GiveForward.com

GiveForward.com
Web address www.giveforward.com
Commercial? Yes
Type of site
 Online fundraising
Registration Required
Launched 14 August 2008
Current status Online

GiveForward.com was launched on August 14, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois. It is an online fundraising tool designed to help people raise money for causes and organizations they care about. GiveForward.com has become popular among the growing population of people who fundraise to help pay for loved one's medical bills. The Chicago Tribune called it the "future of medical fundraising in the Internet Age."

More recently, users have used fundraising pages on GiveForward.com to raise money for a friend, family member, or even a pet's medical expenses. In March 2009, two sisters used the site to raise $32,000 to pay for one sister's kidney transplant. [1]

It charges a 7.9% fee and claims to have raised over $150,000,00 for its users.[2]

World Give Day

World Give Day is described as "one day a year when people focus on giving. One day when people across the United States can join together to make a difference. One day, where every person, regardless of age or income level, can collectively have a huge impact. Whether people give money, time, resources, or random acts of kindness, it all helps."[3]

GiveForward started an online and physical petition to support National Give Day.[4] The purpose of these signatures would be to encourage Mayor of Chicago, Richard M. Daley, to make May 4, 2010 the first National Give Day.[4]

Business Model

GiveForward.com, an American organization, has found a niche in the online fundraising industry by being one of few sites to allow people to fundraise for projects that are not affiliated with a registered 501(c)(3) (United States Internal Revenue Code). Because of this, GiveForward cannot be non-profit itself.

GiveForward operates as a for-profit company with a social mission[5]

Fees and Criticism

GiveForward.com has received some criticism for their fees, charging 7.9% on all transactions which includes the per transaction fee charged by credit card companies.[6]

References

  1. ↑ http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/triage/2009/03/sisters-raise-29000-on-the-internet-for-a-kidney-transplant.html#more
  2. ↑ www.giveforward.com see "How it works".
  3. ↑ http://www.care2.com/causes/politics/blog/national-give-day/
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://www.giveforward.org/blog/national-give-day-may-4th-2010
  5. ↑ http://mashable.com/2009/07/29/gen-y-startups-social-media/
  6. ↑ Holiday, Ryan. Skimming Off The Top: Social Giving Sites Take a Huge Cut Of The Check. Betabeat. May 27, 2014.

External links