The Giving Garden Foundation

What The Giving Garden Foundation does

The Giving Garden Foundation is a Virginia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded on August 16, 2008 by four Gloucester residents — Melisa Wamsley, Allen LaRoche, Stephanie Stewart, and Karin Fary — to provide direct financial assistance to cancer patients residing in Gloucester and Mathews counties, Virginia. The organization's core service is a financial assistance program that pays vendors directly for patient living expenses including rent, mortgages, utilities, fuel, groceries, treatments, and prescriptions, with typical 72-hour turnaround from application to disbursement. It also operates an online resource database connecting patients to local, state, and national support services, and maintains the Healing Garden at Woodville Park — a physical therapeutic garden built on land donated by Gloucester County Parks & Recreation.

The revenue model is built on four streams: PayPal-based tax-deductible donations, the "Together we CAN advocate" aluminum can recycling program (the primary fundraising mechanism, with over 2.5 million cans processed through collection cottages at partner businesses and schools), engraved memorial brick sales at the Healing Garden ($100 to $300 per brick), and periodic fundraising events. The organization has no paid staff; all operations, including the Board of Directors (Karin Fary, President; Melanie Hamilton, VP; Heather L. Smith, Treasurer; Melissa Johnson, Secretary), are volunteer-run, with personal home offices, vehicles, and phones used for operations.

The organization operates without proprietary technology, software products, or AI components. Its only digital presence is a Wix-hosted website (thegivinggarden.org) and a Facebook page. Geographic scope is intentionally and explicitly restricted to Gloucester and Mathews counties in Virginia, with no documented expansion plans beyond this two-county footprint. Since inception the organization has cumulatively disbursed over $300,000 in patient assistance.

Name

The Giving Garden Foundation

Legal name

The Giving Garden Foundation

Website

https://thegivinggarden.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Giving Garden Foundation is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides direct financial assistance to cancer patients in Gloucester and Mathews counties, Virginia, funded primarily through a community aluminum can recycling program, donations, and engraved brick sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cancer Patient Financial Assistance

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Cancer patient assistance
• Nonprofit financial aid
• Community recycling fundraising
• Patient support services
• Charitable foundation grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Hayes

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Tax-deductible donations accepted via PayPal (one-time or recurring). Donors can make contributions in any amount and may include notes in honor or memory of loved ones. The organization is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit.
2. Aluminum Can Recycling Program: Primary fundraising mechanism through their 'Together we CAN advocate' recycling program. Community donates aluminum beverage cans which are collected from can cottages and converted to cash. Volunteers pick up cans bi-weekly from cottage locations and business sponsors.
3. Healing Garden Brick Sales: Engraved brick purchases at the Healing Garden at Woodville Park. 4x8 pavers available for $100 (personalized with 3 lines, 15 characters per line), 8x8 pavers for $200 (6 lines), and business sponsor pavers for $300 featuring business name.
4. Fundraising Events: Various fundraising events hosted throughout the year. Vendors can donate a portion of proceeds during specific sale events.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Giving Garden Foundation provides direct financial assistance to cancer patients and their families for everyday living expenses such as utilities, groceries, and gas during treatment. It funds this aid through donations, an aluminum can recycling fundraiser ("Together we CAN advocate"), local fundraisers, business sponsorships, and an engraved brick program, and supplements services with a Healing Garden at Woodville Park and an online resource database.

Product overview

The Giving Garden Foundation operates as a nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of interconnected services for cancer patients in Gloucester and Mathews, Virginia. The core offering is the Financial Assistance Program, which provides direct monetary support for living expenses. This is primarily funded through the "Together we CAN advocate" Aluminum Can Recycling Program, which collects cans through community cottages. Additional services include the Healing Garden at Woodville Park for therapeutic purposes, with an Engraved Brick Program generating supplemental funding. An Online Resource Database helps bridge patients to external support services. Volunteer Coordination Services support all operations, with roles including Community Outreach Coordinator and Patient Assistance Navigators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Assistance Program for Cancer Patients
• "Together we CAN advocate" Aluminum Can Recycling Program
• Healing Garden at Woodville Park
• Engraved Brick Program

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gloucester County Parks & RecreationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDonated a plot of land at Woodville Park to The Giving Garden Foundation for development of the Healing Garden. The garden provides a space for patients and loved ones for relaxation, reflection, and tranquility. Features native plant species and walkway with engraved bricks honoring loved ones and featuring business sponsors.
• Recycling Partners (Various Businesses)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerVarious businesses serve as collection points for aluminum cans or provide ongoing can collection. Partners include Abingdon Ruritan Club, Main St. Shopping Center, Gloucester Moose Family Center, Franktronics, and Mathews High School. Businesses can have collection receptacles in break rooms or outdoor containers, with option to be listed as a Recycling Partner on the website.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct peers

• CancerCare: National nonprofit providing financial assistance, counseling, and support to cancer patients - the most direct functional peer to The Giving Garden's patient financial assistance mission, though operating at far larger scale.
• HealthWell Foundation: Independent nonprofit that reduces financial barriers to care by providing grants for treatment-related costs to underinsured patients, including cancer patients - directly comparable in financial-assistance focus.
• Patient Advocate Foundation: Provides direct financial aid, case management, and resource navigation to patients with chronic and life-threatening illnesses including cancer, overlapping closely with The Giving Garden's assistance-plus-resource-database model.

Broad incumbents

• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: Disease-specific national nonprofit providing financial assistance, co-pay support, and patient aid programs to blood cancer patients - comparable mission with overlap in financial assistance services.
• American Cancer Society: Largest national nonprofit addressing cancer patient support, research funding, and lodging/travel assistance - serves a similar beneficiary population but at vastly greater scale and with broader programmatic scope.
• Susan G. Komen: Major breast cancer nonprofit offering patient financial assistance, treatment support, and community grants including to local affiliates - similar local-affiliate model for delivering patient aid.

Regional players

• Gloucester-Mathews Care Clinic: Local safety-net clinic serving uninsured/underinsured residents in the same Gloucester-Mathews service area - shares the geographic catchment and addresses complementary unmet health needs of the community.
• Community Foundation of the Virginia Peninsula: Regional community foundation serving southeastern Virginia with grants and donor-advised funds - structurally comparable as a community-focused grantmaking organization, though geographically adjacent rather than overlapping.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/The-Giving-Garden-Foundation/109439739107318
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-giving-garden-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 The Giving Garden Foundation