Written By Sherwood Kohn
Philanthropy” has traditionally meant giving: the rich to the poor; wealthy organizations devoted to alleviating poverty; generosity on the part of organizations or individuals for the purpose of doing good.
For the most part, philanthropy has traditionally been the province of wealthy groups or individuals devoted to helping people through donations of money or goods.
The Internet has changed the ease, speed and method of giving. In effect, it has spawned a universe of electronic philanthropy called “crowdfunding” that sets up fundraising platforms that act as collection and distribution mechanisms for good causes, be they as narrow as individual aid or as broad as the advancement of the human condition.
GiveForward is one such organization. Founded in 2008 by Desiree Vargas Wrigley and Ethan Austin to help the victims of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, it is built on the model of Kickstarter, an electronic fundraising platform devoted to bringing creative projects to life. According to GiveForward’s website, the medical fundraiser has raised over $67 million to date.
What is to prevent some unscrupulous person from creating a phony cause and running off with the money? Careful screening, combined with sheer, unadulterated honesty and the desire to do good. Besides, GiveForward does not raise money for strangers, or, for that matter, by strangers. It is a very personal fundraising platform, devoted to raising money for medical purposes, exclusively from the friends and families of those in need.
In effect, GiveForward provides a way for people in need of emergency funds for medical care to reach out to those they know. And it is not a non-profit organization, although you could hardly call seven percent (the amount that GiveForward deducts for administrative costs from the money it raises) an outrageous profit. It is, as Nate St. Pierre, GiveForward’s director of communication explained, set up as a business, not a charity; “a good way to mobilize friends and family” to come to the aid of those they know. To put it plainly, GiveForward is very personal and targeted; no annual campaigns; no pledge drives; just direct, quiet help for someone you know who needs money to cover medical expenses.
Technology in the Digital Age has not only revolutionized communication. Unexpectedly, it seems too have brought out virtue in a lot of people.
