How CaringBridge Supports Personal Fundraisers Through GoFundMe

Years of research and reporting confirm what patients and caregivers who use CaringBridge and personal fundraisers like GoFundMe know first-hand: A health crisis can wreak havoc on a family’s finances, morale, and more.

Even with good health insurance and savings, being saddled with a surprise diagnosis, illness, injury, or premature birth can bring unexpected expenses and/or loss of income that is difficult to replace.

• “My son’s first hospitalization lasted 91 days, and I slept beside him nearly every night. I couldn’t even think about work.”
• “My sister lives in Texas, her accident happened in New Mexico, and our mom flew in from Costa Rica to help. Talk about logistics … and expenses.”
• “Some of his ongoing medical treatments are new, experimental, and not covered by health insurance.”
• “My husband has spent so much time recovering from treatments and had to miss some important milestones and events in our daughter’s life.”

As any family going through a health crisis can tell you, health crises affect much more than just one part of one person’s life. Because of this, many CaringBridge users get creative in how they use a GoFundMe fundraiser to ask for help with whatever else they may need, even for things outside of healthcare expenses. Think airfare for family members, daycare for the kids or meals to support prolonged hospital visits.

Use GoFundMe For The Things You Need

To help cover various costs that may occur during one’s health journey, many CaringBridge authors also create personal fundraisers through GoFundMe. And just like CaringBridge sites, GoFundMe fundraisers are often set up by family caregivers or friends on behalf of patients. Understanding how important spreading the word about fundraising campaigns is to receiving financial support, CaringBridge has teamed up with GoFundMe, the leader in online fundraising, to make it easy for families to connect their CaringBridge sites and GoFundMe fundraisers.

Fundraise for anything you need during your health journey—even beyond the cost of care. Whether you need support for ongoing family needs like child care, renovations to make your home wheelchair-friendly after an injury, or even fun activities to take your mind off of your health journey, starting a GoFundMe fundraiser can help.

Many families using both CaringBridge and GoFundMe together say it’s convenient to post Journal entries just once on CaringBridge and then include a link to their GoFundMe through their “Ways to Help” page on their CaringBridge site.

Here’s how to create the link:

• For patients and caregivers: Simply click “Ways to Help” on the homepage of your CaringBridge site. You can start a GoFundMe, or link an existing campaign to your CaringBridge site. Also on the “Ways to Help” page, you can share your hospital or facility info, add support links and identify tasks on the CaringBridge Planner.
• For family and friends: Click “Ways to Help” when you visit a loved one’s site. If they have a GoFundMe, it’s easy to show support. If they don’t, you might post a comment on their Journal inviting them to create a personal fundraiser. Be sure to look for other “Ways to Help,” too.

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Start a CaringBridge Site

When you’re going through a health journey, you have a lot on your plate. CaringBridge replaces the time-consuming task of sharing your health news over and over. It’s a free, easy to use online journal for sharing health information with your family and friends.