GiveForward.com was launched on August 14, 2008 in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. It was an
online fundraising tool designed to help people raise money for the causes and organizations that they care about. GiveForward.com has become popular among the growing number of people who fundraise to help pay for a loved one's medical bills. The ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'' called it the "future of medical fundraising in the Internet Age." It now part of
GoFundMe
GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the be ...
.
Users have initiated fundraising pages on GiveForward.com to raise money for medical expenses incurred by a friend, a family member, or even a pet. In March 2009, two sisters used the site to raise $32,000 to pay for one sister's kidney transplant.
After David Hartsock, a skydiving instructor, saved a woman's life after a parachute failure and became a quadriplegic, he raised over $150,000 on GiveForward.
The platform charges a 5% fee to campaign creators and a processing fee of 2.9% + $0.50 per transaction. The site has raised over $190,537,000 for its users.
World Give Day
World Give Day was launched by GiveForward in 2010 for May 4 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."
GiveForward started an online and physical petition to support National Give Day.
The purpose of this collection of signatures was to encourage the Mayor of Chicago,
Richard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh term ...
, to make May 4, 2010 the first National Give Day.
Business Model
GiveForward.com, an
American organization, has found a niche in the online fundraising industry by being one of few sites that allows people to fundraise for projects that are not affiliated with a registered
501(c)(3) (United States Internal Revenue Code). Due to the absence of this prerequisite, GiveForward cannot be designated a
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
itself.
GiveForward operates as a
for-profit company with a strong social mission.
Fees
GiveForward.com platform charges 7.9% on all transactions, which includes the per transaction fee charged by credit card companies.
[ Holiday, Ryan]
Skimming Off The Top: Social Giving Sites Take a Huge Cut Of The Check
''Betabeat''. May 27, 2014. This fee is the same as other online crowdfunding platforms.{{cn, date=January 2023
References
American fundraising websites
Defunct American websites