If you've ever had someone you care about fall seriously ill and wished there was something you could do, now there is: GiveForward, an online fundraising platform that helps patients handle out-of-pocket medical expenses through crowd funding.
GiveForward provides personalized fundraising webpages to users, the majority of whom are looking for help for themselves or someone close to them for expenses like co-pays, travel to treatment and making ends meet in the face of devastating illness. "Our users like that they know exactly where their money is going and that it will directly impact a friend or family member," says CEO and cofounder Desiree Vargas Wrigley. In one instance, a woman raising money to donate a kidney to her older sister received $30,000 in donations in 30 days.
GiveForward funds its service by deducting a 7% fee from donations, which covers credit-card processing fees and the company's own expenses. The Chicago venture launched in 2009, has eight employees, and projects that its fee-based revenue this year will be between $300,000 to $350,000. A round of fundraising that closed in February brought in $500,000 in seed capital, and the company is looking to raise another $2 million to $3 million in 2012.
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