About Heart Projects
What is Heart Projects?
Every charity serves a group of people. Our charity serves you. We enable do-gooders who have passions and skills, but aren't sure how to utilize them. Our goal is to build a community that feels like a club, with consistent social media updates on projects, a steady flow of volunteer tasks, and all the support you need to bring about real change.
How is this different from GoFundMe?
Most of the group projects on GoFundMe are hosted by registered charities. The point of Heart Projects is to empower individuals who aren't associated with a charity, but who want to make a difference.
Does Heart Projects give grants?
Our non-profit does not give out grants.
Foundations that provide grants give money to established charities. Heart Projects does not transfer any funds to the person who fills out an application for a project. Instead, we work with the Project Director to raise the funds for the project and we complete the project together.
How can I donate my talents?
Donating your talents is easy! You sell a product or service. Instead of giving the payments to you, buyers send their payments to our Venmo account @heartprojects. You can also send us an item to be sold on our Etsy store. Email a description of your work and a picture to [email protected]
Will My Donation Go Toward the Cause I Choose?
Almost always, yes. There will be a few exceptions. If we exceed our goal for one project, we would put the surplus toward a similar project. Too often, charities get stuck sending a surplus of money to places that don't need it because they made a promise to donors. We promise that your money will support the causes you care about, even if the money gets shifted to where it will do the most good.
Do I have to pick a cause to donate to?
Nope! You can give money without specifying a cause, and we will put it where it's needed most. Consider making a monthly donation through Paypal.
Why did you start Heart Projects?
I kept coming up with ideas to help people, but without having a registered charity, I couldn't get very far. I reached out to other charities with my ideas, but they had their own way of doing things and they weren't interested in helping me with my projects.
I decided to start a charity that completed projects. That way, I could do whatever I wanted.
Then I thought about all the people who have an idea but can't start a nonprofit. Maybe they don't have the time, the knowledge, or the resources, or maybe they want to complete a single project and move on. Heart Project empowers average do-gooders to make change happen.
Could you help with my project?
I hope so! Send us your application and we can discuss it further. Here's what we look for in a project:
Tangibility. The project has to have a beginning, middle, and end that is demonstrable to patrons. For instance, we won't raise money for cancer research in general, but we would fund a cancer research project with a specific goal and share the findings with our patrons. We don't host protests, political nominees, or awareness campaigns.
Involvement. You, as the Project Director, have to dedicate yourself to the project until it is done. You are in charge of doing all the research about what it will take to make the project a reality, and you have to participate in its completion.
Updates: You must commit to providing consistent social media updates for our patrons. If this is difficult for you, either because you don't have access to the internet or for other reasons, we are willing to work with you and your situation.
Broad Benefits. We are unlikely to accept projects that benefit a single individual. GoFundMe is a more appropriate venue for this. That being said, we might provide funds for a person's education or business if it will have wide benefits to others. Keep in mind that we will be hesitant to sponsor anyone we don't know personally.
Uniqueness. It is unlikely that we would take on a project if someone else is doing the same thing, or if the money is going to another charity. It would be better to communicate directly with the other charity about how you can get involved. You can try sending an application for a project another nonprofit is struggling to complete. Who knows? Maybe we'll take it on.
Can I trust the Project Director?
When we take on a project, the person who sent us the application is the Project Director. The Project Director helps us fundraise and complete the project. He or she is not a part of the Heart Projects organization and is working with us on a temporary basis.
The Project Director will never handle funds. Even though the director is soliciting funds and running fundraisers, all the money will go directly to us or the project will be cancelled. Our board of directors will be in charge of dispersing the payments to the appropriate parties. If the Project Director fails to fulfill his or her responsibilities, Heart Projects will find a new Project Director or complete the project ourselves.
Every charity serves a group of people. Our charity serves you. We enable do-gooders who have passions and skills, but aren't sure how to utilize them. Our goal is to build a community that feels like a club, with consistent social media updates on projects, a steady flow of volunteer tasks, and all the support you need to bring about real change.
How is this different from GoFundMe?
Most of the group projects on GoFundMe are hosted by registered charities. The point of Heart Projects is to empower individuals who aren't associated with a charity, but who want to make a difference.
Does Heart Projects give grants?
Our non-profit does not give out grants.
Foundations that provide grants give money to established charities. Heart Projects does not transfer any funds to the person who fills out an application for a project. Instead, we work with the Project Director to raise the funds for the project and we complete the project together.
How can I donate my talents?
Donating your talents is easy! You sell a product or service. Instead of giving the payments to you, buyers send their payments to our Venmo account @heartprojects. You can also send us an item to be sold on our Etsy store. Email a description of your work and a picture to [email protected]
Will My Donation Go Toward the Cause I Choose?
Almost always, yes. There will be a few exceptions. If we exceed our goal for one project, we would put the surplus toward a similar project. Too often, charities get stuck sending a surplus of money to places that don't need it because they made a promise to donors. We promise that your money will support the causes you care about, even if the money gets shifted to where it will do the most good.
Do I have to pick a cause to donate to?
Nope! You can give money without specifying a cause, and we will put it where it's needed most. Consider making a monthly donation through Paypal.
Why did you start Heart Projects?
I kept coming up with ideas to help people, but without having a registered charity, I couldn't get very far. I reached out to other charities with my ideas, but they had their own way of doing things and they weren't interested in helping me with my projects.
I decided to start a charity that completed projects. That way, I could do whatever I wanted.
Then I thought about all the people who have an idea but can't start a nonprofit. Maybe they don't have the time, the knowledge, or the resources, or maybe they want to complete a single project and move on. Heart Project empowers average do-gooders to make change happen.
Could you help with my project?
I hope so! Send us your application and we can discuss it further. Here's what we look for in a project:
Tangibility. The project has to have a beginning, middle, and end that is demonstrable to patrons. For instance, we won't raise money for cancer research in general, but we would fund a cancer research project with a specific goal and share the findings with our patrons. We don't host protests, political nominees, or awareness campaigns.
Involvement. You, as the Project Director, have to dedicate yourself to the project until it is done. You are in charge of doing all the research about what it will take to make the project a reality, and you have to participate in its completion.
Updates: You must commit to providing consistent social media updates for our patrons. If this is difficult for you, either because you don't have access to the internet or for other reasons, we are willing to work with you and your situation.
Broad Benefits. We are unlikely to accept projects that benefit a single individual. GoFundMe is a more appropriate venue for this. That being said, we might provide funds for a person's education or business if it will have wide benefits to others. Keep in mind that we will be hesitant to sponsor anyone we don't know personally.
Uniqueness. It is unlikely that we would take on a project if someone else is doing the same thing, or if the money is going to another charity. It would be better to communicate directly with the other charity about how you can get involved. You can try sending an application for a project another nonprofit is struggling to complete. Who knows? Maybe we'll take it on.
Can I trust the Project Director?
When we take on a project, the person who sent us the application is the Project Director. The Project Director helps us fundraise and complete the project. He or she is not a part of the Heart Projects organization and is working with us on a temporary basis.
The Project Director will never handle funds. Even though the director is soliciting funds and running fundraisers, all the money will go directly to us or the project will be cancelled. Our board of directors will be in charge of dispersing the payments to the appropriate parties. If the Project Director fails to fulfill his or her responsibilities, Heart Projects will find a new Project Director or complete the project ourselves.