YouCaring.com Acquires GiveForward.com to Create World’s Largest Portal for Crowdfunding Critical Personal, Medical Expenses and Charitable Causes

Combined the two leading donation-based crowdfunding sites have raised over $750 million and have created the world’s largest free donation crowdfunding site

By Robert Hoskins

San Francisco, California  – YouCaring announced that it has acquired GiveForward. GiveForward has been a pioneer in crowdfunding medical expenses for individuals and has helped people raise nearly $200 million. Combined with YouCaring, which has helped people around the world raise over $550 million for critical personal, medical, and charitable causes, this acquisition will expand YouCaring’s fundraising and donor reach.

Combined the two leading donation-based Crowdfunding Sites have raised over $750 Million and have created the world’s largest free donation crowdfunding site

For the GiveForward community, YouCaring offers an optimized on-site experience, robust marketing tools for fundraisers, real-time customer support, and the ability to reach a donor pool of six million. GiveForward users can expect increased campaign performance and an expanded customer support system to meet their fundraising goals.

Unlike other crowdfunding sites, YouCaring does not charge fundraisers a fee to raise money on the platform and relies on voluntary donations from donors to fund their operations. As a Certified B Corporation®, YouCaring is committed to advancing social good and adheres to strict standards for consumer advocacy.

“We’re excited to welcome GiveForward users to the YouCaring community. GiveForward has been a leader in medical crowdfunding for nearly a decade,” said Dan Saper, YouCaring’s CEO. “With health care costs continuing to rise for consumers, building a platform that can help relieve that stress is critically important to us. The GiveForward brand and what it stands for couldn’t be more aligned with who we are and what we do here at YouCaring.”

Desiree Vargas Wrigley, a co-founder of GiveForward, added, “We started GiveForward to help change the way people care about each other. We’re happy to see that vision expanded to the tremendous global community of supporters YouCaring has built.”

YouCaring focuses on Compassionate Crowdfunding™ and believes that no one should have to face hardship alone. Their community of worldwide donors is more than six million strong, and to date, have raised over $550 million. The company does not charge platform fees to fundraise, and like its fundraisers, relies on donations from generous supporters to finance its operation.

GiveForward has been a leader in medical crowdfunding. Since inception in 2008, GiveForward has raised nearly $200 million for people in need, and has empowered 270,000 people to raise money for their causes.

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Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

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Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.

On a regular basis, Mr. Hoskins consults with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.

Google search “Robert Hoskins Crowdfunding” to see why Mr. Hoskins is considered one of the industry’s foremost crowdfunding experts that has amassed a huge social media following, which is dedicated to supporting donation, rewards and equity crowdfunding campaigns.

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Austin Startup Launches Product Marketplace and Crowdfunding Platform to Connect Brands, Charities and Consumers

121Giving was built by the two “philanthropeurs” to help charities find products they need to fulfill their missions, match those needs with supplier brands eager to help causes, and get consumers involved to help fund the product-oriented campaigns

 By Robert Hoskins

Austin, Texas – For donors and consumer givers who want to know that the money they donate to charity is making a tangible impact and serving real needs, Austin-based startup 121Giving.com launched a new product marketplace and crowdfunding platform that enables donors to know where their giving is going every time they support a nonprofit through the site.

121Giving.com Shows Consumers Where Their Donations are Going

Developed by Liz Deering and Mark Courtney, experienced entrepreneurs who have funneled their business-technology passions and nonprofit expertise into a business model that makes philanthropy a successful and transparent online venture, 121Giving was built by the two “philanthropeurs” to help charities find products they need to fulfill their missions, match those needs with supplier brands eager to help causes, and get consumers involved to help fund the product-oriented campaigns.

“We launched 121Giving because we wanted to improve the way that nonprofits, consumers and charity-minded companies can all work together for the collective good,” said Deering, co-founder and chief operating officer, who previously worked for technology companies and Goodwill Industries of Austin before launching the company with Courtney. “We wanted to make the entire giving process more efficient and transparent, both to solve the inefficiencies and costs that nonprofits often face with traditional product procurement and to address consumer skepticism about how their donations are being used.”

Many recent studies have shown that consumers want more details from the companies they patronize about their support of nonprofits and causes and the results of their donations and contributions. In fact, 88% of consumers in North America want companies to inform them about their support of social and environmental causes (Cone Communications, 2013), and 69% of Millennials say they are most likely to donate to a nonprofit that inspires them (Cone Inc., AMP Agency).

“Our online marketplace and crowdfunding platform brings everything to the forefront in a way that delivers measurable results for everyone involved,” says Courtney, a social innovator and enterprise technology expert who is responsible for 121Giving’s technology, platform and business strategy. “Nonprofits get the products they need, donors can see the impact of their giving, companies can make a profit while being good corporate citizens, and communities benefit from campaigns that tackle issues, solve problems and change lives all around them.”

Feeding the Need, Matching Brands and Donors
Through 121Giving, nonprofits can publish their specific needs for products by developing crowdfunding campaigns, consumers can donate money to buy those products and track the campaign’s progress and success, while companies can show they care by making their products available at prices that nonprofits can afford. The unique nonprofit-donor-brand ecosystem delivers the visibility nonprofits need, the crowdsourcing power of donors, and a steady supply chain for merchants to sell products at discounts to charities and still make a profit.

For brands interested in selling their products to nonprofits at 121Giving, visit the site’s “Corporate Brand Partners” section.

After a soft launch at SXSW in Austin this week, 121Giving is already hosting four crowdfunding campaigns that support Central Texas nonprofits. Ongoing and future campaigns will cover a range of products that nonprofits urgently need, including office, medical, cleaning and educational supplies; clothing; computers; furniture; food and hygiene products; electronics; home goods, non-perishable goods and more.

The current campaigns include:

• Front Steps, an agency that provides services to the homeless, raising money for 250 move-in kits for clients moving from the streets to transitional or permanent housing
• Color Cancer, a nonprofit serving people with cancer, raising money for cases of high-protein Ensure for 125 people with cancer
• Project Transitions, an agency for people with HIV/AIDS, raising money for medical, cleaning and comfort supplies for the 30-plus individuals cared for yearly at Doug’s House, the only Central Texas hospice facility for those with HIV/AIDS.
• Rebuilding Together Austin, an agency dedicated to safe, healthy homes for low-income residents, raising money for home repair tools and volunteer supplies to help 30 families.

“The nonprofit market deserves a no-cost solution that enables them to engage online donors easily in helping them purchase the products they need,” said Courtney. “We’re giving nonprofits access to a single online resource where they can source bulk products consistently and affordably, helping them spend less time on product acquisition and more on the missions they serve so passionately.”

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Angel List Equity Crowdfunding Platform Raises Record-Breaking $1.5 Million for MD Insider

MD Insider’s round included more than 90 individual investors and filled in just minutes, with hundreds of other investors unable to participate after the round became almost instantly oversubscribed

By Robert Hoskins

Santa Monica, CA –  MD Insider, a big data healthcare innovator that significantly reduces healthcare costs for employers, today announced that it closed a $1.5 million investment – the largest online investment round ever raised on AngelList, the leading technology startup equity investing platform. The syndicate was led by renowned investor, Tim Ferriss, best-selling author and early investor/advisor to companies including Facebook, Twitter, Evernote, and Uber. MD Insider is now the #1 most active company and the #1 company (by size of investment) on AngelList.

AngelList Equity Crowdfunding Platform Raises Record-Breaking $1.5 Million for MD Insider Corp

“MD Insider is a truly disruptive business, so it is exciting to include another disruptive model – crowdfunding, as part of this investment round,” said David Norris, CEO of MD Insider. “We are very pleased with the results and are happy to see so much demand for investment in our business.”

MD Insider’s round included more than 90 individual investors and filled in just minutes, with hundreds of other investors unable to participate after the round became almost instantly oversubscribed. From start to finish, the entire round took only about two and a half weeks to close and wire. MD Insider will use the new funds to expand its research and development efforts and to continue to grow their industry leading pool of physician performance data, which currently tops 1.8 billion records.

“I am very excited about MD Insider. Their mission to provide performance and cost transparency in healthcare is hugely important,” said Tim Ferriss. “I believe MD Insider is truly disruptive and will have a large impact on the world. I can see several things already: the need in my own personal experience with medical problems, the demand in the healthcare market, and the broader applications of their amazing data set.”

“AngelList was excited to see MD Insider’s successful raise,” said Millie Tadewaldt of AngelList. “The MD Insider round is an excellent demonstration of our platform’s ability to swiftly bring together dozens of angel investors to accomplish a large funding round, behind an experienced lead investor like Tim Ferriss.”

MD Insider is a technology healthcare company that uses the power of big data to significantly reduce healthcare costs for employers. By providing Physician Performance Transparency in the areas of experience, quality, and cost, MD Insider enables employers to optimize their physician networks, providing the best quality and lowest cost physicians to their employees.

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GiveForward Announces Strategic Crowdfunding Partnership for Medical Bills with WhatNext

New Alliance Paves Way for Cancer Patients to Raise Money for Medical Bills

By Robert Hoskins

GiveForward, a crowdfunding leader helping families and friends raise money for a loved one’s medical bills, is pleased to announce a new partnership with WhatNext, an online cancer support network that connects those effected by cancer to highly relevant peers, resources and information.

GiveForward will help you change someone’s world

“Our mission is to ‘Create Unexpected Joy’ for families by giving them a place to rally together and support their loved ones during times of medical crisis,” said Desiree Vargas Wrigley, CEO of GiveForward. “Through this partnership, we hope to help cancer patients raise money for their medical bills while supplementing the incredible support they receive through WhatNext’s community.”

GiveForward will be an additional resource for WhatNext’s members, providing emotional support and financial education on how to raise money to meet the high cost of a cancer diagnosis.

“At WhatNext, we aim to provide our members with valuable resources during their fight against cancer,” said David Wasilewski, CEO and Founder of WhatNext. “Our constituents often ask about how to finance their treatment, and through our partnership with GiveForward we can now give them another effective option.”

According to a Duke University study, the average out-of-pocket cost for cancer patients with health insurance is $8,500 per year. This partnership comes at a time when health care is unaffordable for many Americans, and those patients and families affected by cancer now have a viable solution to substantial medical costs should they occur.

GiveForward is the leading crowdfunding site focused on helping families and friends raise money to help offset a loved one’s medical bills. Co-founded in 2008 by Desiree Vargas Wrigley and Ethan Austin, GiveForward has raised over 53 million dollars and helped thousands of families across the country. WhatNext is the premiere online community for cancer fighters, survivors and caregivers looking to connect with peers and access highly relevant resources and information.

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Crowdvance.com Offers Crowdfunders 100% Free Crowdfunding Opportunity to Launch Fundraising Campaigns with Zero Service Fees

Crowdvance is poised to disrupt the entire online fundraising industry by serving as the for-profit fundraising platform that passes 100% of donations received to organizations for processing and that rewards donors for their donations

By Robert Hoskins

Crowdvance.com announced plans to drop the Crowdfunding service fee they deduct from donations to zero percent, down from 6.5%. By removing the company’s service fee, Crowdvance.com becomes the first for-profit online fundraising platform to be 100% free.  Most other crowdfunding and fundraising platforms continue to promote the same model: no cost to sign up, but the various platforms deduct 3-10% from donations as a service fee on top of universal credit card processing fees. Crowdvance now offers one of the the only online fundraising platforms on the planet that does not deduct an additional service fee on top of standard credit card fees.

Crowdvance.com Now the Only Fundraising Platform on the Planet to not Charge a Service Fee and to Reward Donors

“When we launched Crowdvance, we set out on a mission to help organizations run more engaging, effective, and efficient fundraisers,” said Dylan Fox, Crowdvance’s CEO.  “We got the engaging part down by rewarding donors with gifts from great national companies we partner with, but our fee was getting in the way of our company reaching all of our goals.”

Crowdvance announced this service fee reduction after completing a recent round of seed-stage financing. “After we closed our seed round, we were able to think longer term, and that’s when our team realized we wanted to go big and really change the game,” said Fox.

Crowdvance.com’s 100% free model is not the only unique aspect to its fundraising platform. The company strives to be more than just a passive middle-man like other fundraising websites. It does this by forming partnerships with national companies to arrange exclusive gifts for donors to choose from as a reward for their donation. Current partners include companies like Hulu and Fathead.

“We saw that donors were getting burned out with traditional and online fundraising campaigns,” said Zachary Herman, CMO of Crowdvance. “With traditional fundraisers, small organizations are wearing out donors by trying to sell them the same bland fundraising products every year. How many tubs of popcorn or t-shirts can someone buy? And with more organizations making the switch to online fundraising, donors are experiencing fatigue. We solve that problem by rewarding donors for their good behavior. Donors can save on things like concert tickets or pro-sports tickets, or even on jewelry, as a reward for contributing through Crowdvance to an organization they care about. Plus, now a donor can have their donation go where it is intended to go.”

As the only for-profit fundraising platform that passes on 100% of donations received for processing, Crowdvance is poised to disrupt the entire online fundraising industry.

“We can support a 0% service fee because of our innovative business model,” said Fox. “We’re focusing on the value we deliver to national companies as our main business, and passing the benefits back to the organizations that use our platform to raise funds, making it entirely free.”

Crowdvance has always had a values focus. It won first place in the international Values and Ventures Business Plan Competition in April, 2013 and now the company feels even stronger about its ability to focus on its values mission.

“Over the next few months, we’re going to open the Crowdvance platform to the masses, and are going to become the standard for fundraising. Our model just makes sense,” says Fox.

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Start A Cure Donation-Based Crowdfunding Platform Launched to Streamline Cancer Research Donations

Upset at the Amount of Donations Actually Donated to Cancer Research, Start A Cure Lauches World’s First Crowdfunding Site Directed Entirely to Cancer Research Funding

By Robert Hoskins

Start A Cure is the world’s first patient focused research crowdfunding platform to be entirely directed at cancer. Start A Cure launched with a call to action to a small portion of our cancer researcher contacts to upload projects for funding beginning on June 1, 2013 for beta testing. Start A Cure is the crowdfunding for cancer research project created by the national patient advocacy nonprofit, Malecare, which is one of America’s largest men’s cancer support and advocacy national nonprofit corporations.

Upset at the Amount of Donations Actually Donated to Cancer Research, Start A Cure Lauches World’s First Crowdfunding Site Directed Entirely to Research Funding

Listening to its large cancer survivor community, Malecare learned about the large untapped pool of potential donors who want more control over where their money goes. Right or wrong, these potential donors are cynical about the way research projects are selected by government agencies and foundations for funding. They would rather choose specific projects to fund and have the opportunity to connect directly with the scientists guiding those projects. Many are also unhappy about the small percentage of donated dollars that researchers receive from government and charitable foundations. Malecare and its all-volunteer cancer survivor leadership decided to act. The emergence of crowdfunding websites, like Kickstarter and Indiegogo and pro bono finance sites such as Kiva provoked an opportunity to create a new kind of platform that both informs and empowers cancer patients and their family, friends and allies to directing their funding dollars towards research that can have meaning in their lives. Start A Cure instantly received support from the cancer researcher community. Dozens of cancer project managers from leading institutions and academic centers like Harvard, John’s Hopkins, UCLA and MD Anderson requested that their research be part of Start A Cure’s launch. By posting text and video of individual researchers and their current projects, Start A Cure raises both funds and awareness for cancer research. Donors search and browse through a menu of current research projects and choose to donate funds to projects that resonate in their own lives. By creating an efficient web based distribution system, Start A Cure is able to distribute 92% of funds raised directly to researchers, far more than any other cancer research funding scheme. Start A Cure also helps inspire students and provides hope to our cancer survivor community, by highlighting the people working night and day to develop better treatments and cures; helping us all live happier and longer lives. Projects include those that have already received foundation, government and other grants, along with projects seeking proof of concept funding. Start A Cure will quickly become the fundraising platform for all tumor types. Start A Cure is entirely complementary and supportive of the existing fundraising foundations and modalities and will only grow our cancer research capacities, worldwide.

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