This techie is a go-to crowdfunder for needy patients

Mangaluru: Five months, 27 fundraisers for needy patients, 1,500 donors and counting, and Rs 40 lakh collected so far. This is probably not on Ajith Bhandarkar’s CV but the 31-year-old software engineer is now a trusted name in crowdfunding for medical emergencies, with his heart in the right place and the logistics to boot.
Ajith’s foray into crowdsourcing was triggered by a family emergency when his father was hospitalised. “Though we had sufficient insurance cover and resources at hand, we had to struggle to make immediate arrangements,” he recalls. “That got me thinking. If we, who had good jobs and were earning well, faced difficulties in rustling up funds, what about those who don’t have the wherewithal?”
Having worked for eight years with a private firm after completing his BE in information science, the techie felt this was an opportunity to try something new on the side. “I thought a lot and decided to help six patients a year by collecting just Rs 100 each from donors I could find. I began searching within my circle and while I was happy to pool together Rs 10,000 for a family, my friends and I managed to raise more than Rs 2.5 lakh,” says Ajith.
Ajith’s parents, wife and his sister who has a daughter, stood by him in his new venture. The initial days were tough and at times disappointing, he says, as not many people knew him or were willing to loosen their purse strings for him. “I had to reach out to more than 1,000 people to raise enough money to help one family,” he recalls. But case by case, Ajith built his credibility. “Most such messages for help circulated on WhatsApp or Facebook do not provide even 10% information about the family’s situation or the details of treatment. The more information one provides, the more credible the case will be.”
Bit by bit, word got around and Ajith’s appeals began to draw a robust response. He has raised Rs 40 lakh so far for 27 families and in January, floated an emergency fund that could be used to help patients right away without waiting for a crowdfunding campaign. “We have provided Rs 25,000 each to two families through this fund which they used for hospital admission charges,” Ajith says. “The lowest donation in my campaigns so far has been Re 1 and the highest has been Rs 50,000.”
The last campaign Ajith launched was for Sahana Pai, a breast cancer patient. “Cancer patients are in need of substantial amounts for treatment, accident victims need help to rebuild their lives and families in either situation need money to meet immediate or long-term expenses. We take up all such appeals,” says Ajith.
Recently, he has been working with GSB Charitable Trust which refers potential fundraisers to him. “The fund targets are planned in such a manner that they help the beneficiary meet a portion of the treatment cost,” he says, adding that has met the target successfully barring a couple of instances.
“We have more than 1,500 donors who have helped one or more families. I reach out to them via WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and email as the last resort,” says Ajith. “The challenge is to enlarge this list. We have launched an initiative where donors can pledge money on special occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries. This has been welcomed by many,” he says.
Ajith runs a Facebook page, ‘Help to save a life: Lend a helping hand’, and personally drafts the fundraiser petition. “Since this is my initiative, I personally make sure that the causes are verified. And I always provide the full details,” he says. “I also try my utmost to get the donors to meet the families and hand over their contribution so they know where their money is going. I don’t get into it unless I have to.”