How to Help
Our purpose is to connect you directly with people who request assistance. We are not a 501(c)(3) and don’t handle donations or funds of any type. Everyone is equipped differently and you might answer a need for help with physical labor, time, transportation, prayer, professional services, or financial assistance.
How It Works
Join our email list (below) to learn where help is needed and to see how the BlessConnect community has been able to meet recent needs. There is no commitment when you join our email list.
Requests for assistance come to us via the online form on our “How to Get Help” page.
We communicate with these individuals to make sure we understand the details of their needs.
We distribute this request to our email list with care to protect the identity of the requestor. When applicable, we may also send requests to organizations that already exist to help with certain needs such as expenses related to medical treatments for life-threatening illnesses.
When we receive a response from someone willing to help, we provide that individual’s name to the requestor for approval. Our purpose in doing this is to protect the privacy of requestors and to ensure they’re in control of who receives their contact info.
We consider offers of assistance in the order we receive them. Our reply to an individual offering assistance will be a message with contact info stating that the requestor would like to accept their assistance, or a note confirming that the need has already been met.
We screen every request and make no guarantees that every stated need will be met or even entertained. If we determine that someone is taking advantage of others, we won’t forward their requests to the email list.
We’re grateful for your generosity, but we don’t publicize it. We will not give credit to individuals or businesses on our site or our social media pages.
FAQ
Are my contributions tax deductable?
Any funds or assistance you provide directly to an individual are not tax deductable. We encourage giving freely without the secondary motivation of tax savings. However, if a tax deduction is necessary, we do have connections to a non-profit that can accept and allocate funds at your direction.
What are the most common needs you see?
Recurring expenses such as utility bills, rent, and car payments are common. Unique events like a water heater or furnace going out are also common due to the unexpected financial strain these problems cause.
How do I know someone isn’t taking advantage of my generosity?
We screen requests for legitimacy by trying to understand the context of the need. Oftentimes it’s clear that some event like an illness, injury, job loss, or other event has put someone in a temporary bind. Sometimes we’ll verify information with a third party, such as a landlord. If it’s a repeat request or the context doesn’t make sense, we’ll scrutinize it more. And if it doesn’t seem like a legitimate need to you, you’re under no obligation to respond to it.
What if the need is too large for one individual to cover?
It’s no problem to combine efforts to help someone with a larger need. If you see something that you’d like to help with in part, just respond with what you’re willing to contribute and we’ll see if we can get enough participation to handle it.
How do I know funds will be used for the intended purpose?
We don’t recommend giving cash to anyone. It’s best to send funds directly to a utility company, landlord, or service provider when possible. Common examples are power bills, rent, or contractors invoices. For food needs, buy groceries yourself if you want to be absolutely certain of what you’re providing. A grocery gift card is the next best option.