ThEX connects those in financial need, Needers, with Givers who may be willing to provide financial assistance. The Needers fill out various fields explaining the nature of their need. Examples may include medical expenses, loss of job, unaffordable tuition or mortgage payments, etc. Other needs might be the opportunity to study in a foreign country for a short while, or wanting to establish a foundation in the name of a lost relative. Some needs may be heart-wrenching; others may be opportunities of a life-time if only they could be financed. Collectively, they will be as diverse as the human condition. The Needer, after filling out the fields that state his need, and providing his zip code as well as a short paragraph explaining his need, pays $25 to be posted on the ThEX website for one year. This is known as ThEXing. The Needer receives a user name and a password, which allow him to text with Givers, as well as update his profile. He also creates a Paypal account, the structure by which he receives the Giver’s financial aid.

The Giver registers, and receives a user name and a password. He can now text privately with a Needer to learn more about his needs; both using their user names for identification. But the due diligence does not stop here. Givers and Needers may choose to email, talk on the phone, or visit. Through the initial texting, the facility to get to know each other, ThEX provides for these options should Givers and Needers choose them. In addition, the Giver may ask for references before he gives. Once the Giver decides to donate to the Needer, he donates to the Needer’s Paypal account.

1. Financial Focus: Individual to individual financial assistance.
2. Transparency: The Giver knows who receives his gift.
3. Efficiency: Almost one-hundred percent of one’s gift is donated to the Needer.

Financial Focus:
Unlike traditional giving models that often provide multiple services, many of which are unrelated to each other, ThEX is focused solely on financial aid. Once he posts his needs on the website, the Needer knows that should one give, he will receive financial help. Both Givers and Needers, therefore, know that what is given is what is received. Very few organizations of this type are focused solely on financial aid.

Transparency:
If he wishes, the Giver knows who actually receives his gift. In most traditional models the Giver does not know the ultimate beneficiary of his gift because gifts usually go to an organization. This makes it impossible to monitor or measure the value of the gift at the individual level. The Giver does not know who he helped, by how much, and in what way. ThEX solves this transparency problem.

Efficiency:
Almost 100 percent of the gift actually goes to the Needer. In many, but not all, traditional models as little as 50 percent goes to the one in need because much of the gift is consumed in overhead. Put differently, compared to most traditional giving models, ThEX costs the Giver less to provide the same amount of help.