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DevotionalsFearing The Big Picture
Posted by Heather Wilson on Apr 2, 2018
A couple years ago when the elections were happening, I went through a period of time where I felt depressed every time I went on Facebook or watched the news. It felt like no option was a good option and all there was, was bad news and accusations on every side of the coin. It caused me to start living in fear. Fear of the future, fear for my children, fear for my freedoms. At that time I felt like I heard God say to me "Why are you trying to look at the big picture? Only I can see the big picture. I put you exactly where I want you and I'm going to use you there. You don't have to worry about everybody else and what they're doing. You just worry about what I have for you to do." Well, I knew that GiveSendGo was something that God had for me to do, and it was amazing to see my perspective change as I started looking at closely at the Givers, Senders and Goers using the site. I started to notice exactly what GiveSendGo was being used for. Ordinary people all over the world making a difference. They were raising money to impact their communities, their churches, their neighbors and friends, they didn't let worry about world politics or how it was all going to end stop them from doing what God was calling them to do in the moment, and they were making a difference. This year already on GiveSendGo, we have seen thousands of people utilizing our platform to spread the Hope of Jesus. There is good being done in the world. There is hope being shared, despite what we hear in the media. It is happening when people like you and I, in our own little circles of life, decided to step out and make a difference. Sometimes that calls for raising money to meet a physical need, so Hope can be shared, such as with these few campaigns : Here is Emily on an incredibly life changing journey. So many of her friends and family who could not be the one to "Go" right now are supporting her, many with recurring monthly donations: https://www.givesendgo.com/fromsactogreece Here is a campaign raising money for a family dealing with a tragic death, and the body of Christ joined in to raise over $20,000. https://www.givesendgo.com/NickDehmer Or this campaign for a Christian ministry start up wanting to provide assistance to families who would like Christian education for their children. https://www.givesendgo.com/dollarperchristian It was hard to pick just a few. There are hundreds more campaigns like these on GSG, and it is so exciting to join in and be used to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a world needing a little Help and Hope. Check us out today and be a part of making a difference where you are planted.
GiveSendGo NewsGoFund.... Someone else
Posted by GiveSendGo on Mar 20, 2018
Let's change the way we look at crowdfunding! Create a campaign for someone today.
DevotionalsBilly Graham
Posted by GiveSendGo on Feb 21, 2018
?Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don?t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.? - Billy Graham Today Billy Graham is standing before Jesus. Bowing, Singing, Laughing, I can only imagine. Listen to this song with us as we imagine the party that is happening in heaven today! As Jesus hugs Billy and says "Well done my good and faithful servant." Let it spur us on to make the most of the life we have been given. To embolden us to use every opportunity to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ! I can only imagine! Do you have a story how Billy Graham's legacy impacted your life? Please share in the comments.
DevotionalsShooting in Florida
Posted by GiveSendGo on Feb 15, 2018
Our team at GiveSendGo is so saddened and our hearts are heavy with the recent news of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. It is easy to live in fear when you see and hear devastating news like this. The question runs through our mind, "what if it were my child?", and for over 17 families the unthinkable has happened, they sent their child/spouse to school on a random Wednesday morning and they won't be returning home. There are no easy platitudes or saying that will take away the pain and hurt of this situation. So, as believers we ask ourselves, "what should be our response?" I believe it is ok to be angry. It is ok to vocal about what changes you think need to happen to prevent this from happening again. It's ok to feel saddened and scared, but that should not be the end of our response. As Christians we have Hope. We have a love that can change people's lives. We do not have to live in fear or anger. We need to live making the most of every day given to us. Sharing Jesus to the people sitting beside us on the bus, to the person behind us in line, to the poor, sick, to the struggling teen wandering our neighborhood. We need to be God's hands and feet. EVERYDAY. Not just during tragedy. Not just when there is a lot of media surrounding something. EVERYDAY asking God to bring someone in your path that needs to know His life changing, world altering, love. Don't be vocal just to argue your point. Arguments don't fix problems. Action does. Take action today. Love someone that feels unlovable. Be Jesus to the hurting.
GiveSendGo NewsThe GiveSendGo story
Posted by GiveSendGo on Feb 13, 2018
Hello Everyone! Thanks for taking a minute to stop by our blog and learn a little bit about who we are and why we started GSG. GiveSendGo was started by 3 siblings in a family of 12 children. Heather(#2), Emmalie (#4, and Jacob (#5). There had been some discussion around the dinner table one night about what the Church would look like today, if it operated like described in the book of Acts. Where instead of believers fighting with each other, we worked together, and shared resources to help demonstrate the Hope we have in Jesus with the world. Crowdfunding got mentioned and it started the ball rolling.We hired a development company, 3- 4 months they said it would take to complete. 3 months came and went, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months and then finally a year and our developer was still making excuses on why it was not complete. We were stressed out and wondering if this was even ever going to happen. If you scroll back on our Facebook page you will see us announce that we were going live, then nothing... then announce we were about to launch again... and nothing.. it was then we first had to practice what we had been saying all along- GSG is GOD's and we are just working for Him. Whether it succeeds or fails, we are just moving forward trusting God had a plan in it all. We FINALLY launched in 2014, 14 months after conception. The first few months we were begging people to start campaigns. We were working out the kinks and switching developers. We were excited, seeing a campaign or 2 a week and praying that God would use GiveSendGo for His Glory. Not just to help people raise money, but to encourage the Church around the world to spread the hope and love of Jesus with the world. About 3 months in we were still gung ho as we were seeing a little traction, and the site was finally operating like it should .At that time campaigns on GSG were charged based on a sliding scale, as you raised over certain amounts of money, the percentage that we would take from each donation to help with operating GSG would lessen. We had meetings daily and would talk about and pray for GiveSendGo and the direction we were headed. At that time we realized every time someone started a campaign we would encourage them to remember that God is our provider, money is just a tool, but God owns the cattle on 1000 hills (and more!!!) We started feeling challenged. If GiveSendGo was God's idea that He planted in us, and this website was the journey He had us on maybe we should take our own advice. We decided in the early summer of 2014 to change our fee structure. No longer would we take a percentage of the money raised through GSG, we would make giving to GSG optional. We would trust that God had given us the idea for GSG and if we were faithful, He would do His work through it and in us. We took the leap of faith and became free. And we all lived happily, ever after.... well not quite. As with any start up, there are days where everything is working and great and you are on the mountain top, you feel encouraged and loved, and then there are days when you just want to throw in the towel and give up. When a piece of code breaks and unhappy emails come flying in about a feature not working, or a marketing endeavor flopping. We started to realize that maybe God didn't just give us GSG to help others be and do what God wants them to do, but also as a tool God was using to make us a little more into the people He wants us to be. We had a launch party in October 2014, once we felt the site was ready to be put out into the world. We have seen steady growth thanks to all our friends and supporters who share GiveSendGo.com when they see a need arise. We have seen many changes to the site over the last 3 years. Maybe you were with us for some of them: A new site design. Anyone remember what we used to look like? A whole mess of new features such as: Being able to record an audio message on your campaign page from a computer Allowing recurring donation to a campaign A Pray now button Custom Urls for your campaign Shareable widget on your campaign. Facebook auto share We changed the campaign creation process, now broken down in easy to edit steps, We recently added a recipients step so you can change who is going to be receiving the funds. and so much more, many behind the scenes fixes and changes, making the website work more efficiently for you. We are so thankful for your patience, those who have maybe been with us during an update or error that we had to scramble to fix. We want GSG to be the best site out there for Christians to raise money, but not just so we can talk dollars and stats. It is our heart that the world will be changed as the Church comes together during tragedies, missions trips, adoptions, building funds, education, family need, medical bills , community outreach and more to use money as a tool to share the everlasting Hope of Jesus with our neighbors. Thank you for being a part of the journey with us. Thank you for your prayers, encouraging words and generous donations. Let's continue on working together to change our world!
The GiveSendGo difference
Posted by GiveSendGo on Feb 11, 2018
As the #1 free Christian crowdfunding site, it is vital that you know how we are different from other crowdfunding platforms. We are FREE. We charge no money to use our platform. We believe you should be able to keep all the money you raise. GSG is powered by voluntary donations from Givers and Goers. Other crowdfunding sites take between 5%-10% of the money raised by a campaign. Each month, we give 10% of the donations given to GSG back to active campaigns on our site. We're the first crowdfunding site that believes so much in what you're doing that we put our money where our mouth is. We love being Givers! The most valuable currency is God's love. Only God can meet the deepest needs of each heart. That's why we're grateful to have individuals and organizations dedicated to praying over our campaigns. We pray for eternal results because those are ultimately the only outcomes that matter. The God we serve will ALWAYS be bigger than money. On GSG, Christians can choose to raise funds for short or long-term campaigns. GiveSendGo allows Goers to set up their campaign to receive monthly recurring donations from their Givers. Traveling across the country and world to share God's love just got easier. Outside the obvious funding for mission trips, GSG also can be used to raise funds for medical expenses, business ventures, personal needs, churches, nonprofits, ministries or any "God Adventure" you embark on. Whether you're a Giver, Sender or Goer, you can be used by God to be a difference maker!
DevotionalsI want answers, don't you?
Posted by GiveSendGo on Feb 10, 2018
I want answers, don't you? Do you believe God answers prayers? I mean do you really truly believe God answers prayers? I mean, today in 2018, do you believe that God answers prayers? Have you ever asked God for something and seen your prayer answered? There are many Scriptures that tell us we should be continuously talking to God, requesting, and sharing with Him the things that concern us, and that He wants to answer. I know it is easy to say a quick prayer when I am in the midst of something stressful, or if I hear of someone that is hurt or in trouble. It can become a habit to just say a "quick prayer", but not really expect my prayers to be answered. We give up on the answer before the prayer even leaves our mouths. This week our GSG team wants to challenge you to to start (or continue) seeking God for needs, requests, and miracles in our lives and expect an answer. Put aside time every day this week to spend in talking with God. Not just at dinner or tucking kids in bed. Every time we pray we need to be asking God to line up our desires with His. Truly believing that He can and wants to answer. We encourage you to print out these verses below and place them around your home, office, the refrigerator,bathroom, your car dashboard, your TV or computer screen. Use these verses to remind yourself that God wants you to actively be asking and expecting from Him. 1 John 5:14-15English Standard Version (ESV) 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. Isaiah 65:24New Living Translation (NLT) 24 I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead an­d answer their prayers! John 15:7New Living Translation (NLT) 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! James 4:3Living Bible (TLB) 3 And even when you do ask you don't get it because your whole aim is wrong-you want only what will give you pleasure. James 5:13-18New Living Translation (NLT) 13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops. 1 Thessalonians 5:17New Living Translation (NLT) 17 Never stop praying. Micah 7:7New Living Translation (NLT) 7 As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me. Comment and let us know how this challenge went. We believe that God wants to hear from us and answer, so we expect awesome testimonies of God stretching your faith and answering you in ways you can't even imagine. https://www.facebook.com/Givesendgo
Guest BloggerMy Mama always told me not to talk to strangers..but today I did.
Posted by Emmalie Arvidson on Feb 8, 2018
My Mama always told me not to talk to strangers..but today I did. Soooo here is my really cool testimony. I'll try to make it short. I was hanging out with my mom and sister Weslea, we were talking about how important it is for Christians get out of their comfort zone and just tell people how much God loves them. We talked about how we should start telling people..anywhere and everywhere. I had to leave to go grocery shopping... so we decided that I would try it, just stop some random person at the store and let them know the truth about Jesus and His great love for them. As I was leaving, Weslea said she got a picture, she described a woman and said she had a red hat and said that if I see her, I should tell her how much God loves her. So I went, very nervous but excited. I prayed for courage the whole way to the store. God kept bringing to mind that I should pray for her son?? Weird, but its what kept coming to mind. I walked in the store. No one with a red hat on..I shopped. Still no one that fit the description. I went through check out..still couldn't see anyone. The whole time in my spirit I kept praying that the Lord will give me someone, a lady in a red hat or not. I headed to my car..no one. As I put my groceries in my car I was staring at all the strangers that passed by. I was wondering who it would be. Finally, after not seeing anyone with a red hat I decided that I would talk to the lady putting her groceries away in the car next to me. With a Godly courage, I went up to her and told her how much God loved her. How He wants relationship with her. How even in her darkest moments, He was with her. She nodded politely and smiled. I asked if she had a son. Nope. 3 daughters. I continued to let her know how much Christ adored her. ( I mean, even if I was wrong about the person, who doesn't love hearing that God loves them.) Finally, I went to put my cart back in the corral and out of the store walked a woman that fit Weslea's description...exactly! So crazy!! Here it goes again! Went up to her, she was a bit surprised. I said "you know something funny, my sister and I were praying this morning and she got a picture of you. She said if I saw you at the store, I needed to tell you something." She just stared at me. I said "do you know God loves you so much! He has me here today to tell you how special you to Him. He watches you every second and is absolutely in love with you!" Tears rolled down her face. She explained her son (!!!!) just had open heart surgery and had become a Christian. We prayed healing right there for him. I told her to go home and tell him how much God is pleased with him. As she grabbed my hand She cried some more and talked about how this made her day. We talked for a couple minutes more as I just tried to convey how deep her Heavenly Father's love was for her and how He wanted a personal relationship with her. It was amazing. God is so good. How could I ask my kids and youth group kids to spread Gods love if I wasn't even doing it!!! Here is to 2015 and making a commitment to being available to God to be used. Not just talking but praying and maybe financially giving to whomever we are led to! If you want change in your community or nation.... start it yourself. ? E. Arvidson Then come back and share your testimony with us. Let the life changing stories continue!
Crowdfunding.... Why Do People Give?
Posted by Heather Wilson on Jan 22, 2018
I have given to a few crowdfunding campaigns over the last few years, even way before I really knew what crowdfunding was. I remember the first time that I saw an acquaintance post something about raising money on Facebook. Her car had broken down and she was in desperate need of a new one. She was asking people to donate money to her car fund. I was intrigued. I thought, I'm going to give her 20 bucks. A couple clicks later it was done. It was super easy and it was fun to watch her start reaching toward her goal. I had never seen anything like it. It was actually quite fun to be a part of it, even if in a small way. Fast forward a year or so later and I am now seeing crowdfunding campaigns popping up everywhere, and find I'm not as likely to just donate $20 to everyone who asks. So I ask myself, "What about certain campaigns inspires me to give?" Maybe reading about what inspired me will help you understand what will inspire yourgivers and I would love to hear your comments on who you have given to and what drew you in to their campaigns. I gave because I was intrigued and I had a little extra money that month. That simple, that's what inspired me the first time. It was fun to be a part of something that I had never seen before. Now, that won't happen as much any longer because crowdfunding is becoming much more commonplace in today society. Another reason I have found myself giving is it is because it is family or close friends. When family is trying to raise money, of course I can donate $20 $50 $100+ depending on the time of my paycheck and the need. I gave because I felt appreciated. Once I gave to somebody, and I know this is not necessarily the best reason, but I gave because I knew it would make a difference in her daughter's life and I knew she publicly thanked people who gave. Her thanks always felt so sincere. So I didn't necessarily give just to get the thanks but when she did say thank you, It made me feel like I made a HUGE difference, because of how grateful she sounded. Everyone wants to feel like they made a difference. Then there were times that I gave because the difference I knew my money would make in a specific way. I wasn't just giving so someone else could be a missionary while I stayed home or so someone else could be supported. I gave because of the specific way my money was going to change a life. Example: I saw a campaign about orphan kids in Haiti that wanted to take a once in a lifetime trip to their capital. It would cost $40 a child. Knowing my money would make a difference in such a specific way made me want to give. So to sum it all up. Why will people give you your campaign? THEY WILL GIVE BECAUSE They see your posts, you have asked them and they think 'What a neat idea'. So share your posts to people that might not always hear from you. Not just your regular supporters. Ask others to share as well. Reach far and wide. Grab people's attention. THEY WILL GIVE BECAUSE They know you personally. Share your campaign with your friends and family. Before you even launch let the ones closest to you know what you are doing and the heart behind it. Invite them to be a part of your adventure. Ask them to give and share on your launch day to help build momentum. THEY WILL GIVE BECAUSE You thank them!! As money starts coming in it can get easy to just lump all the givers together and just assume they know you appreciate them. On GiveSendGo.com a thank you note gets sent to each of your givers and you can customize it for each campaign. But I still would make a big deal of it on your social media platforms (unless they wish to remain anonymous) THEY WILL GIVE BECAUSE They feel like they will make a difference. People want to know that what you are accomplishing isn't about you buying flights, or growing a business, or even raising money for a charity/ it's about people. About changing the world. Everyone wants to make a difference. Invite them , inspire them, Ignite a passion! And last but not least, we are all called to GIVE. Give to be obedient. Give to bless others, Give to be more like Jesus. <
Fundraising Tips7 Creative Ways to Thank Your Givers
Posted by GiveSendGo on Jan 20, 2018
Making sure you are thanking your Givers is a crucial part to keeping your crowdfunding crowd engaged in what you are doing and often will be the key in prompting Givers to give repeat donations. Here is a few ideas on creative ways to send a meaningful thank you: 1. Send a public shout out on social media Show your gratitude on Facebook, Twitter, or the platform your donors use most. A simple shoutout on Facebook is a great way to shine a spotlight on your supporters and say thank you to donors. Learn how to write for different social media platforms to perfect your message. 2. Make a Facebook Live shout out to each donor. 3 Make a custom GIF https://giphy.com/create/gifmaker A GIF brings pictures to life, and it can have a surprisingly large emotional impact. Create an animated, personalized GIF for your donors. Share it on social media with a simple thank-you message. You can create free custom GIFs at Giphy. 4. Change your Audio message on your campaign to a verbal, personal thank you each time someone gives. 5. Write a cute or funny poem that expresses your thankfulness. 6. Pay it forward When your donor community has a cause they're fundraising for, reciprocate by offering your help. Even if you can't donate to their cause, you can still offer to volunteer, to help with their campaign, or to share their fundraiser with your social network. 7. Take a picture of yourself and how you felt when you saw the donation. Email it to your Giver.
