Funding for You!

I thought that due to present situations completely out of my control that I needed to write an article about this topic. In the past, I have helped others set up their own fundraisers for numerous things - mainly families of cancer survivors.

The last family that I helped with this was my new friend Miriam, and the night that I came to help her was the first time I met her. We met through a mutual friend. Miriam's husband Farhad was battling Glioblastoma Stage IV, which is extremely aggressive. What they needed money for was for their eldest daughter, who was preparing to go away to college. She needed to raise enough money to get housing at the UC school up north. in addition to paying for a caregiver for her husband, because her daughters were unable to care for him while she worked full-time.

So, I helped them start out by writing an email to her friends & family. Keep in mind that you have to be as specific as possible. People need to know how bad your situation is, even if you're not up to talk about it. You're going to have to pour out everything that's going on to these people and understand at the same time that they'll want to help you by passing it onto their friends. You cannot focus about what people will think, you just need to ask for their HELP!

After you've written an email, set up a Paypal account, and hook it up to your bank account, this way people can donate and the money can be moved from your Paypal Account into your own bank account. Keep in mind that if you do use Paypal, they will take a specific ac=mount out of each donation you get. (Usually about 3% plus a .30 charge per transaction.) The best website that I can tell you about that will help you wonders with setting up a paypal account is:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2150092_use-paypal-account-accept-donations.html

Make sure before you send out your email, that you include your Paypal email address in your email, so your friends can donate after they read your email. If you can include a link, even better! This is the cheapest way to accept donations.

But there's another option, where you can still use Paypal, but can get donations from others who don't know you. They do deduct 5% from each donation, so it's really up to you as far as if you'd like to use them, but there are some benefits!
www.gofundme.com provides you with your own website for your donation page! This way you can go ahead and create a page and talk about your cause - whether it's raising money for treatments, transportation assistance or college tuition, this site allows you to get the word out, not only to your friends but to others! You are able to even share it to your facebook friends, tweet it or send emails right from the site. Another fun bit of information about this site is that it shows how much has been donated and what your goal is. And it gives you the option to allow people who donate to add a comment! :0) This is a GREAT way to fund-raise if you don't mind the fees.

There's nothing wrong with asking for help, and the truth is that many people think it's the worst thing possible. I understand that you don't want to make yourself sound weak or vulnerable and you want to sound strong like you can face the world head on with no problems. But sometimes, you need a little something. So my best advice is to take off your invisible cape, grab your computer or a pen and paper and write away! Write from your heart, let it all out and let those who love and care for you know what help you need. Besides the worst they can say is no, and at least you know you've tried. :0) Good Luck!