As the Help Me Bounce Coordinator, my job is dedicated to the families we serve. It is my goal to create a seamless application process from creating an account to publishing your campaign on our Help Me Bounce platform. One way I achieve that is through this Q&A Blog Series.
The topics for each installment of this series are based on the questions I hear while assisting families on Help Me Bounce. Lately, a question I hear a lot is what funding sources we provide families through our platform. In a previous blog: Help Me Bounce Q&A Series: Gaining Momentum, I briefly discussed how families can raise more donations more quickly with their Help Me Bounce campaign. Today I wanted to expand on the sources behind the funding and what Spare Key does to raise both funds AND awareness for families’ campaigns on Help Me Bounce.
Here at Spare Key, we are all dedicated to the success of each family’s campaign.
We want to give as many families as possible access to a network that provides relief of the financial stress that follows a medical crisis. The team behind the platform is a significant factor in that success. Our small but mighty team makes all the difference for the families we serve.
Not only are we running a platform that brings families and people who want to fund their cause together, but we each play an active role in promoting and retaining an audience for these families’ stories. Along with offering one-on-one support and accessibility to reaching staff whenever a question arises, we are planning and hosting events and utilizing Spare Keys marketing power to drive donors to the site.
Here are commonly asked questions surrounding the sources of funding that are raised on Help Me Bounce and ways Spare Key fulfills their mission. I hope it delivers the information to understand Spare Key’s efforts in raising funds and making your family’s campaign our top priority!
Q: Why do donors choose Help Me Bounce?
A: Donors trust our program and appreciate the transparency we offer through our platform. We help all families, regardless of the type of injury or disease they are diagnosed with or what their income is. We help families “Bounce and Not Break” through our Help Me Bounce program which highlights the following:
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No income guidelines. Many families do not qualify for nonprofit or government assistance because of their income levels. Because of this reality, Spare Key is often the only source of financial support for these families in crisis given that most of them are declined assistance from other available programs. The reality is that many people who may not qualify for assistance are now facing mounting bills they cannot pay because they are at the hospital trying to focus on their loved one’s recovery.
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No distinction between the type of illness or injury. Social workers and families have come to depend on Spare Key to be simple and easy to access. They also know that our focus is not the type of injury or illness but more generally on the simple fact that they are facing a medical crisis.
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No timeline restrictions. This gives families the ability to raise funds for many of their financial needs for as long as they are facing a medical crisis.
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No fees or costs to our families. This gives assurance that 100% of funds raised towards their funding goals goes directly where it is intended. Donors can elect to cover any credit card fees and if they don’t, Spare Key covers those costs, so the family never has credit card fees taken out of their donations.
Q: Does Help Me Bounce ONLY use crowdfunding?
A: No. Our donations come from a variety of sources. We have 501(c)(3) status which makes Spare Key eligible for a broader scope of funding opportunities. We have a variety of grants that we apply for each year that we pass along to families on our platform while also featuring families at Spare Key events throughout the year to spark additional opportunities to raise funds on behalf of families.
Q: Where does the funding come from?
A: Spare Key raises money in a lot of different ways. Along with receiving donations through sponsorships, individual donations, and events held on behalf of Spare Key, we receive grants too.
While we constantly strive to drive more donors to the Help Me Bounce platform, we also host and help run a variety of events to help raise funds and awareness for Spare Key. We have the most amazing partnerships and sponsors who support us year after year, and we are so honored every time they ask us to raise funds on our behalf! Events such as Lend Smart Mortgage’s Mike Lust Charity Golf Tournament, The Servion Group’s Partner Golf Tournament, The Loop Charity Tournament, and Mortgage Bankers Association of St Louis’s Annual Golf Tournament, are all huge events that bring their own innovative ways to raise funds benefiting Spare Key.
We are so fortunate to collaborate on various events like meat raffles and charity drives and invited to the legendary performance ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ at the St. Paul Hotel, where they allow us to collect donations at every performance through the holiday season. Through our amazing partnerships and sponsors, Spare Key can put more focus on growing our mission to help more families than ever learn about our Help Me Bounce program and raise funds towards the bills that have been negatively affected because of their medical crisis.
We host informational booths at conventions and Social Workers Conferences, where we highlight Spare Key to thousands of medical professionals to educate advocates within the communities of the families we support. We attend meet and greets like Christmas in July, where the afternoon is filled with local vendors a chance to say “Hi!” to the Spare Key team! As well as giving back to our community by hosting events like Cookies with Santa where children in need get FREE toys for the holidays and take photos with Santa!
So, while we have an abundance of individual donors on our platform who fund the families on Help Me Bounce, the staff, board members, partners and sponsors are continually raising awareness for our Help Me Bounce program throughout the year as well!
Q: How does the Help Me Bounce platform differ from other crowdsourcing sites?
A: 100% transparency. Donors trust our program and appreciate the transparency we offer through our platform. Spare Key sets ourselves apart through three main components:
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Spare Key requires a licensed medical professional to verify families on Help Me Bounce to ensure they are indeed facing a medical crisis. You can read about the added step of medical professionals verifying each applicant before we review the campaigns here: Help Me Bounce Q&A-Medical Professional Verification.
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Our Help Me Bounce platform requires families to enter funding goals, where they must enter the company or servicer for each bill they are requesting assistance. Spare Key then pays the servicers directly, giving donors the confidence and transparency that their donations are going exactly were intended. Read more on how donors can directly impact the family by determining how their gift will be used here: Help Me Bounce Q&A-Funding Goals
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100% of proceeds donated to the families on Help Me Bounce goes directly towards their bills. We do not take a cut of the donations collected through the platform. Spare Key even covers any fees that aren’t covered by the donors. Read about donating on Help Me Bounce here: Help Me Bounce Q&A-Making A Donation
Q: Do I have to share my story on my social media?
A: It is not required, but strongly recommended! Spare Key shares your story on our social media platforms, email, and other marketing efforts to drive donors to the site. But families are encouraged to share their campaign on their own social network as well. When you share it, your family and friends will feel compelled to do the same. The wider the audience, the more traction your campaign receives.
Our platform has a strong social media reach that helps achieve your funding goals and share the success of your story. Sharing your story gives you access to a network of donors that want to help alleviate the financial stress that follows a medical crisis. When you share on your own social media sites, it accumulates supporters who believe in you and want to help your cause. Click here for more tips & tricks on: The Power of Sharing!
That concludes this installment of my Help Me Bounce Q&A Series. If you have a question that I did not cover here or want to learn more about a specific topic, email me at support@helpmebounce.org!
Thank you for believing in Spare Key and allowing us to provide a lifeline to families facing a medical crisis and allowing donors to make a direct impact in the lives of those who need it most!
Angela Frazier
Help Me Bounce Program Coordinator