Crowd funding: Yay or Nay?

Editorial Team / Admin · Nov 8, 2014

It's part of the entitlement attitude. Few people want to work for anything anymore; they just want it handed to them. I do make exceptions for extreme circumstances, such as the local woman whose home was broken into while she was there and she suffered a horrendous assault that left her unable to work for several months. But those who want money to pay for things like nursing school are seriously overstepping their bounds. There are so many other options out there: asking family for help, student loans, etc.

Swellz · Nov 8, 2014

Oh man, I've only seen one of these and it makes me so angry. I don't even know if I have a right to be angry about it. The girl is from a poor background, but worked hard and got a full ride undergrad and masters, but wanted her Facebook friends to help with her uncovered PhD expenses. I feel like if you are old enough and smart enough to go through all that schooling, you can figure it out on your own. I just can't imagine asking for that.

caliotter3 · Nov 8, 2014

I can see going that route if one were trying to get loans for dire circumstances. I would be willing to loan someone money to keep them with a roof over their head, food in the refrigerator, or keeping the car parked in its spot. But to just give someone money for the necessities even, no. Only very special circumstances for an outright gift.

Fiona59 · Nov 8, 2014

I think there is something to this. Remember back as recently as the 1980s? Nursing didn't cost an arm and a leg. Hospitals did the training, nurses dorms were the norm.

Heck, I remember back in the 70s being envious of the nursing students, they got an allowance and free education at my College. I got a part time job and debts.

Emergent, RN · Nov 9, 2014

I was reading in our local yokel paper the other day, a small cafe that I enjoy eating at is needing to move because the landlord decided not to renew the lease, or drastically raised the rent or something. Our small town paper ran an article about it. The cafe is wanting to move to a building owned by the town that will require major renovation in order to make it ready. The cafe has opened a Fund Me account, asking the public to donate.

Uh, really? Isn't that what running a business and charging the public who use that service is for? You really want the public to donate money because you didn't save enough money and don't want to get a small business loan?

I think I'll start a Fund Me account to hire a maid to help me clean my house. Forget the starving kids in Africa!

Not_A_Hat_Person, RN · Nov 9, 2014

I don't do crowd funding, even for medical expenses. There have been too many scams. I'll give to charities, which can vet recipients, but not directly to someone I don't know.

Not_A_Hat_Person, RN · Nov 9, 2014

I was reading in our local yokel paper the other day, a small cafe that I enjoy eating at is needing to move because the landlord decided not to renew the lease, or drastically raised the rent or something. Our small town paper ran an article about it. The cafe is wanting to move to a building owned by the town that will require major renovation in order to make it ready. The cafe has opened a Fund Me account, asking the public to donate.
Uh, really? Isn't that what running a business and charging the public who use that service is for? You really want the public to donate money because you didn't save enough money and don't want to get a small business loan?

When I lived in Boston, the state seized a local ice cream store's assets because the owner hadn't paid any meals taxes for 5 years. The owner started an online fundraising campaign to "save our shop", conveniently leaving out the unpaid taxes. People actually donated.

applesxoranges, BSN, RN · Nov 9, 2014

I have seen someone from grade school who was basically a hypochrondriac who regularly fired or quit doctors and circled around to our area's many ERs. She would do crowd funding for her service dog that she needed. She ended up choosing a breed that is not typical of service dogs because they don't work in that fashion as well as a traditional service dog but it was a breed she wanted. Then she used crowd funding to get some funds to pay to train it herself. Then she used crowd funding multiple times for "health reasons." Such as she was having "seizures" and needed expensive tests. Turns out that she wasn't having seizures.

One time she was using crowd funding to dress her service dog up at a con so I said on one of her posts that if she wanted people to respect her service dog as a working animal, she shouldn't dress it up in a costume. Not to mention that she was begging people for 5-15 dollars to donate so she could get shapes painted on the dog for the costume. If you don't have a job and don't have the means to work, then is going to an expensive con a really good idea?

Anyway, she did have severe mental issues but she always complained that she couldn't get disability or food stamps. The only place she'd work at was at Gamestop which no offense, working retail is actually hard work. Especially during Christmas.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Nov 9, 2014

These crowd funding campaigns are getting ridiculous. Recently I saw one where the mom had recently quit her job to stay at home, and then started a fund site to help pay for tuition for the private Christian high school that they'd applied the oldest child for. This was where they felt God was leading. I just ignored the plea, but in my head I'm thinking "If God was leading her there, why didn't He make a way for you to pay for it yourselves? And why quit your job if you are adding a private school tuition to your household bills?"

Alisonisayoshi, LVN · Nov 9, 2014

I'm crowd funding. I work. I'm drowning but I don't want to quit school. It's a last ditch effort to not go on government aid. I'm not asking for my full costs, just enough to finish my last semester. I'm sorry if my struggle offends someone, if you don't like it scroll right past.

AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Nov 9, 2014

What is this?