“And that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.” 1 Samuel 17:47
Heather Wilson is a wife, mother, grandmother, author and co-founder/co-CEO of GiveSendGo, the world’s largest Christian crowdfunding site. Heather and two siblings Jacob Wells and Emmalie Arvidson launched the platform in 2015 with $20,000 from their mother.
Prior to being the CEO of GiveSendGo, Heather was a stay-at-home mom with four children. In the early days of her startup, she also took in five foster children and welcomed her fifth child. This is what makes her startup journey even more impressive. Most people say having a child is a startup in and of itself. Taking on one child, let alone five more on top of the existing four, during the early days of her startup is unthinkable. Recall when famed venture capitalist Michael Moritz said he preferred investing in young and single entrepreneurs because “they have great passion. They don’t have distractions like families and children and other things that get in the way.”
Fortunately, GiveSendGo never had to raise venture capital and the Bible does say God only gives us what we can handle.
Eventually, Heather adopted one of her foster children. She now is the mother of six and grandmother to three. As the second oldest of 11 siblings, Heather clearly embraces big families.
Today, GiveSendGo is known for being a non-partisan platform that accepts the most controversial and high-profile campaigns from ICE agent Jonathan Ross to the suspect accused of murdering healthcare CEO Brian Thompson to the Canadian truckers, known as the Freedom Convoy. “We believe in freedom of expression,” said Heather. “If we’re going to be principled, everyone (regardless of politics or circumstance) deserves a defense.” That principled stance has embroiled the company in political fights.
The trucker strike started circa 2022 after the Canadian government mandated vaccines, leading the truckers to create a fundraising campaign on GiveSendGo. Given the traffic surge to the site, GiveSendGo bought cyber security insurance, a fortuitous call since the site was hacked soon after.
Making matters worse, the government threatened to criminalize the recipients of the campaign if GiveSendGo did not shut down the fundraiser, which raised about $12 million for the truckers. The government even froze several million dollars before the truckers received any of it, which ultimately led GiveSendGo to return all the money back to the donors.
The platform was then named a defendant in a $300 million class action lawsuit for aiding the truckers in their obstruction of streets and honking of horns. This led Heather and her siblings to a critical juncture: spend money they didn’t have on legal defense fees and hope God would provide or walk away and hope for the best. After much prayer and fasting, her brother Jacob said he was reminded of the song “For the battle belongs to the Lord” and David’s strength facing Goliath. They decided that this battle did belong to the Lord and accepted the challenge. “If God’s going to let us fight this, he’ll provide,” said Heather.
On the same day they were given a legal fee quote of $250,000, they received a check for $260,000 from the insurance company, for the hacking of the site.
It was one of many miracles GiveSendGo has been part of.
Watch the interview to hear all about them, including a story of forgiveness and healing for the infamous hacker Aubrey Cottle, the one who hacked GiveSendGo and a GOP website. Heather and I also talk about the power of prayers, the struggle with identity and advice to young adults.
You can learn more about Heather here: https://heatherlynwilson.com
Follow her on X - https://x.com/HeathGiveSendGo ; Or GiveSendGo on X - https://x.com/GiveSendGo
Here’s also a list of her books.
I am not a Banana - learn more
Are you that dude’s girlfriend - learn more
You can’t hide the fruit: learn more
Interview coverage:
2:42 - The Freedom Convoy and getting hacked
5:30 – The Canadian government’s crackdown on the campaign that raised $10 to $12 million for Canadian truckers.
6:40 - The $300 million lawsuit from the citizens of Ottawa.
9:13 - The battle belongs to the Lord.
17:00 - Reading the Bible - straight through or a few chapters at a time.
20:10 - The high-profile campaigns and the rationale for allowing them.
23:00 - You’re going to hate us until you need us.
25:00 - Has GiveSendGo changed people’s hearts?
26:45 - Abortion and transgender mutilations for minors not allowed.
29:12 - Hope team to call and pray for every campaign.
32:10 - How the Hope team can help people with their mental health.
32:00 - The power of prayer and the story of the demon-possessed boy in Mark 9.
35:20 - Outrageous generosity and Aubrey Cottle.
42:00 – Romans 8:28 - The blessing behind the hack.
