So, one of my biggest pet peeves are sharing on social media of links to various GoFundMe accounts that are set up for silly reasons. I have absolutely NO PROBLEM with this mode of fundraising when someone has suffered some sort of tragedy such as a terribly injury or illness, an act of God such as horrible storm damage, or the sudden unexpected death of a caregiver or financial support person. HOWEVER, I do have a problem with people soliciting donations in this manner from complete strangers in order to finance their personal life decisions, so that they can "pursue their dream" or be a bit more comfortable. I believe that if there is something that one wants, one should be willing to work for it. I do not believe that a GoFundMe account qualifies as working for it.
An example pertinent to this forum - A friend of mine posted a link on Facebook today toa GoFundMe campaign for someone he knows. She is a single mother in her mid 20s, who is pursuing her BSN at a private college in town. She makes mention about how busy she is with school and caring for her child, and she also mentions the large student loans that she is accruing. (This college is known to accept anyone willing to sign on the bottom line. I'll bet she will come out with $80,000+ in student loans from them.) And she goes on to talk about how she qualifies for reduced fee childcare, but it is such a huge hassle to go through the certification process on a regular basis for this. (Apparently she has to do some volunteer work in order to qualify because the program does not count her clinical hours as classroom time.) She is raising money to pay for child care while she finishes school so that she will not longer need to go through the hassle of qualifying for reduced fee childcare...
I just have a problem with this for a wide variety of reasons. Am I the only one? I mean, she has every right to ask for money and I have every right to ignore it, but it just bugs me that someone is asking for money to pay for childcare so that she can avoid the hassle of qualifying for reduced fee childcare. This is just one example of what I consider to be silly requests...
As in all things, buyer beware. I see this no different then the TV hawkers taking money from the elderly and spending it on private planes, etc. No harm in asking. There are always going to be such people.
But, I have no problem donating to a family members fund or to others I know. Even if it is for school. Yes, no one donated to me, but I did not ask. Years ago when i graduated from High School I sent out announcements. I received checks in the mail, that went to my college fund. Any different? I think not. Would I donate to a strangers college fund.. Hmm.. most likely not. Cause I don't know if their story is for real. Just like the guy on the street. I don't know if he has no choice, or that is his job of choice.
As in all things, it is something that can be abused. Buyer beware.
Years ago when i graduated from High School I sent out announcements. I received checks in the mail, that went to my college fund. Any different? I think not.
I wouldn't think that's the same as when you send out the announcements for a HS graduation, what you receive in return is a gift from family and friends for graduating, not a donation.
I had a friend who posted on FB asking if making a GFM account for her child to participate in a HS cheerleader program would be tacky since they couldn't afford it. After nearly 90% of the people telling her yes, it would be tacky, she made it anyway.
When I went to HS, my parents couldn't afford to send me to these things either, but I got a job and paid for them myself. Seems like these can be a good way to teach kids that you don't need to work hard for the things you want, you just need to ask for handouts and wait for them to roll in...
It doesn't bother me. I had a friend start one for her wedding. Did I contribute.. no. I certainly didn't get mad about it.
We all have struggles. If I had the money to help a friend out with school I would. I know how hard it is paying for school as an "average/middle income" person. There has always been people willing to exploit their children or just straight up lie about having a terrible diagnosis, this is just a new avenue.
Donate to what you feel passionate about, skip the rest.
No you're not the only one. I have never donated to these sites and I never will. It's nothing more than the internet equivalent of standing on the corner with your tin cup begging for money.
The problem with go fund me is the lack of accountability. A normal charity has to make annual reports on where funds go, and an appalling number of those have astronomical executive salaries and ridiculously high overhead. An individual often will be wasteful and frivolous with free money, and like others point out, double dip, using insurance or government aid as well.
As far as funding someone's college education, why not set up a college fund for your own kids rather than coughing up money for someone else's daily latte while in college fund?
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I have contributed to these things when an animal was abused and needed costly surgery/veterinary care. Animals can't go out and get a job; people can.
I recently helped start a GoFundMe for a relative because they are going to be a part of a summer intensive and needed plane ticket money-this person is a teen and is a dancer; everything else was scraped and put into the tuition for the summer intensive; it was just a shortfall because a West Coast ticket costs a bit much, so yes, I support crowd funding to help fulfill dreams-to a point.
I gave some money to my niece as a wedding present through such an account. They didn't have an actual wedding/reception event -- just got married at the court house. And they live far away from many of us family members and childhood friends. They were trying really hard to save money for a down-payment for a house -- and asked that people help them with that instead of buying a physical gift and sending it.
I thought it was tacky to do it online, but didn't mind giving them money. I knew it wasn't a scam. About 18 months after the wedding, they bought a reasonable house and I was happy for them.
I gave some money to my niece as a wedding present through such an account. They didn't have an actual wedding/reception event -- just got married at the court house. And they live far away from many of us family members and childhood friends. They were trying really hard to save money for a down-payment for a house -- and asked that people help them with that instead of buying a physical gift and sending it.
I thought it was tacky to do it online, but didn't mind giving them money. I knew it wasn't a scam. About 18 months after the wedding, they bought a reasonable house and I was happy for them.
Personally, I'd rather have a relative send a check. With sites like GFM, I think the company takes a percentage but I'm not 100% sure.
In the case of GFM accounts, I think market forces come into play. If someone sets up a ridiculous and entitled request, they probably won't get many donations. Setting up a request doesn't mean people will necessarily fund it, and the person making the request runs the risk of looking lazy and greedy. Usually people donate only when the requests sound reasonable to them.
So GFM accounts for silly things don't bother me. I just don't donate. If others want to, that's their business. If someone wants to waste money giving it to someone who doesn't really need it, I don't see how that's worse than if they go play the slots or buy some junk they don't really need. People waste money all the time.
I feel differently if people set up GFM accounts and solicit donations based on untrue sob stories. That's fraud.
Personally, I'd rather have a relative send a check. With sites like GFM, I think the company takes a percentage but I'm not 100% sure.
Go Fund Me does take a percentage. It's for the work they do processing. Many people would much rather just click a button than take out their checkbooks and go to the post office. GFM is valuable because it can capture the percentage of people who are willing to donate, but don't want to go out of their way to do it.
This is part of the reason I can't be bothered getting outraged over GFM. If I know you well enough to donate to your GFM account, I know you well enough to just write you a check directly. If I don't know you well enough to write you a check, I probably don't know you well enough to verify your story is legit, and I'm probably not going to donate anyway.
People who donate to strangers need to do so with the understanding that they may get scammed. That's not necessarily a deal-breaker. If I give money to a beggar on the street, I can't monitor where my dollar is going, and the money might be used for beer as easily as for food. But I know that, and I accept that risk because I also know that sometimes the person really is in need. My money, my choice. I don't blame the person who asks for change.
You hit it on the head when you said she has every right to ask for money and you have every right to ignore it. My philosphy is always the same; if it dont bother me, it dont bother me none.
Spangle Brown
302 Posts
As in all things, buyer beware. I see this no different then the TV hawkers taking money from the elderly and spending it on private planes, etc. No harm in asking. There are always going to be such people.
But, I have no problem donating to a family members fund or to others I know. Even if it is for school. Yes, no one donated to me, but I did not ask. Years ago when i graduated from High School I sent out announcements. I received checks in the mail, that went to my college fund. Any different? I think not. Would I donate to a strangers college fund.. Hmm.. most likely not. Cause I don't know if their story is for real. Just like the guy on the street. I don't know if he has no choice, or that is his job of choice.
As in all things, it is something that can be abused. Buyer beware.