internet for tips, news, and information?  Are they confident that they can translate and explain their research to your friend?

The Interactive Coach: Are they willing to push your friend while being sensitive to your friend’s vulnerabilities?  Can they handle it if your friend rejects their help?

The Strategic Planner: (This is typically someone familiar with cancer treatment with medical expertise or personal experience). Are they comfortable dealing with your friend questioning the plan?  Can they support your friend without judgment? Will they agree to follow the plan laid out by the doctor, your friend, and any other advisers?

If you have a friend battling cancer and you want to figure out a way to be involved in their treatment and recovery, start by figuring out which role you would best play.  Then, talk to your friend about finding the other members of the A-Team.

You should also find a person to take the role of updating friends and family about your friend’s progress.  You can use cancer patient blog sites, like our friends at MyLifeline.org, or you can use a caregiver collaboration tool like our friends at Lotsa Helping Hands.

And of course, you can always help them through the financial challenges of cancer by creating a personal fundraising page for their medical expenses on GiveForward.org.

*All is summarized from p. 38 of Life Over Cancer by Keith Block find it here.

We used to tell our members at GiveForward that there are three Ps to successful online fundraising: personalization, promotion, and persistence.  Recently, however, we came to the conclusion that it was time to update this basic strategy for the 21st century.  We now tell our members that if they want to be successful they need to follow the three Ps and an F.

The F, of course, stands for Facebook.  Over the last few years, we’ve seen that almost every medical fundraiser that has raised more than $10,000 on GiveForward has does so because of Facebook – it is simply the most effective tool for getting the word out about a fundraiser and getting it to spread quickly.  Here are four of the best strategies on how to use Facebook to help you reach your goal.

1. Create a Facebook Group.

Creating a Facebook group will allow you to get the word out about your fundraiser and keep your friends and family informed with news and updates.  As the group organizer you can send messages to all group members and use it as your platform to ask for donations.  Make sure to invite a few of your friends to become group admins and encourage their friends to invite their friends as well.  The larger the group, the greater the potential for donations.

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At the ill-advised request of GiveForward Co-founders Desiree Vargas Wrigley and Ethan Austin, I will now be making a semi-regular post on this blog that has a little more to do with things that make me laugh, and a little less to do with things like online fundraising for medical costs (or any other reason you would come to this site). read more…

This article on 5 Ways to Help a Friend With Cancer is over two years old, but we just rediscovered it and thought GiveForward users might find the advice it contains to be timeless. This truly is a great read; it’s just too bad she didn’t mention anything about the ever-important sixth way to help – fundraising!

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Brad Ludden, Founder of First Descents

Last weekend I had a chance to meet Brad Ludden at the OMG Cancer Summit in New York.  Brad literally might have the best job in the world. Commonly known as one of the best professional kayakers in the world, Brad has traveled to over 40 countries as Nike’s first sponsored kayak athlete and can be seen gracing the cover of magazines such as Outside, Men’s Health and Men’s Journal.

But that’s not all he does.  In 2000, at the age 18, Brad founded the non-profit foundation, First Descents in order to provide those affected by cancer the chance to utilize whitewater kayaking and other outdoor adventures in order to play a key role in their overall recovery process. 

Since so many in the GiveForward community are raising money for young adults with cancer, I thought I’d take the opportunity to share this great resource with you all.   If you know of a young adult cancer survivor (age 18-39) please let them know about First Descents. (PS this amazing program is FREE!!)

I interviewed Brad for Nike’s Play City Blog where you can read the original interview in its entirety.  Here are some excerpts…

What is a first descent?

As an athlete, a first descent is the first time someone successfully completes a section of a river.  There’s a heightened level of exploration, risk and challenge involved so the reward for completing it is even greater.   Between kayakers there is a level of mutual respect when you complete one, and after you’ve done one, you’re a changed person.

So how does this work? What class rapids are these when you’re doing a first descent?

[laughs] They’re the don’t screw up class.    When you’re doing a first descent the classes become kind of irrelevant.  I suppose the rapids could be classified as class Vs and VIs but since it’s the first time anyone has ever run these rapids, it takes it up another level where the slightest mistake can be fatal.  You don’t have the option to screw up.

Brad taking on some class “don’t screw up class” rapids.

Can you tell us a little bit more about what inspired you to start First Descents?

My aunt was diagnosed with cancer when I was a teenager.  It was the first time that cancer had intruded on any of our lives and it was devastating. I wanted to do something to help so I started teaching people with cancer how to kayak, it was all I knew to give.  In the beginning I saw that it was doing something to help but wasn’t sure what that was.  What I WAS sure of was that it was doing a lot to help me.  It was the most rewarding and gratifying thing I had ever done.  Then, when I was 18 I realized there wasn’t an adventure program available to people my Aunt’s age with cancer.  In fact, there wasn’t really anything available.  Thus, I decided to start a program that taught young adults with cancer how to kayak and used that as a form of therapy.

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GiveForward was featured in the June issue of Fitness magazine as a tool to use for fundraising in conjunction with running a race. Fitness suggests creating a “DIY fundraiser” by registering for a race and then logging onto GiveForward to create a fundraising page for a cause of your choice. Then, you can easily share the link with your friends and family. It’s a great way to give your race running a purpose!

Pick up a copy of the June issue and check us out yourselves!

GiveForward is honored to announce that we have recently been nominated for a World Technology Award for our innovative method of online fundraising for medical expenses.  The award, presented by the World Technology Network in association with Time and CNN, is given to “outstanding innovators within the science and technology arena for innovative work of the greatest likely long-term significance.”  Previous award recipients have included Bill Clinton, Muhammad Yunus, and Jacqueline Novogratz. 

The awards have been given out since 2000 and seek to “encourage serendipity by bringing key players together from the world’s leading corporations to the world’s newest start-ups [that help] to make things happen sooner and better than they might have.”  GiveForward has been nominated in the finance category and the results will be announced at the World Technology Summit in New York City in late June.

Did you know that April is Organ Transplant Month!  Neither did we…but now that we do, we’re doing our best to spread the word.  17 patients die each day awaiting a transplant because the organ they need is not available and currently there are over 79,000 U.S. patients awaiting a transplant.  But, a single organ or tissue donor can help save the lives of as many as 50 people!  If you are not already an organ donor, please consider signing up today by clicking here. 

On GiveForward, there are many fundraisers for people who have already received, or are hoping to receive, organ transplants.  Here is just a small sampling:

Musician Gabriel Mountain was diagnosed with a genetic disorder (IGA Nephropathy) that left him with only 15% usage of his kidneys.  Gabriel is currently on dialysis and will eventually need a new kidney.  He is raising money to cover the “astronomical” medical expenses he has incurred as a result of his disease.  For more about Gabriel’s story or to donate, please click here.   

Mary Beth started a fundraiser for her husband Chris who needs a kidney transplant.  He is currently awaiting his second kidney after the first one he received failed after 4 years.  Chris is on dialysis while he awaits his much needed kidney.  The money raised will go towards medications, insurance premiums, and any other unexpected expenses while Chris is out of work for 6 weeks after the transplant.  To read more about Chris or to donate to his fundraiser, please click here. 

Joseph is a baby boy who, after being diagnosed with a disorder known as Malignant Infantile Osteoporosis, needed a bone marrow transplant.  He received the transplant just 4 days after his 1st birthday, but is required to stay in the hospital for over 3 months.  Amy set up a fundraiser to help his family with the medical bills they will have as a result of the transplant and hospital stay.  To read more about Joseph or to donate to his fundraiser, click here. 

A two time survivor of liver cancer, Keith McGregor was recently diagnosed with the disease again and now needs a liver transplant to save his life.  This time his cancer is inoperable and a transplant is the only hope.  His wife Tabatha started a fundraiser for him in hopes of raising money for all the expenses involved in his treatment, such as chemotherapy and medications.  To read more about Keith or to donate to his fundraiser, please click here. 

Karen is raising money for her father who has had multiple bypass surgeries and now needs a new heart and kidney.  Karen seeks to raise funds to lessen the financial burden all the medical expenses have has on her family.  For more about her father, Butch, or to donate, please visit their page here. 

Josie is an 11 year old girl who was diagnosed with a liver disease, Biliary Atresia, at just six weeks old.  Now Josie needs a liver transplant and doctors say the success rate would be higher with a living donor.  Her father hopes to match Josie and donate part of his liver to her, but because the living donor procedure is more complicated than usual, their family’s insurance does not cover all the costs.  To read more about Josie or to donate money to her medical expenses, please click here.

Regardless of your ability to make a financial contribution to these fundraisers, you can help the people mentioned above simply by registering to be an organ donor and encouraging others to, also, by tweeting, emailing, and putting the link in your status messages.

We are excited to announce that The Wellness Community is our newest resource partner!  The Wellness Community – South Bay Cities offers a free program for cancer patients and their friends and family.  They provide psychological support and educational programs that address the unique needs of cancer patients and their loved ones.

In addition to all the great free services they offer, now they will be able to refer families and others in need to GiveForward.  We are thrilled to partner with such a great organization and serve as a resource to their community on their road to recovery!