Frequently Asked Questions

NOTE: On September 17, 2015, all remaining outstanding loans (full and partially paid) were unilaterally forgiven by the founder of Lend4Health. Additionally, all remaining money in the Lend4Health account (from partial repayments from recipients, or refused/unclaimed repayments to lenders) was donated to the Thinking Mom's Revolution non-profit organization, TEAM TMR. The amount donated was $4,882.39. 

The founder of Lend4Health admits that she did not follow through on making partial repayments back to the lenders in the case of partially-repaid-then-defaulted loans, nor did she pursue robust debt collection from families who had stopped making repayments, or who had never made any repayments. (For clarification, ALL fully repaid loans WERE repaid to the original lenders.)

The founder of Lend4Health apologizes sincerely to the wonderful Lend4Health lender community for not holding up my end of the deal as I had promised. (Example: I had said that, if you loaned 5% of a loan that was later only partially repaid, you would get 5% of the repaid amount back. I also had said that I would send follow-up notices for 6 months after a loan had become due in order to pursue debt repayment. I did some followup, but I just didn't have the "heart" to be a debt collector.

It is my sincere hope, after much deep contemplation, that most of you will support my unilateral decision to pass these (your!) funds along to TEAM TMR so that you can "pay it forward" to help more kids. If you do not support this decision, I humbly ask for your forgiveness.

Thank you so much to everybody for supporting Lend4Health and for amazing (and humbling) me time and again with your generosity and enthusiasm while helping strangers. If you have any questions, please let me know at lend4health@gmail.com. I will keep this email address active for a while. Please accept my sincere thanks and good wishes for the future! --Tori



What Is Lend4Health?
Lend4Health.org is a website that facilitates community-funded, interest-free micro-loans as a creative funding option for individuals and groups seeking optimal health. Currently, Lend4Health is facilitating loans for the biomedical treatment of children and adults with autism spectrum and related disorders. Other health issues may be included on Lend4Health in the future. Lend4Health was inspired by Kiva.

How Does It Work?
Parents/caregivers submit a loan request form to Lend4Health. Lend4Health communicates with them to clarify the terms of their loan and answer any questions. Lend4Health checks their personal references. Then, Lend4Health posts to this site the family's needs, loan request amount, and the terms of their loan repayment.

Lenders (friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and kind-hearted strangers) visit the website. They read the loan requests and choose to make a loan to somebody, in ANY amount (minimum = $1, maximum = full amount of the loan request). Loans are made through ChipIn/PayPal. The loan request stays "open" on the site until the full amount of the loan request has been funded. Once the loan amount has been fulfilled, the family signs a written loan agreement before the loan is disbursed. Lend4Health completes the loan process as the lenders' agent. Loans are disbursed to the families via check. The loan recipient re-pays the loan via PayPal or via check, according to the terms already agreed to. Lenders are notified of loan repayments via email, and repayment status is also posted to the site. Once a loan is re-paid, each lender will receive his/her loan amount back via PayPal. Lenders then can re-pocket their money or use it to lend to somebody else. All loans are interest-free. Note: There is no guarantee that a loan will be repaid by the borrower; it's an honor system.

Why Is This Just for Autism, and Biomedical Treatment of Autism?
The founder of Lend4Health, a mother of 2, personally realized the huge need for financial assistance within the autism community and decided to do something about it. However, other non-autism-related health issues are being considered for future coverage under Lend4Health.

How Much of My Loan Goes to the Recipient?
100% of your loan will go to the loan recipient of your choice. PayPal does take out a fee per transaction, but we try to get sponsorships to cover those fees, and donations to help run the site are happily accepted.

Is This Site Associated with Any Religion or Religious Group?
No. Autism crosses all religious, racial, social, and economic lines; so does this site. However, some parents may choose to express religious sentiments in their notes of thanks for their loans, and we won't interfere with that.

Are There Any Caveats I Should Be Aware Of?
(1) Lend4Health is not the lender but rather an agent facilitating loans by individuals who volunteer to make peer-to-peer loans to the borrowers. (2) Your loan is not a donation, so it is not tax-deductible. (3) No interest is charged to borrowers or paid to lenders. (4) There is no guarantee that loans will be repaid by borrowers. (5) Lend4Health's responsibility is limited solely to sending follow-up notices for at least six months after the due date. Lend4Health has no responsibility to take further actions beyond the six-month followup notices if a borrower defaults on a loan.

Who Can Request a Loan?
Loans can be requested by parents, grandparents, or legal guardians of children or adults with autism (or related disorders, like Sensory Processing Disorder) who have been pursuing or are trying to pursue biomedical treatment. Loans also can be requested by adults with autism. "Biomedical treatment" includes things such as a gluten-free, casein-free diet, supplementation, chelation, and treatment by DAN! [Defeat Autism Now!] doctors. Loans are aimed at helping individuals pursue optimal health.

Do Loan Requesters Need to Demonstrate Financial Need?
No. The founder of Lend4Health believes that "nobody can afford autism." Families requesting a loan will not need to provide income statements, tax returns, or credit reports.

Is There a Maximum Loan Request Amount?
Not at this point. However, keep in mind your lenders -- people just like you. Keep your loan requests manageable and specific. Please remember that this site is for "microloans," so try to keep your loan request "micro." And, while not always true, the larger your loan request, typically the longer it will take to get funded.

Will All Loan Requests Be Posted?
No. Lend4Health reserves the right to post or not post any loan request.

Is The Child's Name and/or Photo Required?
No. When requesting a loan, please consider your child's privacy and safety when deciding whether or not to post a photo, which type of photo you want to use, and which name to use on the site.

Can I Link to A Loan Request from My Website/Blog/Facebook/Twitter?
Of course! The more people know about the site, the more loans we will get! We recommend sending loan request links to friends and relatives. Many times, people want to help a family struggling with autism, but they just don't know how or how much. A Lend4Health loan gives them a comfortable way to help out.

When Does the Family Receive the Loan?
The loan is disbursed as soon as it is fulfilled and as soon as they sign and return a promissory note (loan document).

How Are Loans Disbursed?
Typically, loans are disbursed via a check in the mail.

Can a Family Request More Than One Loan?
Yes. Once a family has fully repaid their first loan, they are welcome to request another one.

Who Can Make a Loan?
Anybody with a Pay Pal account or a credit card! Registering and using Pay Pal is easy. Click HERE to go to the Pay Pal site.

What If I Don't Have a PayPal Account?
If you don't have a PayPal account and are not interested in getting one, please click HERE and we'll work something out. I have accepted several loans via check in the past.

How Do I Make a Loan?
Click on the "ChipIn" button within the child's profile. This will take you to Pay Pal.

Can I Make a Gift Instead of a Loan?
No. This site is for loans only. If you want to make a gift for the family, please do so outside of Lend4Health (ie, by sending them a check directly). If you want to talk to us about making a gift for a family, please click HERE.

Can I Help a Family Pay Off Their Loan?
Sure! Very generous people (like you!) do this a lot. It is a wonderful way to help a family out, while still keeping the lending-relending cycle going! Please contact us to work this out (click HERE).

Can I Make an Anonymous Loan?
Yes. In the Pay Pal form, there is a place for Additional Instructions (optional). Just type in that you would like to be listed as "anonymous" and we will do our best.

Can We Lend as a Group?
Yes. If you would like to make a group loan, use one person's Pay Pal account and tell us the name of your group in the "Additional Instructions" box on Pay Pal.

Is There a Minimum Required Loan?
Yes. You must loan at least $1.

Is There a Maximum Loan I Can Give?
No. You are welcome to fund an entire loan request if you would like. However, if you want to make a really big loan, we request that you do so via check as opposed to PayPal in order to keep our expenses as low as possible.

I Made a Loan. When Will I Get Paid Back?
You will be paid back in one lump sum when the loan is repaid by the original requester.

How Will I Get Paid Back?
You will be repaid via Pay Pal, using the same Pay Pal account you used to make the loan in the first place.

What If the Family Defaults on the Loan?
We cannot guarantee that the loans will be repaid. Please consider the risks involved in making a loan to another individual, whether it be to someone you know or a stranger on the Internet. Our recommendation is to only loan as much as you could stand to lose without much heartburn. There is some old fashioned trust and faith required in making Lend4Health work. But if a family repays part of the loan then defaults on the rest, you will be repaid an amount that equals the percentage of the loan that you contributed. So, for example, if you contributed 5% of the total loan to the family, you will get 5% of the repaid amount back.

Do Loan Recipients Sign a Promissory Note?
Yes and the first names of the lenders are included on the promissory note.

Are Lenders Updated on the Children's Progress?
Yes. Loan recipients are asked to provide periodic updates and other news, which are posted to the site and emailed to lenders.