Help

Product Introduction

1. Definition: Help is a mobile-first, global charity platform and fundraising app (available on iOS and Android) that functions as a fiscal sponsor and intermediary. It connects individual donors directly with verified nonprofit organizations and their specific fundraising campaigns. The platform is built on a model of targeted, transparent, and accountable giving.
2. Core Value Proposition: Help exists to solve the problem of opaque and impersonal charitable giving by providing a direct, transparent, and story-driven donation experience. Its primary value is enabling donors to see exactly who or what they are helping, understand the specific need, and track the progress and impact of their contribution, thereby building trust and engagement in global philanthropy.

Main Features

1. Targeted, Story-Based Fundraising: The platform curates specific fundraising campaigns from verified nonprofit partners. Each campaign features a detailed narrative about the recipient (person, animal, community, or environmental cause), explaining the specific need, goal, and context. This moves beyond generic cause categories to humanize and personalize the act of giving.
2. End-to-End Donation Transparency & Tracking: Help provides a clear, pre-donation fee breakdown and post-donation progress tracking. Donors can see that an estimated 84.5%-85.8% of their initial donation goes to the fundraiser after a 12% platform fee and Stripe's payment processing fee (2.2%-3.5% + $0.30). Users receive updates on the campaign's progress directly within the app.
3. Verified Nonprofit Network & Fiscal Sponsorship: All fundraising is conducted through a network of pre-vetted nonprofit organizations. Help Polis Inc. acts as a fiscal sponsor, holding 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status (EIN: 33-1523107). This structure allows donors to receive tax-deductible receipts and ensures funds are distributed to legitimate, accountable entities after due diligence, including IRS verification and KYB (Know Your Business) checks.
4. Subscription-Based Recurring Donations: The platform supports recurring monthly donations. Users can subscribe to a specific campaign, a cause category (e.g., Refugees, Animal Welfare), or directly to Help's operational fund. Subscriptions are managed within the app and can be canceled at any time, providing a steady funding stream for ongoing needs.
5. Categorized Global Cause Marketplace: The app organizes campaigns into ten key, high-need categories: Refugees, Women’s Rights, Senior Citizens, Animals, Mental Health, Health, Environment, Children & Youth, Unhoused, and Human Rights. This structured taxonomy helps donors efficiently explore global issues aligned with their values.

Problems Solved

1. Pain Point: Donor distrust and lack of transparency in traditional charity. Many donors are unsure how much of their donation reaches the end cause and what specific impact it creates.
2. Pain Point: The impersonal nature of charitable giving, where donations feel like dropping money into a black box for a vague cause, leading to disengagement.
3. Target Audience: The Conscious Donor: Individuals seeking a more meaningful, transparent, and direct connection to the causes they support. The Cause-Specific Giver: Donors passionate about specific issues like refugee aid or animal welfare who want to fund tangible cases. The Recurring Giver: Users who prefer to automate their philanthropy through subscriptions.
4. Use Cases: A donor wants to help a specific family displaced by conflict, not just a large refugee organization. An animal lover wishes to fund a stray dog's surgery and follow its recovery. A corporation seeks a transparent platform for employee giving programs and tax-deductible donations.

Unique Advantages

1. Strengths & Limitations (Pros & Cons):

   • Pros: Unusually high level of campaign-specific storytelling and progress tracking. Clear, upfront fee transparency. Strong focus on donor experience through a dedicated mobile app. Operates as a registered 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, simplifying tax deductions for US donors.
   • Cons: The 12% platform fee, while transparent, is higher than some direct-donation platforms (though it includes fiscal sponsorship services). The "targeted" model, while personal, may not appeal to donors who prefer funding an organization's general operational efficiency. Geographic reach for donors is limited to where Help is legally registered to solicit funds.

2. Key Alternatives & Differentiation:

   • GoFundMe: A general crowdfunding platform for personal, charitable, and entrepreneurial causes with lower fees (2.9% + $0.30). Differentiation: Help is exclusively for charitable fundraising through verified nonprofits, offers tax deductibility, and provides more structured cause categories and nonprofit vetting, whereas GoFundMe includes unverified personal campaigns.
   • Direct Donation to Nonprofits (e.g., UNICEF, WWF): Donating directly to a large charity's website. Differentiation: Help offers a consolidated marketplace of specific campaigns from multiple nonprofits, with a unified tracking and management experience in one app, unlike navigating individual charity websites.
   • Charity Navigator/GuideStar + Direct Donation: Using an evaluator site to research a charity, then donating on its site. Differentiation: Help integrates the vetting (of its partner nonprofits) with the donation action and adds the layer of campaign-specific storytelling and impact tracking, which evaluator sites do not provide.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Is Help a legitimate charity? How are donations tax-deductible? Yes, Help is a legitimate 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit public benefit corporation (Help Polis Inc., EIN: 33-1523107). It acts as a fiscal sponsor. Your donation is made to Help, which then grants the funds to the verified partner nonprofit running the campaign. You receive a tax receipt from Help Polis Inc., making donations potentially tax-deductible for U.S. taxpayers.

2. What percentage of my donation actually goes to the cause? An estimated 84.5% to 85.8% of your initial donation reaches the targeted fundraiser. Help retains a 12% platform fee for operational costs. The payment processor (Stripe) charges a separate fee of 2.2% to 3.5% plus approximately $0.30 per transaction. The exact final percentage depends on your card's country and currency.

3. How does Help choose which fundraisers and nonprofits to feature? Nonprofits are verified based on geography, social mission, transparency, online fundraising experience, and alignment with Help's values. Vetting includes IRS status checks, KYB procedures, and sanctions screening. Fundraising cases are selected in collaboration with these verified partners based on urgency, impact potential, and alignment with Help's mission.

4. Can I set up recurring donations to a specific person or project? Yes, you can set up a monthly subscription to a specific fundraising campaign. If that campaign completes, your future donations may—with your consent where required by law—be redirected to a similar active campaign. You can also subscribe to an entire cause category or to support Help's general operations.

5. How do I track the impact of my donation on the Help app? After donating, you can follow the campaign's progress through updates posted by the nonprofit partner directly within the Help app. You also have access to your full donation history and can download tax receipts at any time through your account.