CaringBridge Inc. is a charitable 501(c)(3)

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

established in 1997 which allows people facing various medical conditions and their family and friends to communicate. CaringBridge is the first non-profit social network with global reach whose mission is to connect loved ones during a health journey through personal, private websites. CaringBridge prioritizes privacy with no advertisements or selling of user data. People who are provided with an individual's personal

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wikip ...

address (

URL A Uniform Resource Locator (URL), colloquially termed as a web address, is a reference to a web resource that specifies its location on a computer network and a mechanism for retrieving it. A URL is a specific type of Uniform Resource Identifie ...

) and password can read updates on the individual's condition or post messages to the family as needed. CaringBridge is headquartered in

Eagan, Minnesota Eagan ( ) is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota. It is south of Saint Paul and lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River. Eagan and the other nearby suburbs form the southern section o ...

. All CaringBridge sites are free and CaringBridge is funded by donor support. Since its inception, over 740,000 CaringBridge sites have been created by people all over the world.

Purpose

CaringBridge allows patients, caregivers, families, and friends to exchange information about a patient's medical condition on an ongoing basis. The websites are designed to become conduits between patients, their families, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. When visiting an individual’s website, visitors can post messages of support, donate to GoFund Me accounts, or send donations.

History

CaringBridge was created in 1997 by

Sona Mehring Sona Mehring is an American businesswoman and the founder and past CEO of the nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization CaringBridge. In 1997, she created the first CaringBridge website to create a free service for communication between friends and family ...

when her close friend gave

premature birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is betwee ...

to a daughter. The site was intended to keep family and friends informed about the child. * 1997: Sona Mehring creates the original CaringBridge website * 1998: More than 50 sites established on the platform * 2000: Donor support begins * 2001: Board of directors established * 2002: Nonprofit status granted * 2005: Donations reach $1 million * 2006: More than 5,000 sites established * 2007: First national media coverage * 2009: Spanish-language support added * 2012: 132,000 donors; 110 volunteers *2021: Tia Newcomer replaces Liwanag Ojala as Chief Executive Officer

Affiliations

*CaringBridge is a member of the National Health Council. *CaringBridge is listed as an accredited

Better Business Bureau Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a private, 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization founded in 1912. BBB's self-described mission is to focus on advancing marketplace trust, consisting of 97 independently incorporated local BBB organizations in the Unit ...

(BBB) charity. *CaringBridge is affiliated with

Community Health Charities of America A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, town ...

References

External links

*
Organizational Profile
–

National Center for Charitable Statistics The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) is a clearing house for information about the nonprofit sector of the U.S. economy. The National Center for Charitable Statistics builds national, state, and regional databases and develops st ...

(

Urban Institute The Urban Institute is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that carries out economic and social policy research to "open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions". The institute receives funding from government contracts, foundations and pr ...

)
Charities Navigator
{{Authority control Health charities in the United States Health informatics organizations Organizations established in 1997 Charities based in Minnesota Medical and health organizations based in Minnesota 1997 establishments in Minnesota

Purpose

History

Affiliations

See also

References

External links