Founded by surgeon Dr. Shital Sharma, the platform channels community giving into several public health areas aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, from food security to clean water.
Closter, New Jersey, 2026. HealthCommons, a crowdfunding platform dedicated exclusively to public health, has launched to help communities fund the health needs that grants, public budgets, and insurance often leave unmet. The platform lets nonprofits, clinics, schools, researchers, community groups, and individual organizers raise money for community-scale causes, from food banks and mobile clinics to youth mental health programs and clean water projects.
Unlike general crowdfunding sites, where a community health campaign sits beside personal appeals of every kind, HealthCommons focuses solely on public health fundraising. Campaigns are organized into several cause areas: healthcare access, mental health, food security, environmental health, housing, health equity, economic stability, community infrastructure, family well-being, and community safety. Donors can browse by the issue they care about most and see exactly what each campaign will fund.
“Some of the most important health work in this country happens outside hospitals,” said Dr. Shital Sharma, founder of HealthCommons and a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon. “A van that gets patients to dialysis, a clinic that stays open two evenings a week, and a school counselor who notices a problem early. These programs are often one funding gap away from closing. HealthCommons gives the people running them a place to raise money from neighbors and supporters who want their giving to stay close to home and make a visible difference.”
The need is growing. The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform estimates that more than 700 rural hospitals in the United States, about one-third of the national total, are at risk of closing. When local services shrink, community-funded programs such as patient transport, mobile clinics, and free clinics are often what stand between patients and missed care.
How the platform works. HealthCommons decides eligibility by who benefits, not by who organizes. Any organizer can run a campaign as long as the money goes toward a community health need rather than an individual’s personal expenses. Every campaign is manually reviewed before it goes live, most within 24 hours of submission, and HealthCommons promotes campaigns through its website, social media channels, and newsletters, so smaller organizations are not limited to their own contact lists.
Local giving for global goals. The platform’s cause areas map directly onto the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) through food security, SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) through healthcare access, mental health, and family well-being, SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) through environmental health, SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) through health equity, and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) through housing and community infrastructure. HealthCommons treats community crowdfunding as a practical way to finance progress on these goals at the local level, where the results are easiest to see and measure.
“Health is shaped by far more than medical care,” Dr. Sharma said. “Food, housing, clean water, safety, and financial stability decide how long and how well people live. We built HealthCommons around those realities, so a community can fund the whole picture of health, not only the clinical part of it.”
With Giving Tuesday falling on December 1, HealthCommons is encouraging organizers to start campaigns now so they are reviewed, live, and ready when donors are most active. Organizers can learn more and begin a campaign at thehealthcommonsfund.com.
About HealthCommons
HealthCommons is a crowdfunding platform built only for public health causes. It helps nonprofits, clinics, schools, researchers, community groups, and individual organizers raise money for community health needs across several cause areas, from healthcare access and mental health to food security, clean air and water, and housing. Every campaign is reviewed before it goes live.
About Dr. Shital Sharma
Dr. Shital Sharma is the founder of HealthCommons, a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon, and a healthcare leader focused on improving access to care. She earned her Doctor of Podiatric Medicine from Temple University and an Executive MBA and MS in Healthcare Leadership from Cornell University and is pursuing an MPH at Yale School of Public Health.
Media Contact
Name: Dr. Shital Sharma
Email: info@thehealthcommonsfund.com
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — In the Cover Photo: HealthCommons public health fundraising for food security — Cover Photo Credit: thehealthcommonsfund.com
