Supporting families during their hardest times has always been a core focus here at Spare Key. Our mission has always been to provide families with the ability to focus on the care and recovery of a loved one, rather than worry over how to pay their bills. Spare Key accomplishes this mission through our Help Me Bounce platform. This allows donors to have a direct impact on families facing unimaginable medical crises across the country.
Help Me Bounce was created to benefit both families and donors. We give 100% transparency and accountability by allowing families to show what bills they are requesting assistance for and giving donors the ability to choose which bill to fund. This gives everyone involved the confidence that 100% of donations raised on Help Me Bounce go directly to the servicer of the bills associated with those funding goals.
What are funding goals?
Within the application process, families create funding goals indicating what bills they are raising money for, how much the bills are, and for how long they are requesting assistance.
When a family’s campaign is approved and published, donations are made through www.helpmebounce.org. These funding goals are visible to donors, giving them the opportunity to choose exactly where their donations are contributed. Donated dollars raised towards a specific funding goal are always paid out directly to the servicer/provider of that bill.
As donations are received, families can submit requests to withdraw money from their individual funding goals. To make this request, the family must upload documentation of their bill, such as a billing statement, invoice or signed written agreement. Spare Key staff then approves the withdrawal or requests additional information based on the documentation submitted by the family.
Once the request is verified for accuracy and accepted, Spare Key mails a check directly to the provider. Spare Key never distributes donations made on Help Me Bounce to families’ personal accounts.
Can families edit their funding goals?
Families can edit the servicer information, the number of months, and the monthly amount of their funding goals throughout the time their campaign is published on Help Me Bounce.
Families cannot transfer money between funding goals. Since donors get to decide which funding goals they want to donate towards, these funds must be used to pay bills from within that funding goal category.
If a family decides they no longer want to raise money for a specific funding goal, they may reach out to support@helpmebounce.org to “Archive” that funding goal. This will ensure no future donations are given to that specific funding goal.
What happens to remaining funds once a family’s campaign expires?
When a family creates a campaign on Help Me Bounce, they are given 6-months of being active and visible on the platform. At the end of their 6-month campaign, families have the option to renew their campaign for an additional 6-month period with the verification from a social worker/medical professional. If the family chooses not to renew their campaign, they can still log into their account to withdraw any funds remaining in their funding goals.
When do families have access to donations?
All donations made to a family’s Help Me Bounce campaign are immediately available for withdrawal. The family can log into their account to request funds be mailed to the servicer/provider of the bill anytime there are available funds in that goal.
Can I get a get reimbursed for expenses I already paid for already?
We cannot reimburse individuals for expenses that have already been paid, because Spare Key does not make payments directly to individuals. All payments from Help Me Bounce must be paid directly to servicers/providers.
Our Help Me Bounce platform currently has 17 funding goal options to choose from. If you are not sure which funding goal you should use, please email support@helpmebounce.org for assistance.
How can I donate?
We have two ways for you to donate. You can donate directly to Spare Key, and you can donate directly to a family on Help Me Bounce.
To donate to Spare Key, just visit https://sparekey.org/donate. Here you have the ability to enter a one-time donation, or to set up a recurring donation to show your support for Spare Key’s mission.
To donate directly to a family, visit https://www.helpmebounce.org/find-family. Here you can search for a specific family, a family facing a medical situation that has affected you, or a family in your state. You decide where your donation goes and 100% of that donation goes directly to the family you pick. Spare Key doesn’t take a cut!
I hope this article has provided you the clarity to better understand why Spare Key uses funding goals to show what assistance families need so that they can concentrate on their loved one’s recovery. I am always personally here to answer any additional questions that may come up. Just email me at support@sparekey.org.
As we continue to actively drive donors to families on Help Me Bounce, I hope you will also continue to show your support for both Spare Key and the families on Help Me Bounce so together we can help families facing unimaginable medical crisis "Bounce and not Break".
Angela Frazier
Help Me Bounce Coordinator