gofundme question

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Do you guys donate to people on gofundme or that sort of sites? If so how much?

[kork13]

As a policy, no I do not. If I know the person and know that they need financial assistance, I'd prefer to give them the money I can in person, where my assistance won't get a haircut from the website. And if I don't know the person.... Why on Earth am I giving them money? How do I have any assurances that the money is truly needed or will be used appropriately?

I feel that sites like GoFundMe and its ilk are merely the 21st century's evolution of beggary. I treat it the same as I would any beggar on the street. If I know them and know their needs, I'll help with those needs as I can. Otherwise, I'll only offer substantial assistance (food, hygiene supply, maybe transportation to an aid facility)... Never money.

[disneysteve]

I agree with kork. We don't donate through gofundme or other similar sites. When there has been a campaign to help someone we knew, we just gave to them directly. Why should 5% or whatever get skimmed off the top?

When the campaign is for strangers, disaster relief, victims of a tragedy, etc., we don't typically contribute at all. If we do, it's by sending money to an established organization like the Red Cross.

I always wonder when I see these big fundraising campaigns that succeed in raising millions for something, how much really gets to the victims and what happens to the rest. And how much is reasonable for a victim or victim's family to get anyway? I get covering funeral costs or medical bills but beyond that, why do they need hundreds of thousands of dollars each?

[Thrif-t]

I have once. A lady I worked with died of cancer and left two kids, they were 18 & 21. I didn't personally know them but their mom was a nice lady and I felt bad for them. If work would've done a collection I'd of gave that way but they just sent out the link to the go fund me account to donate, so I did.

I prefer to go to a bank that sets up an account for a family and donate that way if I want to help someone. I've done that a few times.

[annibe11e]

Yes, I do.

And I have donated for causes or people I don't know, but it's been very rare. For instance, there is a touring art installation about suicide. I looked into it and thought it was quite worthwhile. I donated to help fund their continued touring. I also shared that I had done so on social media.

Crowdfunding tends to be a game of "the more people donate, the more people will donate". So if it's something I care about, I use that platform for giving as a means to make my donation do more by possibly drawing in more donations. Herd mentality I guess.

[disneysteve]

Another thing that bothers me about the crowdfunding sites is when they post their fundraising goal, and then when they exceed that goal, rather than shutting down, they just raise the goal. Sorry, but if you are fundraising for a distinct cause - to pay a medical bill or funeral expenses - once you meet your goal, don't get greedy. Consider yourself blessed, pay what you needed to pay, and move on. Don't look at the crowdfunding campaign as a bottomless pit of generosity.

[sblatner]

I do. Though I suggest people use youcaring.com instead of gofundme as youcaring only charges the credit card fee. No additional expenses.

I mostly only donate to causes for people I know or for friends of friends. I almost prefer to do this over charity as I know the money goes directly to people to help them instead of overhead such as fundraising expenses and administrative expenses.

[colby99]

People care about other people. GoFundMe is set up as more of a charity than Kickstarter or Indiegogo so as long as the cause is legitimate, backers just want to feel like they're helping people out.

[msomnipotent]

I do not. I give cash and/or items to my charities directly. I usually only help out people I know or my sister's students directly, or to an established organization. Even then, it is still local, like an animal rescue.

[MakeAStash]

When I looked at gofundme I could not find any list of potential people or causes to donate to. Guess they don't want the site used that way.

[disneysteve]

When I looked at gofundme I could not find any list of potential people or causes to donate to. Guess they don't want the site used that way.

There is a Search button right at the top of the page and you can scroll through campaigns they recommend or search by location or name.

[Gaston]

Typically I don't, but it's not always the case. Sometimes I donate to creative people who need funding for their creative endeavors. Only if there is a way for me to see the stuff they produce though.

[Drake3287]

I don't either but what bothers me on many of the requests is money for things the person should have been prepared for in the first place. A good example is medical costs.

There's no reason why most people can't have basic medical insurance with Obama Care. Even my college age daughter with a part-time restaurant job has medical coverage with this program.

Another are all these criminal thugs and gang members that get themselves murdered and then all of a sudden the family needs money for burial costs. Sorry, not a chance.

I know there's a lot of honest and needed requests but to many people are taking advantage of this donation site.

[ladonnarosso]

I actually organized a gofundme once for a close friend of mine who has Lyme disease and can't work and was struggling with medical expenses. However, I probably wouldn't use gofundme again because I didn't realize how much they took from the campaigns. I agree with whomever mentioned youcaring. That being said, I rarely donate to these types of things, especially for causes/people that I don't know. I'd rather give directly, as mentioned above.

[Gaston]

I actually organized a gofundme once for a close friend of mine who has Lyme disease and can't work and was struggling with medical expenses. However, I probably wouldn't use gofundme again because I didn't realize how much they took from the campaigns. I agree with whomever mentioned youcaring. That being said, I rarely donate to these types of things, especially for causes/people that I don't know. I'd rather give directly, as mentioned above.

Was the campaign you launched there successful? Hope your friend is better nowadays.