# Watsi

> Watsi is a San Francisco nonprofit that lets people fund specific, low-cost medical treatments for patients served by vetted healthcare partners around the world. Donors can give once, join the monthly Universal Fund, launch campaigns, or back emergency and regional funds. Its defining promise is that 100% of public donations go to healthcare - including payment-processing fees, which Watsi covers with separately raised operating support.

- **Founded:** 2012
- **Headquarters:** San Francisco, United States
- **Founders:** Chase Adam (Co-founder and former CEO; board member emeritus), Grace Garey (Co-founder and former head of operations; board member), Jesse Cooke (Co-founder and early engineer)
- **Products:** Patient crowdfunding, Universal Fund, General and regional funds, Personal and corporate campaigns, Emergency Surgery Program
- **Notable:** First nonprofit admitted to Y Combinator, in the Winter 2013 batch., Current official figures report 35,178 patients served, $21.7 million in healthcare funded, and 35 countries reached., Reached its 30,000th patient, Cho in Thailand, in 2024.

## Products & services

- **Patient crowdfunding** — Donors choose an approved patient and contribute from $5 toward a low-cost, high-impact treatment; approved profiles stay live until fully funded.
- **Universal Fund** — A recurring-donation program that automatically supports a new patient each month and sends members patient and treatment updates.
- **General and regional funds** — Pooled giving options, including the India Surgery Fund, let Watsi allocate donations to high-need patients or programs while reporting aggregate impact.
- **Personal and corporate campaigns** — Individuals and companies can build campaigns or impact pages, engage communities, and fund care collectively.
- **Emergency Surgery Program** — A rapid-funding and case-management pathway, co-designed with community medical partners for maternal emergencies, trauma, and critical injuries.
- **Meso** — Health-insurance administration software introduced by Watsi and spun out in 2020 as an independent open-source project.

## Achievements

- First nonprofit admitted to Y Combinator, in the Winter 2013 batch.
- Current official figures report 35,178 patients served, $21.7 million in healthcare funded, and 35 countries reached.
- Reached its 30,000th patient, Cho in Thailand, in 2024.
- Reached 43% more patients in 2024 than in 2023.
- Received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator and Platinum recognition from Candid/GuideStar.
- Watsi's 2023 impact report received an Anthem Award for storytelling.
- Launched an Emergency Surgery Program and a new Ethiopian hospital partnership in 2024.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Watsi announced an India Surgery Fund and described India as its 36th country.
- **2025-05** — Watsi highlighted mobile giving improvements, Apple Pay and Google Pay, donor matching, and a team of eight supporting more than 31,000 patients across 34 countries.
- **2025** — The Role Call video series began profiling frontline caregivers, engineers, advisors, volunteers, and other people behind the work.
- **2024-12** — The 2024 review reported 43% year-over-year patient growth, 32 care centers, an average treatment cost of $654, and an average monthly donation of $47.
- **2024** — Watsi launched the Emergency Surgery Program and partnered with Saglan Wajee General Hospital in Ethiopia.

## Links

- Website: https://watsi.org
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/watsi
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/watsi
- GitHub: https://github.com/watsi
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Watsi.org

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/watsi
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-26