Lend4Health
This entry has been selected as a finalist in the
Designing for Better Health competition.
Lend4Health facilitates community-funded, interest-free, online micro-loans for the pursuit of optimal health.
About You
Location
Project Street Address
8649 Dellway Lane
Project City
Vienna
Project Province/State
VA
Project Postal/Zip Code
22180
Project Country
United States
Your idea
Year organization founded:
2008
Year initiative began:
2008
Service/activity focus:
Other
If Service/activity focus is "other" please define in 1-2 words below:
Innovative health funding
YouTube Upload
Project URL
Name Your Project
Lend4Health
Describe Your Idea
Lend4Health facilitates community-funded, interest-free, online micro-loans for the pursuit of optimal health.
Innovation
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence?
Lend4Health facilitates community-funded, interest-free, online micro-loans for the pursuit of optimal health.
Describe what makes your idea unique--different from all others in the field.
Microfinance has traditionally been used for poverty alleviation in the developing world (i.e., Grameen Bank and Kiva.org). Lend4Health was inspired by Kiva.org, but takes online, collective microlending to a new area -- specifically, as a unique funding option for health-related pursuits. Furthermore, while several peer-to-peer lending websites exist and could potentially be used for health needs, they all charge an interest rate. Lend4Health is based on the Islamic finance concept of "qard hasan" or "the benevolent loan," which is interest-free.
Do you have any existing partnerships, and if so, how did you create them?
So far, partnerships with AutismActionPlan.org; IonSpa; and Orange County Integrative Medical Center; as well as two supplement-related companies (that have asked to remain anonymous). These partnerships were created very "organically" -- They heard about Lend4Health and asked how they could participate. These partners offer special deals (e.g., rebates, discounts, or free products) to Lend4Health families. Additionally, a well-known, international autism non-profit has requested a meeting in May 2009 with Lend4Health to discuss ways to collaborate/partner. Recently, Lend4Health became one of the Social Actions platforms (www.socialactions.com), enabling Lend4Health lending opportunities to be made available all over the web (not just on www.lend4health.org).
In which sector do these partners work? (Check all that apply)
Citizen sector (non profits, NGOs) , Private sector .
Impact
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact.
Increased: (1) number of people who can seek treatment, (2) speed with which treatment can be sought, and (3) awareness and support of health issues.
Please list any other measures of the impact of your innovation.
Increased morale of lenders and loan recipients; decreased stress of treatment seekers.
Is there a policy intervention element to your innovation?
This field has not been completed. (500characters or less)
How many people does your innovation serve or plan to serve? Exactly who will benefit from your innovation?
To date, 40 families have benefited from Lend4Health's unique service. Currently, families who have children with Autism Spectrum Disorders benefit. In the future, other health issues (diabetes, cancer, MS, premature birth) is planned to be covered, and the number of people who could benefit would increase. This innovation can serve as many people as there are seeking creative options for funding their health-related needs.
What is the key decision that you are trying to influence through your innovation/design?
I am trying to influence two key decisions. For the loan recipients, it is the decision to seek treatment or not (or at least sooner rather than later). For the lenders, it is the decision to take an interest in somebody else's health and support treatment.
What have you learned about how people respond to your innovation/design?
To date, the response has been fantastic. Loan recipients are amazed and deeply touched by the generosity and caring of other (oftentimes strangers); lenders are happy to be able to help somebody directly and enjoy receiving updates on how their loan has made an impact in the families' lives; and non-profit/non-profit technology/health experts are intrigued by the Lend4Health concept and it's success, especially given the fact that it was "bootstrapped" using Blogger and PayPal.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)?
Currently, it is being financed through an interest-free loan from an Angel Investor. In the near-term, I am seeking sponsorships from the 'for-profit' autism community to cover costs. In the mid-term, I plan to seek foundation grants and other donations. In the long-term, I am working on an idea to establish a for-profit entity that would employ and benefit the Lend4Health community and also enable profits to be donated to the non-profit Lend4Health.
Financing source
Annual budget
To date (4/1/09), the primary operational expenses are the transaction fees charged by PayPal. For the ten months that Lend4Health has been operating, these fees have totaled $1,065.49.
Annual revenue generated
To date (4/1/09), $21,482 in interest-free loans have been collected on the site. ($8,325 has been repaid.) An additional $515 has been received in non-tax-deductible donations.
Number of staff (full-time, part-time, volunteers)
One full-time staff member. Approximately 20 people have offered to volunteer, but an organized way for volunteers to participate has not yet been established.
What are the main financial barriers, and how do you plan to address them?
(1) The site needs funding to support the full-time staff member. The short-term plan is to seek sponsorships to cover this amount. (2) The site currently uses PayPal to process transactions, and this carries a large overhead cost. The plan is to approach PayPal to have fee-free transactions. Otherwise, grant monies, donations, and sponsorships will cover these fees. (3) The site needs a new design to become more automated. A developer affiliated with MaRS in Toronto is working on this pro-bono.
Aside from financial sustainability, how do you plan to grow and scale the initiative?
(1) Outreach to the currently-served population to seek more loan requesters and lenders. (2) Outreach to relevant for-profit entities for partnerships and sponsorships. (3) Once the website becomes a "platform" enabling automated use, partnership with a non-profit organization serving the current population so that they can use the platform independently of the founder. (4) Outreach and negotiation with other non-profits in other health areas (e.g., cancer, MS) to expand the initiative.
The Story
What was the motivation or defining moment that led to the creation of this innovation? Tell the story.
When my son was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder in 2007, I sought information on treatment. I learned of the biomedical treatment of autism and learned that it was helping many autistic kids who also had sensory issues. I implemented biomedical treatment with my son and saw great improvement. Through this experience, I became part of an online community of other parents seeking answers and pursuing this treatment. I heard several times that cost of these treatments was a major issue (much is not covered under insurance), and I wanted to help. I thought of sending small amounts of money to these families using PayPal, but it wouldn't have the impact I wanted (nor could I afford it!). One night while I was thinking of this problem, I remembered Kiva.org, and the idea for Lend4Health was born! I sat down at my dining room table a couple of weeks later and started Lend4Health as a blog. And here I am 10 months later! At the beginning of 2009, I basically quit my job to focus on Lend4Health full-time. This was not an easy decision to make -- to leave a good paying consulting job in DC in the middle of a recession -- but I honestly felt it was my duty as the originator of the idea to be the one to move it forward. The community was benefiting, the lenders were happy, and the concept was gaining an impressive amount of support from the "who's who" within the non-profit sector.
Please name and provide a personal bio of the social innovator behind this initiative.
Tori Tuncan is 36 years old and lives in Northern Virginia with her husband of 11 years and her two kids (ages 7 and 4). She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and was always known as a cheerful, creative optimist. She has a love for international travel and met her husband while an exchange student in Istanbul. For more than a decade, she was employed by various government consulting firms, providing communications-related support to clients including the Army and Department of Energy.
At what stage is this initiative?
Implementation and impact .
What resources would you need to take your initiative to the next stage?
(1) Access to web designers and developers. (2) Access to a lawyer to ensure legal compliance, including regarding SEC regulations. (3) Access to accountant to ensure proper accounting of loans vs. donations vs. income. (4) Funding to cover salary for full-time employee. Much of the rest can be handled by the creativity, hard work, generosity, and passion of the Lend4Health community!
How did you hear about this contest and what is your main incentive to participate? (Confidential)
I learned about this contest through two people I "follow" on Twitter - Lucy Bernholz (@p2173) and Ashoka employee @chloevdc. They both recommended I enter. I am participating because I am interested in receiving, considering, and responding to comments from the public, other Ashoka change-makers, and the judges, and because being a finalist would provide Lend4Health increased credibility and visibility.
- Login to post new content in this forum.
Comments
Hi Tori,
I am a big fan of this initiative and really like the combination of peer to peer lending for health. Changemakers is looking to support programs that not only are innovative and have impact but that are also sustainable. I am wondering if you can provide some additional information on your plans to scale Lend4health. Do you have any significant plans for financial sustainability? If you could elaborate on that point it would be great!
Also, where do you see the nudges coming in to play here? Where is the behavior change?
Chloe Feinberg
Ashoka
Full Economic Citizenship
In the near-term, my plan is to become a 501(c)(3) non-profit so that I have access to more contest prizes, grants, and donations than I would otherwise. I anticipate that I will need some grants/donations to keep things afloat while the L4H infrastructure is built and the model is tested and refined (see separate comment on Scale). One potential "market" for these grants/donations, I believe, is the community of for-profit medical practitioners who are treating these children, as well as the private companies who support these efforts through sale of equipment, supplements, special foods, and other services. Their grants/donations to support L4H makes sense because, in turn, L4H is helping families utilize their products and services. It would be a win-win. As the initiative scales, a larger amount of funds will come through in the form of optional lender donations. I would copy the Kiva model, whereby a lender is given the option to make a small donation to help cover the administrative costs of running the non-profit. Kiva President Premal Shah has stated that 70% of the lenders do this. In the longer-term, I have a vision to create a for-profit/B corp type venture so that L4H's revenue model is congruent with its mission (H/T @PeterDeitz of Social Actions). I believe it is important to help the borrowers become lenders and that L4H can provide a unique opportunity for its borrowers to gain more than just a loan. Specifically, I envision a for-profit structure that could offer its users employment as freelancing/part-time employees, earning a fair wage, with flexible hours, and good health care coverage. A portion of the proceeds could be fed back into the non-profit as loans. This is a longer-term vision that I am still researching, but I have some ideas that I'm pursuing, and I am excited about the potential. [more in subsequent comment]
Chloe: I understand how Lend4Health might not fit the anticipated response to the "nudge" concept, but I believe that it does in two ways. First, I believe that L4H provides a nudge to the family seeking the loan. For example, we have had families who were interested in trying biomedical treatments for their children, but the $500 (or so) needed up-front to pay for the doctor visit was a turn-off, or at best a major cause of delay. With L4H, though, a family has no "excuse" not to seek treatment, or to delay it further (also realizing that early intervention is a key to success). As another example, we have had families who have been doing treatment for years, but there are treatments they have been unable to try (even though they are doctor-recommended) because of the cost. Again, L4H is an opportunity that nudges them in the direction of being able to proceed with those treatments, because by breaking a larger cost down into smaller chunks (and offering 0% interest), the treatment is much more manageable for them financially. Secondly, I believe that L4H provides a very strong nudge to the lenders. Many, many people are aware of the incidence of autism (1 in 150 kids) and are saddened by it but don't know how to help. Even close friends and relatives of these families want to help but don't know what specifically they can do. L4H nudges both these groups of people to reach out and help because (1) they know specifically what they can do to help and what their money will be used for (2) they have a strong chance of getting their money back, and (3) their loan can be leveraged (by repaying it) to help many other families in similar situations. In short, L4H nudges people out of apathy and into empathy, because it's easy, it's low-risk, it's personal, and they can see the impact of their actions directly.
Hi Chloe! Thanks for the q's! In regards to scale, I want to preface this by saying that I have learned the importance of keeping the L4H community at the core, and scaling with them and their needs in mind, as opposed to the needs and expectations of the NPTech community. Christine Egger of Social Actions told me when I first started, "If you build in response to demand, you will always be the appropriate size." As such, my plan for scaling hinges on getting some infrastructure solidified (more automated website, direct communications between families and lenders, appropriate tax structure and accounting tools, capable volunteers). Otherwise, growth would be L4H's downfall. Then, the plan is to increase awareness of L4H within the potential user community (outreach at upcoming conferences, engaging with autism-focused media outlets). Then, I plan to partner with an autism non-profit so that they can use the L4H platform independently, effectively taking me out of the "middleman" role (similar to how Kiva loans are posted and updated by the microfinance institutions in the field, not Kiva staff in San Francisco). The next step would be to survey, assess, and refine based on user feedback. I want to make sure the model is working effectively and that users feel good about their participation (both lenders and recipients) before it is replicated for another health cause. At this point, I expect another cause community (MS, cancer, diabetes, preemies, etc) will come forward and ask to have access to the L4H platform for its community's need. (And if not I am currently developing relationships that would facilitate this "pitch.") With an automated platform in place, a high level of visibility, a reputation for excellence, and a commitment to honesty and community building, I think L4H will (almost!) scale itself. :) Indeed, its growth to this point has been very organic and user-driven.
Another idea I am looking into for longer-term (hinging upon increased scale/user base) is to facilitate microloans for more than just families - but microloans for development of new products and services that could be used by the community. For example, I have spoken with people who would like to build schools for autistic children and create a new line of food products for the allergen-conscious community. These ventures would be for-profit, and they are seeking startup funds. I believe that L4H could be leveraged to collect larger microloans for these types of endeavors, and that an Islamic Finance model could be used so that L4H shares ownership of the entity, with the amount owned decreasing gradually until the loan is paid back. I am still researching this, but I believe there is an opportunity here for traditional microfinance (loans to entrepreneurs), health, and Islamic finance to intersect. I believe this model also could be used for a community-funded scientific research endeavor to create the "green vaccines" many in the autism community are asking for, and then using sales from these vaccines to sustain L4H financially. [Thinking big, yes, but I wanted to let you know that I do see some larger potential here that I haven't really told people before!] :)
Tori
With all the knowledge us parents have accumulated since we first began our journey with our children, we have discovered a wealth of information that has been banked and ready to "loan" out to others facing the same journey. We can provide tools and encouragement to the caretakers, work schools and classrooms, develop charter schools and food markets that specialize in the nutrition and diets of children within the spectrum. We need adult care facilities specifically for autistic adults. We need lobbyists working the halls of our state legislature for help with treatment. We can do this, we can do it as not for profit organizations and as business models to encourage the involvement of others interested in providing services for a fee. But most of us have been hurt financially by the cost of raising and rescuing our children and no typical lender would touch us with a ten-foot pole.
We need documentaries done on these startups and distributed into the population in order to educate the masses on our future and how to help.
Thank you for your hard work and vision. We all stand with you! All the best!
Hello Tori,
I think that this is such a great idea and would like to help out in my spare time if possible. I'm also an entrant to the competition, a budding social entrepreneur with an eye towards microfinance, and I live in NOVA (Arlington). In my case I'm trying to work with the idea of microphilantrhopy and default contributions to health savings accounts. I think if you're interested you can click on my user name to quickly get to my entries. Please contact me if I might be of help and good luck!
Best,
Wayne Smith
Engineer & Social Entrepreneur
waynejsmith-at-gmail-dot-com
Before I knew about lend4health I was in a position I'm sure many parents face. I had done as much as I could to help my 7 year old son who has Autism. I read and researched as much as possible. I had our pediatrician do what she could that was covered by our insurance. It was time for biomed. professional help an advice but I did not have the money to move forward nor did my sons insurance cover the costs. I learned about lend4health from a friend. I must admit I was skeptical because I had never tried or heard of anything like it before. It turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made. It was easy and helpful beyond words. The emotional stress of feeling stuck was lifted. I was able to move forward in obtaining more help and advice for my son. Thanks to lend4health and everyone that is a part of helping families through lend4health, I have been given a chance to care for my son now and not years from now when it might be to late. Because of lend4health, I was able to seek help from a DAN doctor in just a few weeks after applying for a loan. I was funded very quickly. They changed my life. I know my journey with Autism is far from over but lend4health put me so much closer to the finish line. I'm very thankful.
We used Lend4Health to help us see our DAN doctor sooner. If we hadn't been assisted by the generous supporters of this wonderful program, our son would have had to wait for treatment. Anyone in the autism community knows that time is of the essence, and we are trying to be as proactive as possible to help him make a full recovery. Tori has done an amazing thing here, reaching out to people she doesn't even know and following her natural instincts of philanthropy and compassion for others. We are so grateful that Lend4Health is available and we hope that more families are able to take advantage of its rewards. Our kids are so worth it.
Peace,
dory hubbard
(blessed mom to Carson)
As an active investor/donor in L4H - I have been very impressed with the organization and its founder (Tori).
I plan on providing new micro-loans through L4H to individuals in the near future.
Tori is helping to grow this new and exciting web-based micro-loan format that allows individual investor/donors to connect in a personal and targeted manner with well vetted individuals with fully documented family-based medical treatments and associated needs!
Post new comment