General Questions and Answers about iFoster

What is iFoster?

iFoster is a non-profit with a mission of providing life-changing resources to children being raised outside of their biological homes. We launched www.ifoster.org in October 2010 by bringing free and discounted resources to the community from private, public and government service providers to help close the funding gap in foster care.

Is iFoster a direct service organization or a government agency?

No. iFoster is an online community and “benefits program” for the child welfare community. We offer our services via our online portal at www.ifoster.org. iFoster is a non-profit organization that works with corporate partners and philanthropy to bring new resources, supports and programs to our community. We work very closely with child welfare departments and agencies to support their work and help serve their clients. We do receive grant funding from the Federal Children’s Bureau, and have hundreds of government agencies and departments using our services.

How do I access iFoster’s resources and services?

iFoster is a free, online community that can be found at www.ifoster.org.

Who qualifies to be an iFoster member?

* Transition-age foster youth (ages 16 to 24)

* Families and Caregivers (foster, kinship, relative, near-kin, legal guardian, adoptive)

* Case Workers, Social Workers, Attorneys, CASAs, Judges, Agency Administrators

* Direct Service Organizations (i.e. group home, transitional housing, FFA, ILP)

* Other Support Organizations (i.e. CASA, support/advocacy groups, associations, government)

Why are you doing this?

One of iFoster’s founders is a former foster youth and former technology industry executive / the other founder is a former business development and investment banking executive. iFoster is a result of their collective experience and desire to create a unique community and services for the foster care community.

iFoster is of the community for the community. Everyone at iFoster has ties to child welfare and as such care deeply about improving the lives of the children and youth who, through no fault of their own, live outside of their biological homes due to abuse, violence or neglect. We believe in the power of community and are aggregating what is a highly fragmented system into one powerful group who will transform child welfare.

We started by getting our community the resources they need and closing the funding gap. But our goal is much larger. By building a strong, supportive, inclusive community, we believe we can raise a collective voice to force change - change in public perception of children in care and change in the system. It is only when every child has the opportunity and the tools to become successful, independent adults and reach their full potential that iFoster will have met its goal.

How long has iFoster been operating?

iFoster launched in October of 2010. Since then, iFoster has become one of the largest and most inclusive national organizations in child welfare with over 30,000 members helping raise over 3 million children and youth in all 50 states.

How large is the iFoster community?

iFoster currently has more than 30,000 members, representing over 3 million children and $Billions in collective purchasing power. Members range from individual transition-age youth, to caregivers raising foster children, to organizations helping hundreds of families, to State and Federal agencies representing thousands of families.

Does iFoster restrict or exclude any groups?

We are a community with one thing in common, our collective efforts to raise our most vulnerable children and youth.  iFoster does not exclude any individual or group based on race, beliefs, sexual orientation or income level. We observe state and federal laws, and comply with requests from legal and regulatory agencies.

Is your website secure?

Yes. iFoster has an extremely talented and experienced development team to protect all of our information. Our website is SSL certified and HIPPA compliant,

How can I help out?

There are 3 ways in which you can help out:
1) Spread the word! If you are interested in spreading the word to others in our community, we can provide iFoster outreach materials to you. Please contact us at 530.550.8001.

2) Give us feedback! We need community input to continuously improve what we do, how we do it and how we represent the community. You can send us feedback through the website (click on the notepad icon) or email us at support@ifoster.org or call us at 1-855-936-7837. We will routinely be posting surveys too which is a great way for you to let us know what you think. 

3) Help us out! iFoster is funded by donations and every little bit counts. If we've helped you out, consider adding us to your company's employee giving, giving yourself or introducing us to your really, really rich very, very old uncle (preferably one named Buffett).

How can my company participate?

Let us help your employees. We are an employee benefit for your organization. Do you know how many of your employees may qualify for iFoster? How many foster, kinship, relative, adoptive parents are your employees? How many are former foster youth?

Share your resources with our community. If you have a product or service that our community uses, we’d love to make it available to them. All we ask is that you  make your best offer available to our community. We’ll pass the savings along to our members who represent millions of children and youth, and $Billions in purchasing power.

Who are iFoster’s supporters? 

The best recognition is when a member calls in and says thank you and shares how we have been able to help them! It is also wonderful when individuals and organizations outside of our community recognize us as well. Some of our key supporters include:

Citizen Innovator, The White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Engagement

Echoing Green Fellowship 2012

America's Leader of Change, National Urban Fellows 2012

"1 Laptop per Foster Youth" recognized as one of the best Microsoft Refurbisher Programs globally by Microsoft (2012-2013)

Federal Children’s Bureau

Key, wonderful, foundations that support our work

Should my organization have one membership, or should each employee and beneficiary have their own?

Each membership is unique and cannot be used by more than one member at a time. We encourage each organization to determine how they want their staff to use iFoster. Direct service staff who are in constant communication with caregivers, families and youth may want to have their own membership so they can search for resources for their cases. We also encourage your caregiver and youth beneficiaries that qualify to register for iFoster as there are resources available to meet their unique needs.

What information do you collect and why?

We respect your privacy and information and do NOT share it. We collect your name, email, state, zip code in order to provide you with the national, regional and local resources that can meet your needs. We also ask for your member type and the child welfare serving agency or organization you are associated with in order to verify you are of the community.