gofundme donations

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Do you guys ever donate to go fund me pages? I've recently had a spate of people asking for money. I've never donated but feel guilty about not. Do you guys do it?

[creditcardfree]

I pretty much have to know the person directly, or know someone who directly knows them. I have probably donated twice.

[disneysteve]

I do not. If it is someone I know directly and I want to support them, I will give them money directly. GoFundMe takes a cut of all of the donations. I'd rather have my money go straight to the cause.

We have contributed a handful of times when someone we knew was struggling, usually by giving them a grocery store gift card or something else of use to them depending on the situation. For example, a friend was dealing with end-stage cancer and her family had asked for help with meals, both at home and out (as a break for them). We donated a couple of restaurant gift cards but sent them straight to the family. We did not go through the GoFundMe drive.

[kork13]

By policy, absolutely not. If I care enough about an individual's personal crisis to donate money to them, I'm going to hand/send them cash personally, without the GoFundMe site scraping off their 5% it whatever. And if I'm not willing to do that, then they're not getting my money anyway. No guilt whatsoever. I see little difference between GoFundMe and panhandling on the street.

[disneysteve]

I see little difference between GoFundMe and panhandling on the street.

I think the general concept was good. The problem is that people have ruined it and made it less about helping people actually in need and more about just helping themselves. People set up accounts to take their kids to Disney World or other nonsense like that. It's not supposed to be free money to buy stuff you can't afford. It's supposed to be charity to help people who are truly struggling.

[amastewa93]

I think the general concept was good. The problem is that people have ruined it and made it less about helping people actually in need and more about just helping themselves. People set up accounts to take their kids to Disney World or other nonsense like that. It's not supposed to be free money to buy stuff you can't afford. It's supposed to be charity to help people who are truly struggling.

Exactly! Many people have taken advantage of the site and have begun to use it as a crowdfunding source for their endgame. Recently a former classmate of mine set up a GoFundMe to help fund a scholarship in our professor's name. The professor has fallen ill recently and always wanted a scholarship in his name to continue giving back to the community. While I wanted to donate to the cause, I would have felt better about giving the money directly to the university where the scholarship would be named after him and awarded than the GoFundMe page.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I've heard GoFundMe and Facebook both hold your funds for a while before they are released. So, say you actually raised $5,000 for a personal emergency, you may only have access to half at first and there isn't a definite timeline on when the rest would be available to you. Has anyone had trouble with that?

[Smallsteps]

with all ideas that seem like a good idea on the surface but too many people took advantage and scammed people.
AS with most people above I would rather give directly then have % taken by GoFundMe.
I was tempted a couple of times but part of the posting just did not add up so I decided not to.

[disneysteve]

I really don't quite get the thought process of people who will donate to total strangers on the internet. Maybe I'm just too cynical but I'd never do that for any reason, no matter how solid the story is.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

i had no idea they took a cut. I just write because a lot of people are having hardship due to cancer and asking for money to pay for the bills. I was tempted because we know them and I dropped off food for both. But I wasn't sure if it made sense to use a go fund me page.

[frugal saver]

I know someone who's son was deathly ill and set up an account. Although her husband made very good money, and they had excellent health insurance, I still felt a bit guilty that I didn't give something.

They raised a bunch of money, son was eventually ok, and they enjoyed their new truck, multiple vacations and remodeled kitchen.

[disneysteve]

They raised a bunch of money, son was eventually ok, and they enjoyed their new truck, multiple vacations and remodeled kitchen.

This highlights a big problem with these sorts of drives. There is no upper limit on what they can collect. There are many cases where they post they need $5,000 for a car, or something like that, and end up collecting $50,000. I've also seen where they posted a goal and once more than that came in, they edited the post and raised the goal. I believe that's called greed. If you reach your goal, shut down the collection. Don't say, "Gee, I wonder how much I can milk this for?"

[bjl584]

I would never donate to these.
Too much chance of lying and abuse.
I'd rather give to a reputable charity with a proven track record.

[Thrif-t]

Only one time. I had a coworker die of cancer and she left two young adults. I didn't really know her kids or where they lived so just donated through the go fund me site.

I too know people (hello neighbors whom we no longer socialize with) who set these pages up for every ailment and then, yep you see the new car's and campers afterwards.

[Smallsteps]

I know it is difficult to know how best to help.
I once offered to pay a bill for example and was told "oh no just give cash" and I just decided that was a bit too pushy.
Seems to me knowing a monthly bill IS paid would be a relief instead they just wanted cash. I can not see how people can buy things and still face those they duped into donating.

[scfr]

I broke my own "I'd rather give directly" rule recently and gave to a former co-worker who's life turned in to a total mess. Yes, there were elements he brought on himself, and he was no saint, but he is facing chronic life-ending illness with no one he could turn to for help other than one young family member who wasn't in a position to offer much help to him. He set up the GoFundMe account for himself, and I decided to give a small amount out of compassion and probably a sense of not wanting to look bad in front of other co-workers. I chose to give via GFM because I preferred to keep my donation somewhat at arm's length rather than risk getting myself tangled up in his mess. I know that probably sounds really awful of me.