Waterdrop's crowdfunding platform, Waterdrop Crowdfunding, recently held a user open day event in Chongqing centered on the theme of "Openness and Transparency, Building Trust." The event facilitated exchanges with fundraising users and representatives from the local Chongqing media. The company also introduced an AI-powered fundraising assistant designed specifically for patients with serious illnesses, aiming to provide them with more convenient services. Concurrently, the platform continues to explore additional partnership channels, hoping to connect diverse resources to offer greater support to those facing major health challenges. This event marks the eighth user open day Waterdrop has held consecutively since 2023, having now engaged in face-to-face communication with nearly one hundred user representatives to gather feedback and continuously refine its product and service offerings.
Data from Waterdrop shows that in Chongqing, a cumulative total of 150,000 patients with serious illnesses have raised over 1.8 billion yuan through the platform, receiving help from more than 50.95 million compassionate donors. To better assist these patients, Waterdrop has upgraded and launched a "Guardian Plan," which provides an expedited withdrawal channel for critically ill patients in Chongqing. Under this plan, the platform will advance the withdrawal fees during the standard 24-hour public disclosure period.
Waterdrop Inc. is also increasing its investment in technology. The newly launched AI Fundraising Assistant provides regular progress updates to fundraisers and offers real-time companionship, promptly answering various questions patients may have.
Launch of the AI Fundraising Assistant
The first three days after initiating a fundraising campaign are often a critical "golden period" for families dealing with serious illnesses. However, medical needs do not adhere to a schedule, and users may have questions about fundraising or withdrawals at any hour, including late at night. The AI Fundraising Assistant can be activated at any time to provide immediate guidance based on user inquiries.
A Waterdrop representative stated at the event, "Since its launch, Waterdrop Crowdfunding has reached 548 cities across the country. Yet, there are still many patients in need in areas beyond our direct human reach. AI is an excellent tool that can provide users with basic knowledge dissemination and guidance on fundraising methods, enabling more patients to receive timely assistance."
At the event, user Li Mu (a pseudonym) suggested that after a patient initiates a request for help, the platform could utilize AI to provide science-based information about the patient's specific illness. This would help donors understand the condition in detail and learn about prevention. Li Mu's father suffers from high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome, a condition notoriously difficult to treat globally. After starting a Waterdrop campaign, he quickly received help from 2,120 donors, raising 103,820 yuan. Li Mu believes that with AI assistance, more people could quickly learn about various aspects of diseases and how to address them.
According to Waterdrop's data, since its launch, the AI Assistant has served a cumulative total of 82,076 fundraising users nationwide, answering questions for an average of 1,471 users daily. Common user inquiries include "When can I withdraw funds?" and "How can I expand the reach of my fundraiser?"
Partnership with Ping An Bank Ensures Fund Safety
Liu Yan (a pseudonym), 41 years old, was unfortunately diagnosed with gastric cancer. Faced with prohibitively high medical costs, she initiated a fundraising campaign and raised a total of 121,426 yuan. Regarding withdrawals on Waterdrop, she explained, "I can apply to withdraw funds based on the specific needs of my treatment, but I must provide corresponding medical invoices. These are also displayed on my fundraising page, visible to everyone who donated for me."
To ensure that donated funds are used entirely for medical treatment, Waterdrop implements a batch withdrawal mechanism for large fundraising amounts. This means each withdrawal request requires the submission of medical invoices. Additionally, the platform attempts to coordinate direct payments to the patient's hospital for certain amounts. Liu Yan understands this approach, stating, "Because I received help from others, I also want my friends and those around me to know where the money is going. That gives me peace of mind."
Within the大病筹款 (serious illness fundraising) industry, Waterdrop was the first platform to proactively establish a partnership with Ping An Bank to set up a dedicated fund account, maximizing the security of fundraising capital flow. Users can also view a record of every donation and all withdrawal details on their fundraising page.
On the Waterdrop platform, many fundraisers who have recovered from their illness or whose family financial situation has improved choose to return the donated funds to the contributors, allowing the cycle of kindness to continue. Over the past decade, 490,000 previously assisted users have initiated refunds after overcoming their difficulties, cumulatively returning over 1 billion yuan in donations.
Compassionate Traffic Boosts Fundraising for Chongqing Patients
Pan Qiang's (a pseudonym) child was diagnosed with neuroblastoma last March. To cover treatment costs, Pan sold everything he could, but it was still insufficient against monthly medical expenses exceeding 300,000 yuan. He started a Waterdrop fundraiser, which significantly alleviated his financial strain at the time. To raise more life-saving funds, he also chose to start a live-streaming account on social media platforms. When a fundraiser's reach within their personal social circle is limited, they often hope to expand their appeal to gain support from compassionate individuals on broader social platforms, with live-streaming being one effective method.
Pan Qiang said, "During my live streams, if users had doubts about my appeal, I would send them my fundraising link. That usually dispelled their concerns because the fundraising platform has a review process, which is more persuasive. It's faster and builds trust more easily than explaining everything individually."
To help patients in need raise funds more efficiently, the Waterdrop platform invests 1 billion units of "compassionate traffic" support annually. It expands fundraising channels and increases traffic support through formats like short videos, a dedicated爱心首页 (Compassion Homepage), and mini-programs. The platform is continuously exploring new forms of fundraising assistance, hoping to provide more support to local patients with serious illnesses.
Data from Waterdrop shows that its Compassion Homepage has already helped nearly 10,000 families of patients with serious illnesses in Chongqing raise an additional 6.45 million yuan. (All names in the article are pseudonyms.)
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