HandUp Gift Cards - Give directly to a homeless neighbor on the street

@megmurph This is awesome. Great work! Is there an opportunity to buy in bulk (more than 6)?

@frankdenbow yes absolutely! We've already been working with some great local companies who are using these for employee engagement. Anyone can email me (murphy@handup.org) or info@handup.org.

@megmurph Love this. I'm curious what % of cards are typically claimed? It would be nice if you got replacement cards if they were unclaimed, so you could give to someone else. This way, 100% of your donation goes to people you personally interacted with (which is the main appeal of HandUp vs other charities for me).

@atroyn These Gift Cards are just one of many different ways you could give to a homeless neighbor. You could give cash, buy someone a coffee, share a meal, purchase a Street Sheet (newspaper), etc. For some, it's uncomfortable to give cash or they want to be sure they are helping in the right way. Gift Cards are something with tangible (and flexible) value that also helps recipients learn about other available services. We've seen really positive reception in the community since we started testing these cards about 6 months ago.

@atroyn Well, as a Kansan, people here do not like to give direct cash to peoples on the street because there's an unknown factor. We don't know whether the person will actually take the cash and spend it on groceries and food etc, or if they'll go buy alcohol. Plus there have been reports of people dressing up homeless and making a profit from people giving to them. So honestly, HandUp in places like here in Kansas would be a great way for people's kindness to be shown while making an impact in our homeless community.

@atroyn When you're away from bigger cities, which often require cash in several places, there is almost no reason to carry any. I'd be happy to run to an ATM or pick up some things for someone hanging around Target, but that's rarely an option. It would be a nice win if I could carry a couple of these cards in my wallet. Plus, as @megmurph points out, this is a great opportunity to lead folks toward other services that would help.

@linkchef hello there fellow Kansan!

@linkchef I always try to give food for this reason and usually ask them what they want and buy it. But, you can't stop someone from getting what they want. They'll just get a bit more creative and sell these cards for cash at less than face value.

@geeky_yang Thanks Phillip! We'd love to do an AMA sometime - the founding story of HandUp with @Rosical and @ZacWitte is definitely interesting.

@megmurph awesome! please let me know when it happens, I will definitely join.

@thetylerhayes Thank you Tyler! If you still have any of that research it would be cool to read it. It's good to hear you feel that way - that was our goal. If you have other thoughts or feedback please don't hesitate to share it.

@megmurph The majority of the best stuff came from http://www.givewell.org/

@thetylerhayes thank you!

@thetylerhayes I did a ton of research on the abuses of both ends of giving also. Non profits that do little to giving cash to people that don't use it well. I never give cash I will take someone to eat though. I was going to start something a lot like this to take charity back to the neighborhood, the people, but I have been learning to build it for 2 years now lol I'm a slow learner. Glad someone is trying

@weenjeem thanks Wilton, we'll also send a notification if the recipient sets up a HandUp profile. That way you can continue to contribute and follow along with their progress.

@xmcgraw It's nice to hear this feedback specifically, thank you for your support David!

@fredrivett Thank you Fred!

@nemrow absolutely - homelessness is a complicated issue. We don't claim to be the silver bullet solution as it takes a community working together to end homelessness, but we are one way to make an impact. We are a Public Benefit Corporation, which means for profit with a legal commitment to social impact. You can read a little more about why HandUp chose this model here: http://blog.handup.org/posts/for...

@insamshead Thanks Sam :)

@jabrueckner Currently HandUp Gift Cards are only in SF, but we'll expand in the future. As for online giving we do have partners in Detroit, Washington State, and Oregon State (handup.org).

@blaurenceclark Thank you Brian!

@r0bl0rd Hi Rob - I hear you on these concerns and hopefully I can try to answer them all. Whom can receive the card value? A donor would give a gift card to a homeless neighbor - this might be someone they see asking for help on the street, maybe someone they already know in their neighborhood, maybe a Street Sheet vendor. Maybe the recipient isn't living on the street, but currently living in an SRO where by the end of the month a $25 gift card would help them eat for a few days, allowing them bypass waiting in line for food at the Glide dining hall. Whoever receives the card will redeem it at the drop-in office of Project Homeless Connect. What goods/service do the people in need/card bearers receive? Project Homeless Connect keeps a variety of retail gift cards on hand like Walgreens (limited under 18 card), Safeway (limited under 18 card), Goodwill, Marshalls. Recipients could also use it toward something like a cell phone bill. If the recipient is interested in creating a profile on HandUp.org to fundraise for a larger goal, they may move the $25 value there. What reporting goes to the card purchaser? Once your card is redeemed with Project Homeless Connect you will get an email letting you how it was used. I can tell you, people don't panhandle because they want to. From the community of homeless people we work with, we hear that people only panhandle when there is literally no other option. The goal of this Gift Card is to provide people with tangible goods that might open up an opportunity to meet another basic need. For example, instead of waiting in line for food they could go to St. Anthony's Tech Lab and work on their job search. Thanks for sharing Scott Wiener's post, I hadn't seen it yet! Yes he seems to be recommending we do not exacerbate dangerous "street behavior" however his clear call to action ---> "So, San Francisco, you want our street situation to change? Then, continue to support progressive and forward-looking investments in shelter, supportive housing, navigation centers, and mental health and addiction services. Continue to support the absolutely amazing social service nonprofits that actually get people off our streets, into the services they need, and on track." We're proud to work closely with some of these progressive programs like the Navigation Center, Bevan Dufty's Office of HOPE, and 15 nonprofits across the Bay Area.

@megmurph @r0bl0rd there are people that panhandle to make a living, unfortunately they make it harder than all the others, just like welfare cheaters, disability fraud, and so on do.

@michalnaka Thanks Michal - we're focused on SF for now but will expand in the future, stay tuned.

@leasemolina Thank you so much for those kind words Elizabeth. You are correct, there is not just one solution to poverty and we aim to be a tool that supports impactful organizations already serving these communities. It sounds like you focus much of work on homelessness as well and sending much applause your way too!

@daniellevine Great question and a valid concern. First the gift card itself is only worth value once redeemed through our nonprofit partner Project Homeless Connect - the recipient must visit their drop-in center to redeem the card. The recipient can decide what they redeem the HandUp Gift Card for, which could be retailer gift card like Goodwill or used toward a bill. But the primary goal of gift cards is to connect people experiencing homelessness with beneficial services. In this way, transparency and accountability are built into the gift card system and we will continue to evolve these system as the program expands. So far we've seen really positive impact in the community.

@daniellevine great thought but I continue to wonder when helping the needy becomes more important than not helping them to avoid cheaters. Non profits account for 7% of our GDP, do you think they are doing all they can with it?