The last decade has seen incredible progress in the fields of global health and global development. While philanthropists like Bill Gates often grab the headlines, the power of everyday movement makers has been vital to changing the lives of those most in need. 

It has never been easier for Global Citizens like you to tap into crowds of like-minded individuals to raise attention and mobilize resources by through new, readily available technologies. Crowdfunding is one of these technologies, which democratizes fundraising and allows advocates to raise funds in a faster, more agile way than traditional grantmaking or philanthropy.  

Patricia Silis saw children being abandoned every day in the streets, churches, hallways, and doorsteps throughout the state of Chihuahua in Mexico because of the disabilities they faced. She founded Los Ojos de Dios (meaning “the eyes of God”) and runs a facility that houses disabled children and provides much needed therapy to special needs children in the community for free.  

Though Los Ojos de Dios had accomplished a lot, they still needed $10,000 to provide hundreds of therapy sessions for these children, who had no other access to healthcare and were affected by multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, and other conditions. But one of Patricia's colleagues posted about this need on CaringCrowd® — a free crowdfunding platform for non-profits with health-related projects — and rallied 38 supporters from his and the organization’s social networks to raise the funds.  

While Patricia founded her own organization, one of the great features of crowdfunding is being able to advocate for a campaign, even if you don’t work for a non-profit.

Watch the video to hear more about Patricia and other likeminded individuals’ experiences with crowdfunding and get started making a difference today! 

To learn more, visit www.CaringCrowd.org or contact help@caringcrowd.org

Disclosure: Bill Gates is the co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a funding partner of Global Citizen.

Editor's note: This piece has been updated to include a disclosure that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a funding partner of Global Citizen. We regret the oversight.