Caregiving: When financial thrivability is a mindset

CaregiverCentral.org is a proven web application for caregivers in the Orlando market. Developed by Share the Care, with an initial investment by The Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation,www.CaregiverCentral.org helps caregivers develop an understanding of the services available to them and their specific needs, in a specific area. Right now, the product is available only in Orlando.

In addition to a functional platform, a financial model has been developed by Share the Care to ensure that the product generates revenue to help further its mission. This is/was quite insightful, and is noteworthy because it is not a normal thought process in the nonprofit world.

Think about the value the www.caregivercentral.org product provides to service providers. Self-defined caregivers or inquisitive individuals complete a survey outlining their current experience with the patient and as a caregiver. From the answers provided, the underlying algorithm produces recommendations of services for the caregiver to consider.  (These responses currently fall into nine buckets of services.) In other words:  a vetted and qualified “needer” of services has been identified.

If you were a provider of these services, wouldn’t you be interested in identifying a vetted and qualified purchaser?  Talk about target marketing!!

So Share the Care has created the opportunity for a service provider to reach these targeted prospects.  By sponsoring the result, the service provider can get its name in front of the caregiver, at the time the caregiver is most interested in learning about the service. In return for making this connection between purchaser and provider, Share the Care receives a nominal sponsorship fee. It has now generated money to further its mission.

How many opportunities like this exist - opportunities to provide value to multiple parties and to create a financial model in which all win? I suspect there are many. To identify these, an organization’s leaders must think through the value proposition(s) and intentionally think of creating revenue.