Spare Key

What Spare Key does

Spare Key is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1997 and headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, that provides housing grant payment assistance to families facing medical crises involving critically ill or seriously injured family members. The organization serves working families nationwide regardless of illness, injury, or income level, distinguishing itself from peer charities by imposing no income eligibility guidelines. Its core service is direct payment of housing-related obligations — including mortgage, rent, utilities, and car payments — during extended hospital stays, when families otherwise face the dilemma of choosing between bedside presence and earned income.

The organization's primary technology platform is Help Me Bounce, launched in 2018, which combines donor-directed crowdfunding with Spare Key's direct grant-making. The platform includes a real-time blogging feature enabling families to share medical updates and a financial statement mechanism that directs 100% of crowdfunding proceeds to designated lenders or service providers with no administrative fee retained. The application process takes under one hour and requires social worker verification of the medical crisis. Additional giving programs include the Ambassador Program (transactional giving by mortgage loan officers, realtors, and title companies at real estate closings), Give At Work (employer matching gifts), Planned Giving (bequests and beneficiary designations), and stock donations.

Spare Key operates with a lean team of approximately 5 staff members and an Executive Director (Sarah Rocklitz). Revenue is generated through individual donations, corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, employer matching gifts, planned giving, and annual fundraising events including three golf/bags tournaments. The organization reports serving over 4,000 families with more than $4 million in cumulative financial assistance since inception. It holds GuideStar Silver Seal of Transparency certification and is sustained by long-standing institutional partnerships with the Minnesota Mortgage Association, major healthcare systems (Mayo Clinic, Children's Minnesota, Sanford Health), and regional financial institutions.

Name

Spare Key

Legal name

Spare Key

Website

https://sparekey.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Spare Key is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1997 that provides housing grant payment assistance and crowdfunding support to working families nationwide facing medical crises, regardless of income level or illness type.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Family Financial Assistance

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Community Housing Services (62422), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Help Supply Services (7363)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Assistance & Benefits Navigation Services (BPAGAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Medical crisis assistance
• Housing grant payments
• Family financial support
• Donor-directed crowdfunding
• Nonprofit resource referral

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Paul

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations from Individuals: Donations from families and individuals who support the organization's mission to help families in medical crisis.
2. Corporate and Business Donations: Support from businesses and corporations through donations, sponsorships, and the Ambassador Program.
3. Foundation Grants: Funding from foundations that support families in crisis and medical-related charitable causes.
4. Community Group Support: Support from community groups including employers through matching gift programs.
5. Event Revenue: Revenue generated from events including the 18th Annual Loop Golf Tournament, 4th Annual 'Bounce and Not Break' Bags Tournament, and 17th Annual Mike Lust Charity Golf Tournament.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Spare Key provides housing grant payment assistance, resource referrals, and advocacy to working families facing a medical crisis with a critically ill or seriously injured family member. Through the Help Me Bounce platform, donations are routed directly to mortgage lenders, utility providers, or other service providers, while families share real-time updates with their supporters.

Product overview

Spare Key is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization offering a unified platform called Help Me Bounce, which combines crowdfunding with direct financial support to help families in medical crisis pay housing and other bills. The core Help Me Bounce platform enables families to raise funds while receiving direct grants, supplemented by additional giving programs including the Ambassador Program (for businesses), Give At Work (employer matching), and Planned Giving (legacy donations).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Help Me Bounce A donor-directed giving platform that combines crowdfunding with direct financial support to help families in medical crises raise funds and pay housing, utility, and car bills. Targets U.S. families facing medical crisis regardless of illness, injury, or income level.
• Ambassador Program A monthly giving program for transactional businesses such as mortgage loan officers, realtors, and title companies, who designate a dollar amount to donate per transaction closed to support families in medical crisis.
• Give At Work Employer matching gift program that allows employees to contribute to Spare Key with their employer matching contributions dollar for dollar.
• Planned Giving Legacy giving options including bequests through wills, beneficiary designations in life insurance and retirement accounts, and gifts of stocks, real estate, or personal property.
• Stock Donations Program allowing donors to transfer stock directly to Spare Key as a charitable contribution.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 4,000 families served with more than $4 million in financial assistance since 1997
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Minnesota Mortgage AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince 1997, Spare Key has had consistent support from MMA. The association provides ongoing philanthropic support through an annual Golf Tournament benefiting Spare Key and other activities focused on raising funds and awareness.
• Midwest RadiologyminorOthersHealthcare partner supporting Spare Key's mission.
• Children's MinnesotaminorOthersPediatric healthcare partner supporting families in medical crisis.
• Mayo ClinicminorOthersHealthcare partner supporting families in medical crisis.
• Gillette Children's Specialty HealthcareminorOthersPediatric specialty healthcare partner.
• Sanford HealthminorOthersHealthcare partner supporting families in medical crisis.
• OptumminorOthersHealthcare technology and services partner.
• LendSmart MortgageminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMortgage partner participating in the Ambassador Program, making donations in clients' names at closings.
• Velocity Public AffairsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPublic affairs firm providing strategic support.
• FredricksonminorOthersLaw firm providing legal support.
• VikingsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNFL team partner supporting community outreach and events.
• Minnesota TwinsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMLB team partner supporting community events.
• MN WildminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNHL team partner.
• TimberwolvesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNBA team partner.
• KS95minorGTM or Marketing PartnerRadio station partner providing media support.
• Edina RealtyminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRealty partner participating in Ambassador Program.
• Movement MortgageminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMortgage partner in Ambassador Program.
• Pediatric Home ServiceminorOthersHealthcare partner providing resources for families bringing home special needs children.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• HealthWell Foundation: Independent nonprofit that provides financial assistance to underinsured patients to help afford medical treatments and related costs. Direct peer on financial-assistance-for-medical-crisis value proposition, though focused more on treatment costs than housing payments.
• Family Reach: National nonprofit providing financial assistance to families facing cancer-related financial toxicity, covering bills including mortgage, rent, and utilities. Most direct functional peer to Spare Key's housing-grant-and-resource-referral model for families in medical crisis.
• Modest Needs Foundation: Nonprofit providing short-term financial assistance to low-income workers facing one-time emergency expenses. Comparable financial-assistance-to-individuals model for short-term crisis, though not specifically medical.
• The Assistance Fund: Independent nonprofit offering financial assistance for out-of-pocket medical costs for underinsured individuals. Directly comparable mission and structure (grant-based financial assistance for medical crisis populations).
• Pinky Swear Foundation: Minnesota-based nonprofit providing financial assistance to families of children with cancer. Direct geographic and mission peer to Spare Key, including housing-related grants during extended pediatric treatment.
• Lazarex Cancer Foundation: Nonprofit providing financial assistance for travel and related costs for cancer patients seeking clinical trials. Comparable nonprofit financial-assistance model for families facing medical crisis, though narrower in scope.
• National Children's Cancer Society: Nonprofit providing financial and emotional support to children with cancer and their families, including direct financial assistance for household expenses during treatment. Comparable beneficiary population and grant-based funding model.
• Patient Advocate Foundation: National nonprofit providing case management, financial aid, and advocacy to patients with chronic, debilitating illnesses. Comparable beneficiary population, financial assistance programs, and resource referral services.

Others

• Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition: Coalition of organizations helping cancer patients manage financial challenges. Not a direct service provider but a peer network relevant to Spare Key's family-in-medical-crisis positioning and referral pathways.

Broad incumbents

• Ronald McDonald House Charities: Global nonprofit supporting families of seriously ill or injured children through housing and resources near hospitals. Comparable mission (housing-related support during pediatric medical crisis) but operates dedicated housing facilities at far larger scale than Spare Key's grant model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SpareKey97
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spare-key-foundation

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Spare Key