[DocJohn]

Many years ago, a member came to me privately in dire financial straits and need. She asked if there was any way her friends online could give her money and have me act as an intermediary, to collect all the funds and forward them to her. I said sure, why not, and here's a few dollars of my own.

That led to the creation of what we now call our Community Fund Drives. Conducted sparingly, 3 or 4 times a year, they are fund drives for members in financial need, where the money will help them out of a one-time rough spot in their lives. Since most of us have experienced such a spot in our lives, I think we would appreciate having a resource like this available to us.

The informal guidelines for the Community Fund Drive are:

• Must be a member in good standing here for at least 6 months
• Must have an immediate, emergency, one-time need
• Must have exhausted all other resources for funding first
• Only one fund drive per member, every 3 years
• Fund request must be under $599.00 and have a significant impact on the person's life
• Proof of outstanding bills or debt is required
• Members who donate gain immediate access to our exclusive, private Supporters Forum
• Members can donate any amount they want, but we encourage only giving what you truly can afford. Even $5 helps out.
• All donations are tax deductible, because all the donations are handled independently by our associated non-profit, Help & Heal Mental Health Fund.

Want to apply for a grant? Grants are administered by our associated non-profit, Help & Heal Mental Health Fund. So the grant is on their website and is called a Help & Heal Mental Health Fund grant:

Help & Heal Mental Health Fund Grant Information

As president of the non-profit, I determine whether a fund drive request should proceed. If I approve it, it then goes to the community support team for their review and approval. Once the community support team gives their approval, it gets posted. Fund drives typically are conducted for approx. two weeks.

Because we try and conduct the fund drives throughout the year, once every few months, we appreciate members being sensitive to asking members of the community for funds immediately after another fund drive has ended.

Want to donate to the general Fund Drive? You can do so at any time. Log into PayPal and click on the "Send Money" tab. Send it to: donations@helphealmentalhealth.org

Or visit here to donate directly to the fund:

DONATE Today to the Help and Heal Mental Health Fund

Thank you!
DocJohn

[(JD)]

Good information and guidelines!

[ECHOES]

[quote[Members who donate gain immediate access to our exclusive, private Supporters Forum]

[confusedgurl08]

Thank you for this community fund drive! I think this is a great idea, Because there are so many people who suffer from mental health issues, that sometimes can not afford the help they need. The guidelines are wonderful.

[pegasus]

Bumping this up so that members can see about the community fund.

[possum220]

I am very concerned about one of our members here and the financial duress that she finds herself under.

The post by DocJohn was over 10 years ago. I am wondering if the rules have changed in any way and if so how?

Is it still necessary for the individual to apply for the grant themselves?

Any reply would be good.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by possum220

I am very concerned about one of our members here and the financial duress that she finds herself under.

The post by DocJohn was over 10 years ago. I am wondering if the rules have changed in any way and if so how?

Is it still necessary for the individual to apply for the grant themselves?

Any reply would be good.

making a guess here based on ....if the rules have not changed.... the person who needs the money must be the one applying because they will need to supply proof (documentation) of the bills that they need the money for...

also something to think about... if any members could nominate others to get the money who is to say someone hasnt made a second account on a second computer and are actually nominating their self....not to mention with out having to be the one applying that could open the door for scammers due to how would the one nominating be able to supply proof of need and such.

I have donated through a friends paypal account for anonymity purposes and happen to like the fact of knowing there are strict guidelines and process for this to ensure members money is going to the right places. on a more personal level Im not sure if I would continue to donate should just anybody be able to nominate each other for the funds drives and not have to show the proof stated in the above rules.

[DocJohn]

Rules haven't changed and the grant application guidelines are there on the website.

[Lilly2]

I donated through my last account, but it was set up annually. I closed my last accounts both on Paypal and here, and created a new account only on PC recently. I just want to make one-time donations without using Paypal or having annual recurring payments, as I could easily donate more frequently than once a year without the hassle of remembering the dates. Is there a way to donate without Paypal for one-time donations?

[Lilly2]

Originally Posted by Lilly2

I donated through my last account, but it was set up annually. I closed my last accounts both on Paypal and here, and created a new account only on PC recently. I just want to make one-time donations without using Paypal or having annual recurring payments, as I could easily donate more frequently than once a year without the hassle of remembering the dates. Is there a way to donate without Paypal for one-time donations?

Oops. I just answered my own question, which is found at the first link in this thread.

I think there was a different link I went to with my last account. I got confused which donations go where, lol. I forgot where that other link was, but I think it offered $20 annual or $50 one-time only, both through Paypal only. It differed from the donation link provided in the first post of this thread. Could you explain the differences between the donations? If you need clarification, I will find the different links and reply again, as I am on my cell and not at my computer.

I really think it is sweet to help out those in need. I used to be homeless a few times, so I have a heart to help out now that I have the means to help out a little.

[Lilly2]

Originally Posted by Lilly2

Oops. I just answered my own question, which is found at the first link in this thread.

I think there was a different link I went to with my last account. I got confused which donations go where, lol. I forgot where that other link was, but I think it offered $20 annual or $50 one-time only, both through Paypal only. It differed from the donation link provided in the first post of this thread. Could you explain the differences between the donations? If you need clarification, I will find the different links and reply again, as I am on my cell and not at my computer.

I really think it is sweet to help out those in need. I used to be homeless a few times, so I have a heart to help out now that I have the means to help out a little.

I just found the two different donation options for PC:

The first is on PC Forums, under Profile Settings: Miscellaneous: Paid Subscriptions:

https://psychcentralforums.com/payments.php

The second is found at the link you provided in the first post of this thread: DONATE | Psych Central Community Connection

The first link offers only two options: $20 recurring annual fee or a one-time $50 fee, both payable only through PayPal.

The second link offers more choices.

What are the differences between the two donation types?

[DocJohn]

There's no difference. All funds donated go to the non-profit for future grant awards.

[Lilly2]

@DocJohn

Thank you!

[DocJohn]

If you have any questions regarding the community fund drive or how to apply for a Help & Heal Mental Health Fund grant, please PM me directly.