It’s that time again. Health Rising’s BIG (little) fundraising drive. We call it the BIG (little) fundraising drive because it’s our BIG drive but our needs – though real – are small compared to the research and advocacy organizations that are doing so much for us. We make a big splash on the internet (see below) but we don’t need a ton of money. Supporting Health Rising returns a pretty good bang for your buck.
Health Rising’s commitment – finding answers for ME/CFS and FM.
That’s because Health Rising is a lean organization that consists of me (Cort) and Stavya (part-time technical ace), plus our volunteer editor and our occasional volunteer bloggers.
We use your support to keep reporting, to keep roofs over Stavya’s and my heads, and to support Health Rising’s growth.
Finding Answers for COVID-19
Questions abounded regarded the coronavirus and the vaccines. We did our best to fill in some of the blanks.
The pandemic left many of us looking for answers and Health Rising tried to be there in uncertain times. In order to do so, we kind of went poll crazy. We started off with our initial coronavirus vaccine side-effects poll. That was followed by a vaccine improvement poll, a poll targeting the severely ill, and finally, our recent mega vaccine poll which filled in some of the missing gaps.
Along the way, we also asked ME/CFS experts to give their recommendations and published Brendan’s blog asking if there wasn’t a better way. All that work hit a vein – over 350,000 people visited HR’s six coronavirus vaccine polls and blogs over the past ten months.
Looking Ahead
It’s hard to imagine that real insights into all these diseases won’t show up over the next couple of years. Health Rising is committed to communicating them as quickly, completely, and accurately as possible.
We were naturally focused on safety last year. Our focus (notwithstanding the Omicron variant) will hopefully change quite a bit next year. Health Rising will continue to focus on ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and related diseases, but as it does it’ll be on the lookout for the possibilities that the coronavirus, for all the death and destruction it’s caused, will surely provide.
With over a billion dollars devoted to long COVID research in the U.S. alone, I would be gobsmacked if the long-COVID research doesn’t bring major insights and, in the end, treatments, for long COVID, ME/CFS, FM, and similar diseases. Our goal is to bring the breakthroughs and treatment possibilities that show up as quickly, completely, and accurately to you as we can.
Over the next month or so we’ll also reveal several programs that aim to illuminate the costs of ME/CFS in a way that’s never been done before, and which provide new ways to communicate, collaborate, and more easily find good doctors.
Eight Ways to Support Health Rising
Our goal is to raise $60,000 over the course of this drive.
Recurring Donations
Please push a little money our way.
(1) Become a Recurring PayPal Donor – Health Rising’s 322 recurring donors provide our financial bedrock. They allow me to sleep better at night. 🙂
The great thing about recurring donations is that even if they’re small they really add up. You might not notice the $5, $10, or more dollars going Health Rising’s way monthly but we do. It all adds up.
To become a recurring donor, simply go to the PayPal widget below or to the right sidebar of any page, click the amount you would like to donate ($5, $10, $15, etc.), and hit the Subscribe button.
Or, if you’re doing a one-time donation, PayPal will give you the option of making it a recurring one.
(2) Already a Recurring PayPal Donor? Want to give more? – (Want to give more than the current options allow? Just let me know! :)) Simply contact me using the Contact form (upper right hand of the page) stating that. I will stop your current donation and you can restart it.
(3) Become a Recurring Donor with Online Banking (non-PayPal) – Not happy with PayPal? Use Bill Pay or similar programs at your bank to send checks straight to us. If you’re with Wells Fargo, we can set up automatic monthly donations. Please contact me via the contact form (upper right-hand of the page).
One-Time Donations
(4) Make a One-Time PayPal Donation — One-time donations are Health Rising’s biggest source of income.
Use our handy donation widget to make a one-time or recurring donation. (To give a recurring donation, click on the amount and then click “subscribe”.)
Cort Johnson
404 Boulder Hwy
PO Box 91245
Henderson, NV 89015.
(6) Get Rid of Those Darn Currency Conversion Charges – Use Bitcoin! – Bitcoin has been very good to us. A Bitcoin donation from around ten years ago is now worth almost ten times what it was.
If you’re not a U.S. resident those currency conversion charges can be killers. Make those charges a distant memory by using our Coinbase account to funnel some bitcoin our way. Our Bitcoin address is 18D9JkiGxPcpx8RYNcG5p2Be1joU9J6v5D
Outside the Box
(7) Amazon gift cards! – Amazon is Health Rising’s go-to place to get electronic accessories, books, stuff for the vehicle, etc. Simply go here, find your gift card and put my email address (cortrising@gmail.com) in the “To:” box, and voila – instant Amazon gift card!
(8) Amazon Affiliate Sales – Amazon’s affiliate payments are surprisingly generous! If you’re in the U.S. simply search in the Amazon box on the lower right-hand side of any page on this website. Anything that you put in your cart and buy from that search will qualify for an Amazon affiliate payment to Health Rising. (Things that are already in your cart will not). You don’t pay any fees or anything like that. It’s a win-win situation. 🙂
Have some more ideas? Please let us know.
Hi Cort, thanks so much for all you do for our community.
I have tried a new thing this year… I’ve sent some Bitcoin.
Let me know if you receive it.
Cheers,
Gail
Hi Cort, I’m very inspired to support your work because your website is THE most useful site for information about Chronic Fatiguing illnesses. My 17 yo son had CFS after EBV at the beginning of 2020. Before this point he had mild but undiagnosed symptoms of CFS including PEM, POTS and long recovery periods after seasonal colds. He burnt out regularly and had ‘learning difficulties’ that we now recognise as brain fog. He also had undiagnosed ADHD. With the assistance of your library of well written and properly referenced articles I was able to deeply understand his condition, research treatment options and source the assistance he needed to recover. I’m delighted to let you know that you have been an important part of his recovery! I feel I have read every article and got something from it. All the best to you in your endeavours and good health to everyone here who supports this most excellent work.
Thanks so much Christobel! I’m really glad it’s helping where it really matters – on the ground. Here’s hoping the next couple of years bring us more of the way and many of us can start leading normal lives again. 🙂
I don’t know – I’ve been travelling and dealing with something which just came up so I haven’t had time to check believe I we got it as I saw a Coinbase transaction! (Our second one :)). That first Bitcoin transaction of about ten years started out as $100 and when last checked was worth about $8K.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for the immense effort you put into Health Rising Cort, I have learnt so much from your blogs over the last few years.
I am a bit behind and had hoped to have caught up with your more recent blogs, before you launched your fundraising drive – but that didn’t happen! I really hope it goes well 🙂 When it gets going a bit, will you have the thermometer, so we can see how things are progressing?
Thanks, Tracey, for that and all your thoughtful comments on the blog as well. We are going to do the thermometer. I’m right in the middle of dealing with some other stuff that came up right now but should get to it in a couple of days.
Thanks again!
Any luck on setting up a Canadian bank account?
I’m afraid not. Once you cross the borders things get very complex. Paypal, Bitcoin and Amazon gift cards work fine. Checks unfortunately seem stuck in the dark ages and do not work.
Thanks for info.
Some Canadians have US dollar accounts.
Do your accounts recognize transfers in US funds from Canadian banks?
Is there a transaction fee to your account so that a small donation would end up costing your account ?
Thanks for all the you do for our community Cort. I am happy to make my annual donation to help you continue the excellent work you do.
Susan
Thanks, Susan, and to the over 60 people who’ve donated so far! :). I won’t be able to find out the totals for a couple of days – but thanks to everyone!
There is no other place like Health Rising. The dedication Cort puts into keeping us up to date is astounding and inspiring. I really don’t know how he stays on top of it all and is able to compose so many intricate articles surrounding ongoing research. I chose to be a monthly supporter, having a solid base underneath you allows for the comprehensive projects he puts together. Such a worthy man and effort on behalf of all of us. Now is the time to support Health Rising!!
Thanks so much Cort for all you do. Amazing one stop shop ❤️
Takes the stress out of continually searching …!
Thanks Sarah! Glad it helps.
Cort, you absolutely amaze me every time I read a new article! I really don’t know where else some of us would turn for information that is so well-sourced and presented. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for you!
So nice of you to say Kristine!
I am still dealing with “life matters” but the drive appears to be going well with about 150 people supporting HR so far :). I will catch up over the next day or so and provide real totals.
Thanks for your support! 🙂
Donation made under my husband’s name, K. Levine so we can request employer match. Thank you so much for your hard work!
An employer match! It would be our first one. That would be so cool. Thanks, Nancy! 🙂
Hi, I just discovered this blog….and am seeking info after having been diagnosed CFS for over 40 years. Last year the stress was 20 on a scale of0 to 10. I began developing heart palpitations/arrthymias nightly as I could hear the thumping, gurgling, blood rushing, etc. off and on during the night….every night. After a hospital visit and 3 cardiologists….there are issues, but nothing that could kill me tomorrow. I have done everything in the past year to reduce stress and am now calm 95 percent of the time….yet the cardiac stuff continues with less intensity….nightly. I do certain exercises to try to reset, etc. and have tried beta blockers and natural supplements to no avail. I am interested in the names of Docs who have helped people in U.S. , more info on immune modulation therapy, and other suggestions. My life, like most. Has been an extreme balancing act with about being functional around 20 percent of the time. Not to belabor the issue….please send suggestions.