Here's the whole thing, start to finish

1. 

   Step 1

   Build the page

   Their name, a photo, and a few sentences about what's going on, in your own words. If they're under 18, you'll name a guardian. The whole thing takes about ten minutes.

   One question on the first screen matters more than the rest: does this person know you're doing this? If they don't yet, the page stays sealed until they open it. More on what that means in step 5.

2. 

   Step 2

   Write the first note

   Before anyone else sees it, the page is just yours. Add a photo where they look like themselves, then write the first note: who they are to you, what's going on, and what people can actually do.

   Everyone who comes after will follow your lead, so don't make it a speech. Make it the thing you'd say if they were in the room.

3. 

   

   Step 3

   Send the link

   Text it to five people who'd drop everything for them. Not the whole contact list, not yet. The page isn't listed anywhere and search engines can't see it, so the link is the only way in.

   Here's what someone sees when they open it: the name, the photo, and how many people are already there. While the page is sealed, it says they're going through a hard time. It never says the diagnosis.

4. 

   

   Step 4

   People show up

   Someone writes about the note you once left on their windshield. Someone posts the photo from the lake. The book club votes to postpone the 700-page one until they're back.

   Some people chip in by card and some don't, and nobody keeps score. When there's news, you post an update to everyone, or just to family, and nobody hears it secondhand.

5. Step 5

   They open it

   When it feels full enough, you invite them. They don't land on a feed. They walk in slowly: who started this, how many people showed up, what people wrote.

   Then they get a real choice. Keep it going. Keep it, with donations turned off or the amounts hidden. Or make it quiet, which pauses the page and sends every gift back to the person who sent it. Nobody is asked to explain. Until they choose, nothing about their health has been shown and no money has moved.

   

   

   

   

The screenshots are from a sample campaign we set up to show how the product works. The people in it aren't real. Your page will look like this, with your people in it.

After that

It keeps going for as long as it needs to

Treatment is months, not a weekend. The page is built for the long part.

Updates and milestones

Last round of chemo, a clean scan, home from the hospital. You post it once, to everyone or just to a group, and people get a notification.

The highlight film

The notes and photos can be turned into a short film. You review it first. Then they can watch it, download it, and keep it.

Money, if there is any

Gifts go by card through Stripe. We take no percentage; an optional tip covers the card fee. Whoever receives the money proves who they are first, and nothing moves until the page has been opened.

How the fees work