Due to the extraordinary generosity of our donors, the Wheelchair Foundation has delivered over 700,000 wheelchairs to children, teens and adults in 152 countries around the world since our establishment in June of 2000. Our program of delivering wheelchairs to developing countries has been accomplished in part by volume purchasing from competitive manufacturers at a rate of up to 10,000 wheelchairs per month. Despite rising costs of transportation and other expenses, we have worked very hard to keep the donation amount needed to sponsor a wheelchair constant over the past seven years. Several factors now necessitate a revision to our wheelchair sponsorship structure. Grant monies that were a major source of our combinable funding have been exhausted. The expense of delivering wheelchairs by ocean freight has sharply risen due to the enormous increases in fuel and other costs. The revised sponsorship structure is now comprised as follows:
- Sponsor 110 Standard Manual Wheelchairs or
100 All Terrain Wheelchairs: $16,500 - Sponsor 280 Standard Manual Wheelchairs or
260 All Terrain Wheelchairs: $42,000
Questions and Answers
Q: What are the advantages of offering the smaller container? A: For our donors, the cost of a smaller container represents a shorter fundraising timeframe and effort. Containers of 110 wheelchairs provide the opportunity for smaller organizations, companies and individuals to become involved in this humanitarian effort. For our partner NGOs in destination countries, smaller containers offer more options for storage and distribution of wheelchairs. Q: Why are the prices changing A: Since the establishment of the Wheelchair Foundation in June of 2000, we have worked diligently to keep the cost of the wheelchairs we deliver constant. Our website and promotional materials have solicited $75 donations, but also always stated that the average cost to purchase, ship and deliver a wheelchair worldwide is $150, and we have combined gifted funds with each new $75 donation to deliver a wheelchair, until those funds would be exhausted. We have now exhausted our government granted assistance, and costs such as raw materials and labor have increased to the wheelchair manufacturers. We have experienced dramatic increases in ocean and overland transportation costs because of fuel prices. In September 2007 we implemented a sliding sponsorship rate by region of the world and offered smaller containers to help deflect the additional costs. This was designed to service donors who could not provide the larger containers. The entire cost of worldwide distribution of a wheelchair from start to finish is $150. If you, your organization, or your corporation would like to sponsor a full container of wheelchairs to a specific country, you have the choice of two container sizes. Regardless of the size, all shipments include spare parts; custom logo embroidery; and Wheelchair Foundation’s legendary commitment to provide hope, freedom, and mobility to individuals in need and without access to wheelchairs.
Each donation we receive helps us deliver a wheelchair and supports our humanitarian mission. For each new $150 donation, the donor will receive a beautiful presentation folder with the photograph of a wheelchair recipient, and a certificate which thanks the donor for the gift made in the name of, honor of, or memory of a special person in their life. If you are interested in a specific country and/or wish to participate in a distribution trip, consider sponsoring an entire container of 100 to 280 wheelchairs. For those details, please contact our Operations Staff at (877) 378-3839 or
in**@wh******************.org
.