Have you ever wanted to do something to help others but couldn’t decide where to start, how to help, or whom to help?  Like most donors, you want your financial donation to make a real difference in someone’s life . . . to have a direct impact, personally.  However, selecting an organization that helps those in need can be a daunting task particularly for altruistic donors who seek high impact, financial transparency, and an environment where trust is a valued attribute.

The Power of Impact:  Adopt-A-Patient

National Foundation for Transplants newly developed Adopt-A-Patient site offers donors information to help them relate and connect to individuals in need.  This practical tool answers the questions of how their financial donation will be used and whose life can be saved or healed based on a set of criteria selected by the potential donor.   

The wish of the donor is the driving force that promises to deliver the potential impact they seek.  Based on entries or items selected, they can review stories, photos, financial aspirations of those who meet their selected criteria.  Potential donors can choose a patient to support based on geographical location, type of tissue or organ transplant required, or any other scenario.  The results of the search can help the donor form an emotional or practical connection to the transplant patient.  Connections which offer a sense of satisfaction to the donor who can rest assured that their donation will be life-altering because it impacts someone whose story they know, whose face they’ve seen, whose need is clear.

National Foundation for Transplants’ Adopt-a-Patient offers what donors seek: The Power of Impact. But also, the power of a two-way gift – a gift of servility (the opportunity to serve others) for the donor and in return a transformational gift to someone in need.

It is a known fact that if we think for too long about the huge number of people who are hungry or need medical attention, for example, we can become overwhelmed by the complexity and size of the problem which can delay or prevent us from taking action: making a financial donation. Experts say the best way to shake this type of donor inertia is to connect with organizations that work to “Harness the Power of Impact.” Potential donors are advised to look for stories, photos, or other factors like proximity—what state do those in need dwell—to understand how financial contributions make a difference in the lives of individuals in need.

Connect with someone who can use your support today. Adopt a transplant patient with a one-time or recurring gift.

About the National Foundation for Transplants

National Foundation for Transplants has been raising money and raising hope since 1983, establishing itself within the transplant community as an organization that donors trust. We have one of the lowest administrative fee per dollar donated in the country. Our financial transparency is evidenced by documents and information found online at our website and on our peer-to-peer fundraising portal. Our model allows friends and supporters of transplant patients to raise funds for our organization in honor of the transplant patient which in turn permits us to allot grants which cover medical costs, prescription drugs, housing, travel to and from medical facilities for transplant patients. Without the type of help donors provide, many patients could not afford to receive the life-saving, life-healing benefit of an organ or tissue transplant.

Friends and supporters of our patients are well aware of the value we offer to their loved ones. They trust us and appreciate all that we do to be transparent in our financial duties. But our history and who we are is much more than statistics and programs. It is stories of courage, struggle, and triumph by transplant patients and by the thousands of volunteers who support them and work with compassion on community fundraising campaigns to raise money and raise hope.

As we approach our 40th anniversary in service to transplant patients specifically and the transplant community in general, we know times have changed. Strangers are just as likely to support individuals in need as much as their friends and family are. The challenge for strangers, altruistic donors, is deciding which organization to give financial support.

National Foundation for Transplants is committed to helping our donors, particularly those who may become first time donors, understand the needs of the people we serve and understand how their donation will make a difference. For us, it is very personal.

(The Adopt-a-Patient site and tools were developed by Joel Stamey, Vice President of Technology at the National Foundation for Transplants. Joel has thirty years of experience in designing, implementing, reporting and evaluating promotional programs across multiple industries/market segments to meet complex business goals.)

Loretta Whitmore, Editor

Loretta has worked in the nonprofit arena for more than 25 years.  She serves as the Senior Manager of Social Media and National Outreach for the National Foundation for Transplants where she manages NFT’s Second Chance News Center.  She is an experienced project manager capable of harnessing resources, forming workgroups, and moving projects from the drawing board to implementation. Loretta is passionate about serving transplant patients; at-risk and low-income individuals; victims of disasters; and helping to create more resilient communities.  Do you have a transplant story you would like to share?  Write her at connect@transplants.org