The Story Behind 26 Years
In 1998, I was living in a mobile home in a struggling neighborhood, watching kids miss out on after-school programs because their families couldn’t afford the fees, the uniforms, the supplies.
I wanted to help. So I registered ChancesforChildren.com with the dream of raising money to give these kids opportunities they deserved.
I built the website. I had the vision. And then I made a mistake—I let the domain registration lapse.
When I tried to re-register it, I discovered that Fergie, the Duchess of York, had taken it. She was running a charity in New York with my domain name—the same name I’d chosen, the same mission I’d dreamed of, but with resources and reach I could never imagine having.
I could have given up. Instead, I searched for a new name.
And I found Chances.org—somehow, impossibly, still available.
I registered it immediately in 1999. Not just for children anymore, but for everyone. Any age. Any dream. Anyone who needed an opportunity and just needed someone to notice.
Twenty-Six Years of Believing
For over two decades, Chances.org has represented something bigger than a website. It’s been:
- A belief that everyone deserves opportunity
- A reminder that small moments of attention change lives
- A commitment that kept me going even when nothing seemed to work
- Proof that you don’t need to be a duchess to care about people
In 2004, I built a classifieds section where people could ask for help. It started to work—real people finding real opportunities. Then I got scared someone might get scammed, and I shut it down.
A few years later, GoFundMe and Kickstarter launched. They built what I’d imagined, but they had something I didn’t: capital, teams, confidence.
I watched from the sidelines again.
Meanwhile, I poured 13 years into graphic design on Zazzle, building from $25/month to $6,000/month through sheer persistence. Then AI art flooded the market and my income dropped to $1,200/month.
Every time I had an idea first, someone else made it real.
Every time I built something, circumstances knocked it down.
Every time I tried to help, I got in my own way.
But I never stopped believing in chances.
Why Now? Why This?
As a graphic deaigner, AI has taken away much of my income. However, it has also opened a door, and, given me the time to work on projects that touch my heart. So, I registered GiveMeChances.com and have been working on it. It will be a more commercial site and focus on all the creatives, artists, inventors, video makers, and more. Catering to an untapped need. Helping those on TikTok, Facebook, Kickstarter, GoFundMe and the other major platforms get a chance to get noticed and maybe even go viral, by offering their stories as random chances for people to discover them. It’s actually going to be a community of people helping people live their dreams. By liking pages, subscribing, watching, visiting, following, donating, shopping and more. This site isn’t for the ultra successful, it’s for people needing Chances, because everyone deserves a chance.
Meanwhile, I am also updating Chances.org and allowing people to post on it again.
Chances.org will finally be become what it was always meant to be: a place where people give and receive opportunities. Not money (though money matters). Not just connections (though connections help). But something simpler and more powerful:
Attention. Visibility. A moment where someone looks and says, “I see you.”
What We’re Building Now
Chances.org will be the charitable arm and the home of:
🌈 GiveMeChances.com
Our active community platform where creators and dreamers get discovered. No algorithms. No ads. Just real people curating real chances.
This is what the 2004 classifieds should have been—but evolved, focused, and finally ready.
What C.H.A.N.C.E.S. Means
Chances
Helps
And
Nurtures
Change
Every
Second
This acronym reminds me—reminds all of us—that every moment holds a doorway. Even the moments that feel like failures. Even the domains we lose. Even the decades that feel wasted.
Chances create change. Change creates hope. Hope changes everything.
Why You Should Care
Maybe you’re a creator struggling to be seen.
Maybe you’re trying to build something with no resources.
Maybe you’ve had an idea that someone else made successful.
Maybe you’ve spent years on something that never quite worked.
You’re not alone.
I’ve been there. I’m still there. But I’m also here—building, creating, believing that this time, with this platform, things can be different.
Not because I suddenly have resources or confidence or luck.
But because I’ve spent 26 years thinking about chances, and giving chances to people I meet along the way.
You don’t need to be a duchess to change someone’s life. You just need to show up and give them a moment of attention.
The Founder
My name is AmeliaCarrie. I’ve been a single mom, a mobile home resident, a graphic designer, a domain collector, and a relentless believer in second chances.
I’m not rich. I’m not famous. I’m not even using my real name online because the internet still scares me a little.
But I own Chances.org. I’ve owned it since 1999. And after 26 years, I’m finally building what it was always meant to be.
Get Involved
🌱 Need a Chance?
Post your project, passion, or dream.
Submit Your Chance →
💚 Want to Give a Chance?
Discover creators who deserve attention.
Browse & Support →
🎮 Play the Game
Reflect on chances through our free card game.
Download Now →
To Everyone Who’s Ever Needed a Chance
This one’s for you.
For the kids in my old neighborhood who couldn’t afford after-school programs.
For the single moms building websites in mobile homes.
For the creators buried by algorithms.
For everyone who’s had the right idea at the wrong time.
For anyone who’s ever thought, “Maybe I’m crazy for still trying.”
You’re not crazy. You’re just early.
Keep going. I am.
Chances.org
Believing in possibility since 1999
Contact: help@chances.org
Connect: GiveMeChances.com | AmeliaCarrie.com
