FAQ

Kangu is an online crowdfunding platform for safe births. At www.kangu.org, you can fund a specific pregnant woman’s access to clean, life-saving healthcare services. “Crowdfunding” refers to technology that enables many individuals to come together to jointly fund something they all believe in. “Safe birth” services refer to healthcare services (before, during and after delivery) that have been proven to save the lives of pregnant women and newborn babies.

Kangu is the first funding platform for moms and those that support them across the world. We envision a world where all pregnant women get the support they need before, during and after childbirth. Where women deliver in clean facilities with skilled professionals at their side. Kangu is creating a vibrant on-line and off-line community of moms and those that support them who can learn, share, support and celebrate each other. A quarter of a million women die each year giving birth. For each death, 20 more women are injured or disabled. Fortunately, 90% of these deaths can be averted with access to basic health services and emergency care. More than 95% of women who die in childbirth are from developing countries, meaning where you are born determines your chance of surviving your pregnancy. Kangu wants to change this.

Kangu is meant to evoke a kangaroo, an animal whose young is carried, warm and protected, in its mother’s pouch. For us, it evokes the feeling of holding your baby close to you and that deep feeling of gratitude that both you and your baby are safe.

A Kangu Mama is a woman who has agreed to be profiled on Kangu’s website. Some live in dense urban areas; others live in remote rural areas. They are all living beneath the poverty line in their country, sheltering, clothing and feeding their family on less than $2 per day. What Kangu Mamas have in common beyond their inability to pay for healthcare services is the desire for a safe birth and a healthy baby.

Kangu Partners choose pregnant women to profile on Kangu using their own internal metrics to identify women living under the poverty line who do not have the ability to pay for healthcare services. Often, partners rely on community health workers who understand the local context and can best identify pregnant women in financial need.

A Kangu Partner is an on-the-ground medical institution (hospital or clinic) that provides high-quality, patient-focused health services to under-served, often high-risk patients who cannot afford safe birth services. In the process of vetting our partners, we have been struck by the heroic work they do and their commitment to reduce suffering and save lives of moms and babies every day. As Kangu grows, we will bring you more inspiring pictures, videos and stories from our partners.

Kangu careful vets each of our partners through a process that ensures our partners meet our legal, clinical, financial, operational and ethical criteria. All of our partners are affiliated with a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the US and subject to the tax-exempt rules and regulations of the Internal Revenue Service. All partners have received funds from other international institutions and are obligated to undergo ongoing due diligence, site visits and verifications. If you are interested in becoming a Kangu Partner, email us at [email protected].

“Safe birth” is a term used in global public health to include healthcare services that have been proven to reduce death and injury to a pregnant woman and her newborn baby. Safe birth services include: prenatal/antenatal care, skilled attendance at delivery, emergency obstetrics, postnatal care, diagnostics, and supplies – including family planning method of the mama’s choice, if she so chooses. Kangu displays the services our Partners offer on each Partner’s page and each Mama’s page. Each partner calculates its average cost per Mama to determine the required funding amount per Mama profile.

Medical costs in other countries are significantly lower than they are in the US. In the US, the cost of a pregnancy and delivery range from $7,000 to $25,000 depending on the presence of complications. Our partners use low-cost solutions to provide care to their Mamas. The majority of complications can be prevented or treated with good prenatal care, skilled clinicians during birth, clean supplies and inexpensive medicines. By leveraging the internet, Kangu lets you directly support on-the-ground medical partners providing extremely cost-effective healthcare services.

Our partners are working in very different settings, in countries with vastly different costs of living. Thus, our partners operating in the most remote parts of low income countries will have lower operating, supplies and personnel costs, than those operating in an extremely poor neighborhood in an urban hub of a middle income country.

A mama may require services before her profile is fully funded. In line with their mission, our partners will provide healthcare services to their Mamas. Partners who offer services before a profile is funded assume the costs of those services until they receive raised funds from Kangu.

Our partners focus their efforts on providing care for those most in need, and thus there may be a lag-time of a month or more before you receive a birth update on the mama you funded. Do not worry – a lack of a birth update a few weeks after a mama’s due date is not a reflection of the mama and/or baby’s health.

Make sure you check your spam folder! There may be a message from Kangu hiding in there.

Kangu funds its programs through individual donations, a transaction fee and institutional supporters. If you are interested in supporting our work, please contact us at [email protected].

Kangu donors search profiles of Mamas on our website. A donor selects a Mama to fund and the transaction is securely processed through Stripe. After Kangu receives a birth update, Kangu transfers to our on-the-ground medical partners total funds raised.

85% of donations go straight to our partners on the ground. The remaining 15% covers transaction, and minimal program, costs necessary to vet high-quality, high-impact hospitals and clinics around the world.

Absolutely! Kangu uses Stripe, respected internet financial services companies with the highest level of PCI compliance, to process all transactions in order to ensure that your information is secure. Kangu neither sees nor stores any of your credit card or financial information.

Kangu only partners with organizations that meet our application criteria, have a track record managing funds and come highly recommended. In addition, all of our healthcare providers are affiliated with US-based 501(c)(3) organizations that are subject to federal and state regulations. Once a Mama’s profile is posted on our site, our Partners are obligated to provide her safe birth services as well as provide one or more updates to Kangu and to each Mama’s donors. Donors will receive these updates via email and can read them online. To ensure appropriate use of funds, Kangu transfers donations directly to the medical institutions providing the healthcare services, not to the Mama directly.

100% of donations made on our website go to programmatic costs. We cover operational costs through grants and generous individual donors.

Yes! Kangu is a registered U.S. 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Our EIN is 38 3889708.

You will receive a confirmation email from [email protected] after you successfully donate towards a Kangu mama’s safe birth. Note that your donation will only go through if you click “Confirm Donation” on the mama’s donation page.

Make sure you check your spam folder! You should receive an email from Kangu after creating your user profile, anytime you make a donation, and when we receive a birth update from our partner for a mama you helped fund.

If your organization is interested in being a partner, email [email protected] for more information on our application process. If you are interested in getting involved or are moved by our mission, please drop us a line at [email protected].

Can’t find the answer to your question? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]