Help Hope Live
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
There are more than 113,000 people currently waiting for an organ transplant. Approximately 291,000 people in the United States are living with a spinal cord injury. In 2014, the most recent year for which data is available, 2.87 million Americans sustained a traumatic brain injury. Of those, 288,000 were hospitalized. The average first-year costs of a high-level spinal cord injury can top $1 million and average costs of a transplant can range from $240,000 to $1 million. Help Hope Live exists to bridge the gap between what insurance covers and the cost of lifesaving care. As medical bills skyrocket, even Americans with insurance are responsible for 49% of the average medical bill. This is made worse by the fact that forty percent of Americans don't have any money saved for medical emergencies, and nearly half of that group say they just don't have the money to spare.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Transplant Assistance Program
We support community-based fundraising campaigns for people in need of lifesaving cell and organ transplants.
Catastrophic Injury/Illness Assistance Program
We support community-based fundraising campaigns for people living with catastrophic injuries and illness that have resulted in paralysis or other mobility impairments.
Emergency Grant Program
We provide one-time emergency assistance grants to patients facing a medical crisis for whom fundraising is not an option. Emergency grants provide a safety net to patients living closest to the edge to pay for items such as the next dose of life-sustaining medication, travel to critical medical care, gaps in Medicare coverage, expenses of living donors, adaptive equipment and ramps.
Where we work
Awards
Non-Profit of the Year 2011
National Kidney Registry
Non-Profit of the Year 2007
Main Line Chamber of Commerce
Award for Continuing Excellence 2008
Inglis Foundation
Award for Continuing Excellence 2012
Inglis Foundation
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of new clients within the past 12 months
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This metric tracks how many new clients start a campaign with Help Hope Live in a given year.
Number of new catastrophic injury clients within the past 12 months
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Catastrophic Injury/Illness Assistance Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This metric tracks the number of new clients who open a campaign with Help Hope Live after experiencing a traumatic injury, including a spinal cord injury or other paralysis-related injury.
Number of new catastrophic illness clients within the past 12 months
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Catastrophic Injury/Illness Assistance Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This metric tracks the number of new clients who open a campaign with Help Hope Live after experiencing a traumatic illness.
Number of new transplant clients within the past 12 months
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Transplant Assistance Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This metric tracks the number of new clients who open a campaign with Help Hope Live before or after receiving cell or organ transplants
Number of transplants within the past 12 months
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Transplant Assistance Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This metric tracks clients who had a cell or organ transplant in a given year.
Number of physical therapy and rehabilitation sessions paid for within the past 12 months
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Many of our clients require multiple weekly sessions of physical therapy and rehabilitation in order to regain their health and independence.
Number of accessible vehicle expenses within the past 12 months
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Catastrophic Injury/Illness Assistance Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Many of our clients, particularly those living with a spinal cord injury, require an adapted van in order to receive transportation. This metric includes number of vans purchased and vehicle repairs
Number of home modifications paid for within the past 12 months
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
In order for many of our clients to stay in their homes, expensive and necessary home modifications need to be done to ensure accessibility.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
When a client is diagnosed with a serious illness or experiences a traumatic injury, the hospital social workers and financial coordinators help the individual and their families understand the costs associated with the illness or injury. This often means fundraising, especially in the case of a transplant.
Our goal is to empower our clients with the tools to regain their independence and cover their out-of-pocket expenses. Many of our clients are new to fundraising, so we help them tap into their support networks and communities and help them pay their medical and related expenses.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Strategy for Successful Fundraising
It's important to understand that all patients and their families face unique challenges that may be difficult to address with template, generic fundraising options. At Help Hope Live our expert Fundraising Coordinators provide one-on-one consultation that allows us to develop personalized campaigns that are tailored to the needs and interests of each patient's support network. We understand that patients often face medical expenses for extended periods that may not be fully covered by a one-time fundraising effort. Leveraging our 30+ years of experience as well as our longstanding partnerships in the field, we are able to develop long-term and sustainable fundraising plans to support patients.
Help Hope Live fundraising plans often include ideas for online engagement, social fundraising, and community events. Help Hope Live is the administrator all of the funds raised in honor of patients and pays bills directly, helping patients and their families focus more on their treatment and recovery while providing accountability to donors who can be sure their funds will be spent for their intended purpose.
Strategy for Growth
We partner with social workers, financial coordinators, and case managers at hospitals and rehabilitation centers across the United States to identify patients who are in need of medical fundraising support. We educate these health care professionals about our program and services by exhibiting and sponsoring annual trade conferences and workshops, hosting monthly Webinars, and conducting in-service training.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Help Hope Live has a 36-year track record of building successful community-based fundraising campaigns for families of patients who need a transplant or who are living with a catastrophic injury or illness. Since 1983, campaigns organized by Help Hope Live have raised more than $135 million to cover patient expenses.
Our team continues to adapt to the ever-growing demand for our services: expanding staff to support more patients in need each year; building partnerships to increase our program offerings; supporting development efforts to enhance our resources for patients; and dedicating funds from our operational budget for each staff member to take part in professional development so they can grow their knowledge base, explore new trends and technology, and build beneficial relationships.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
While we continue to increase the number of patients we serve and the amount of financial assistance we provide year over year, we realize there is potential to reach far more families in need of our services.
Every year in the United States, on average, a patient is added to the transplant waiting list once every ten minutes. In addition, there are 36,000 transplants and 17,000 new cases of spinal cord injury each year. At Help Hope Live, we serve approximately 3,900 patients each year.
In the years ahead we will work to bring our services to more patient populations and position more people to support Help Hope Live to help us expand our reach even further.
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Help Hope Live
Board of directorsas of 01/21/2020
James Madden
Hillview Capital Advisors, LLC
Term: 2018 - 2019
Heather K Moore
Tompkins Vist Bank
James F. Madden
Hillview Capital Advisors, LLC
Nick Ryder, CFA
Kathmere Capital Management
James Kelley
CBRE
Eric Erickson
Sunguard
Stephanie McAlaine
ACG
Liam Murray
DigiStream, Inc.
Christine V. Kanter
National Transplant Assistance Fund (retired)
Pinank Parikh
KPMG
Ron Siggs
Magee Rehabilitation Hospital
Wendi Barish
Philadelphia Housing Authority
Michael Criscuolo
Bryn Mawr Hospital
Margaret Freeman
Heywood Financial
Rebecca Levenberg
Certified Amputee Peer Visitor/Mentor/Speaker
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes