Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]: Milaap.org, India’s largest crowdfunding platform announces a major milestone achieved by its community of donors collectively raising INR 2040 cr on the platform through more than 85 lakh donations since its inception. Of the total contributions on the platform, the generosity of over 1 Lakh India’s salaried professionals form a sizable contribution of around INR 130 crores primarily to help people in need of funds for critical care medical treatments.
The rising cost of treatment has made healthcare unaffordable for a large section of our society. Treatments for critical care are virtually off limits even for the middle class and prohibitive for the economically marginalized. Sharp inequalities in healthcare access is exacerbated by the very low penetration of medical insurance in the country. According to Anoj Viswanatha, Co-Founder and President of Milaap.org, “As medical insurance has a very low penetration in the country, most citizens are forced to dig into their pockets to fund their treatments. This results in a situation where most citizens are forced to dig into their pockets to fund their treatments resulting in a vicious cycle of low savings and poor healthcare outcomes. In 2021, nearly 70% of healthcare expenditure was paid out-of-pocket by the patients and their families.”
In this context, the salaried class of corporate India has come through in a big way for people, especially their fellow colleagues, on the verge of exhausting their means while paying for medical care. To mitigate such situations, Milaap, as the most trusted medical crowdfunding platform, has facilitated an alternate way to fund healthcare. It provides donors a seamless and secure experience while ensuring that the contributions reach the intended beneficiary in a time efficient manner and receive tax benefits for the same. Over one lakh employees working with 3000 companies in the country have helped people on Milaap trusting its transparency.
Milaap’s data shows that even with steady salaries and medical covers, a growing section of employees of corporate India have also needed donor funds especially during the last two years. Sudden and critical medical emergencies have severely stressed their savings and employees across sectors – IT/ITES, manufacturing, BFSI and venture capital funded startups – have taken to crowdfunding as a means to cover healthcare expenditure partially or wholly.
People’s generosity and the will to give magnified and they went out of their way to help colleagues and their families during the first and second wave of Covid-19. The uncertainties and untimely demise of colleagues or their families brought people together to do their best and offer financial assistance to those affected by the pandemic and its effects. “Around 102 companies have more than 100 employees donating and around 220 companies have over 50 employees as regular donors on Milaap. The empathy of salaried employees of corporate India has successfully provided a safety net of great social value for their colleagues and others in dire need.”, concluded Anoj Viswanathan.
The donor community’s trust, hope and willingness to do good needs to be treasured and encouraged in every possible way. As a leader in the space, Milaap understands and respects the power of collective generosity and provides Milaap Guarantee to add an enhanced layer of protection to online giving. A first of its kind in India, the initiative guarantees a complete refund to donors in the rare instance of misuse by a fundraiser and ensures donations reach the right beneficiaries each time. Its team relentlessly executes continuous background verifications of fundraisers using technology to build a trusted giving platform. With Milaap Guarantee, donors can be assured that every rupee they contribute goes towards the right person and the right purpose every single time.
Milaap is thankful and proud of its extensive donor community, to the new generation of empathetic, well-informed and motivated professionals who go that extra mile to make a difference to the society. The customer-first organization will bring forth more accessible and diverse solutions for charitable giving and will continue to strengthen the online giving community in the country.
About Milaap.org
Milaap is India’s largest, zero-fee crowdfunding platform for personal and social causes, especially healthcare and related needs. The platform enables anyone in need to raise funds for causes typically outside a common person’s financial ability, such as tertiary healthcare, education and community-related causes.
Milaap’s community of donors come from over 130 countries across the world and have contributed over INR 2000 crores for 6,52,000+ projects across India. Over the last 11 years, Milaap has become the most preferred platform for people to raise and contribute funds towards their cherished causes in India.