jiandamonique.github.io/boostboard

We built Boost Board, a small volunteer-run app, after seeing legitimate fundraising campaigns stay at $0 — not because the need wasn't real, but because they hadn't crossed paths with the right person yet. GoFundMe does something genuinely powerful by making it possible for people to ask for help and for communities to show up.

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Earlier this year one of our founders got a diagnosis that changed things. They wrote: "it changed a lot about how I understood things that had been hard for me for years. Not long after, I lost my job. I've been searching since, without luck — still hopeful.

You may have seen a post or two to this effect a couple of years ago, before I knew I had a disability, and that was creating issues on its own. I'm now seeking solutions and employment that fit what I'm going through, but it's going to take some time. I've reached out for disability supports, and those things take time to get in place.

I'm a few weeks from totally broke. If that runway runs out, the things a person needs to keep looking for work — phone, account, and so on — start to dwindle away too.

I'm enrolling in a course toward a career track that fits how I can work safely, and I believe it can change my trajectory — toward work that's built for people with the kind of disability I have. But I need to get through these three months to get there.

While going through this, I tried to find solutions with skills I know: building content, building apps, using those in my job applications. So I also took some time to build Boost Board — a small tool to help other people's zero-donation campaigns get seen. I'm in it: I understand firsthand how invisible you can be here without support. It's real, it's helped a few campaigns already, and that's been hopeful too. I thought about compassion fatigue, and instead of including the fact that I'm one of the people who needs help, I spotlighted others. But I built it while living the exact problem I'm now asking for help with: I need my own first few yeses.

If you can give anything toward the next few weeks, thank you — genuinely. If you can't, sharing this with even a person or two, or just posting it, does something similar. And if you know of any work — remote, contract, anything — I'd be glad to send a resume. You can reach me directly through Boost Board."

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Boost Board isn't a replacement for that or a workaround for anything broken. It's simply a small extra layer of visibility on top of it, meant for campaigns that are still waiting for their first donor.

This fundraiser is for keeping Boost Board running day to day. Support helps cover hosting and domain costs, a small monthly stipend for the volunteer who manually reviews every submission, occasional development work, and one-time accessibility and legal review costs. That review process matters because it helps make sure every featured campaign is real, genuinely still at zero donations, and safe to feature. None of these funds go to the campaigns featured on Boost Board. If someone donates through a campaign listed there, that support goes straight to them on their own GoFundMe page. If you are able to give, thank you genuinely. This keeps a small, honest project alive. And if giving is not possible right now, sharing this fundraiser or sharing Boost Board itself helps just as much. Visibility is a precious gift.

jiandamonique.github.io/boostboard