In honor of Giving Tuesday 2024 we focus on some particularly interesting charities and non-profit organizations. The endParalysis Foundation is one of those non-profits. While we here at Charitable are happy that the charity is a long time user of the Charitable plugin we are most impressed with their determination and ability to stay focused on their mission.
I spoke with Corinne Jeanmaire (founder and manager) – who has been using WordPress for 10 years (and using Charitable almost as long)!
Can you tell us a little bit about how you got started?
“I started the endParalysis foundation back in 2014 because I sustained a spinal cord injury from a car accident in 2001 and have been following scientific research for many years. I believe that science will one day enable functional and sensory recovery after a spinal cord injury.”
“It is a long-term and challenging goal. But it is worthwhile contributing, if not for myself, then for the young generation. They deserve a chance to walk, run and dance again! The endParalysis foundation, through its dedication and focus, contributes to a future without paralysis.”
What challenges have you faced regarding the charity that can be learned by other giving organizations?
“We are a small foundation without any paid staff. 100% of the donations received go to cure research projects and we only fund projects that can ultimately lead to functional and sensory recovery by people currently living with a spinal cord injury. Our fundraising is mainly based on personal networking and our board members pay for the operation costs incurred by the foundation.”
“Obviously, we need to keep those costs as low as possible. Knowing that most external crowdfunding platform charge a 15% fee for each campaign, we were very happy to discover the Charitable plugin which enables us to do the same job, or even better for free!”
What achievement with the charity are you most proud of?
“We have provided seed-funding for high-profile research projects and have convinced various highly-recognized researchers worldwide to collaborate with us in order to evaluate their therapies in chronic setting, i.e. at a late stage, so that people already living with paralysis for many years can also benefit from the therapy. It is an even bigger challenge, but it is worth fighting.
“We are – worldwide – the ONLY Spinal Cord Injury foundation that focuses on spinal cord injury at the chronic stage. When people make a donation to us, they know precisely where the money is going and they know that they therewith contribute to curing paralysis in the future.”
How has Charitable helped?
“The Charitable plugin has empowered us to create functional and beautiful crowdfunding pages. The new Charitable builder enables us to be more flexible in our fundraising page design, and therewith to attract more people to donate and to set up their own fundraising challenges, which we call “Unfreeze” challenges.
Our challenges are much more than just crowdfunding. We firmly believe that they are a great win-win opportunity helping people to improve their lives and reach an aim, while raising funds for the foundation. With the new design enabled by the new Charitable campaign builder, we are determined to give our campaigns a soul and increase our fundraising platform’s popularity and effectiveness. Our latest ongoing fundraising challenge (in solidarity with my sister) is a good example of how we use the Charitable plugin.”
Wrapping Up
It was great hearing from Corinne – it’s comforting to know people that care about things that can so drastically effect people physically (as well as mentally) exist in the world. We are fortunate to have digital platforms (like Charitable, WordPress, and others) that can be available for people who can campaign for a good cause without an added fee.
While we think about Giving Tuesday and the season in general, we often reflect on things we are thankful for. I feel it makes the world a bit of a better place knowing that there are many people out there like Corinne who face the challenges of helping others – and meeting those challenges.
Make sure to visit the non-profit at endparalysis.org.
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