Proposed charitable program
The Village Care Fund is the proposed nonprofit funding arm of The Village After Birth: a transparent way to pay verified postpartum mental health professionals for virtual care for U.S. women facing financial barriers.
The model
Donors fund a charitable pool. A confidential eligibility process authorizes a limited benefit. A verified clinician provides care and invoices the program. The fund pays the clinician through the platform. This is not an in-home service. Donors receive aggregate impact reporting, never access to a woman's identity, diagnosis, session notes, provider choice, or care plan.
Funds are held by the qualified charitable organization or fiscal sponsor under written restrictions.
Minimum necessary information establishes the program benefit without turning need into public storytelling.
The woman chooses from available verified professionals authorized for her physical location and suitable for her needs.
The program pays for completed approved care and reports only de-identified, aggregate program results.
Non-negotiable controls
Care Fund gifts support eligible clinical care and disclosed direct program costs—not founder distributions or donor-selected recipients.
A documented, privacy-preserving process determines financial eligibility; donors cannot nominate, rank, or identify recipients.
Verified professionals receive a pre-disclosed, board-approved rate for completed eligible sessions, without pressure to donate time.
Clinicians—not donors, staff, or algorithms—make care decisions within their professional duties and the woman’s informed consent.
Independent board review, recusals, a written conflict-of-interest policy, and documented compensation decisions protect charitable assets.
Publish program totals, fees, wait times, access gaps, and high-level outcomes without exposing a woman's identity or clinical story.
A truthful money promise
We should not promise that “100% of every donation goes to therapists” unless separate funding truly covers card fees, fiscal-sponsor fees, eligibility administration, credentialing, clinical operations, audits, insurance, and required compliance. The safer promise is transparent: identify the restricted care amount, disclose unavoidable direct fees, fund operations separately where possible, and publish the actual breakdown.
Lowest-cost path first
Fiscal sponsorship is commonly used by new projects that need to raise tax-deductible funds before receiving their own IRS recognition. The sponsor retains legal control of charitable funds and must conduct oversight, so the agreement, fees, restrictions, insurance, records, and exit terms need careful review.
Find a mission-aligned 501(c)(3), complete due diligence and a written agreement, and test a small restricted care fund.
Recruit an independent board, adopt purpose, conflict, compensation, privacy, gift-acceptance, whistleblower, and financial-control policies.
Run credentialing, eligibility, payment, clinical safety, complaint, audit, and reporting workflows with modest volume.
Incorporate in the chosen state, obtain an EIN, and apply for federal recognition using the form for which the organization qualifies.
Complete applicable state charitable-solicitation, tax, annual-report, insurance, bookkeeping, and IRS filing obligations.
Foundation vs. public charity
“Foundation” can be part of a public-facing name, but federal tax law classifies every 501(c)(3) as either a private foundation or an exception such as a public charity. A community-funded care program will usually aim to qualify as a public charity, with a broad base of support and an independent board, rather than operate as a private foundation. The final entity, name, state, and classification require nonprofit legal and tax review.
It cannot be built literally for $0: the IRS currently lists a $275 Form 1023-EZ user fee for eligible small organizations and $600 for Form 1023, before state, insurance, banking, accounting, or professional costs. A fiscal sponsor can reduce start-up complexity but ordinarily charges disclosed fees.