Go Fund Me

A Redwood City, California-based subsidiary of GoFundMe Group Inc., the American for-profit crowdfunding platform was established in 2010 and enables people, groups, and organisations to raise money for a variety of causes (including medical bills, education costs, volunteer activities, funerals & memorials, youth sports, and even pets & animals) — GoFundMe Inc. To raise money for themselves, their friends, family, or "even complete strangers" (in acts of random generosity), people utilise GoFundMe.

People often tend to type “go fund me” into Google rather than “gofundme” since it’s easier to type and more straightforward. Whatsoever, here “Veracity Uncovered” declares exclusively and unequivocally that this webpage whenever uses the phrase “Go Fund Me” (within double quotes), it will refer to the fundraising platform “GoFundMe Inc.”. Website – https://www.gofundme.com/.

With more than 200 million donations totaling over $15 billion (as of February 2024), “Go Fund Me” provides users with a trustworthy platform for fundraising. Since fraudulent fundraisers make up “less than one-tenth of 1% of all fundraisers” on “Go Fund Me”, the vast majority of fundraisers on the platform are secure and authentic. Please contact-here to report possible fraud at a fundraising.

In May 2010, Brad Damphousse and Andrew Ballester launched the business/website in San Diego, California. The website makes use of PayPal, Adyen, and Stripe for analytics, payment processing, and other commercial needs. “Go Fund Me” is currently active in the following countries: the US, Canada, the UK, France, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Australia.

In 2015, Accel Partners and “Technology Crossover Ventures” led investment firms acquired the majority stake in “Go Fund Me” for almost $600 million.

Another online donation platform for charities and non-profits, CrowdRise, was purchased by GoFundMe in January 2017. Actor and activist Edward Norton, producer and activist Shauna Robertson, and Robert and Jeffrey Wolfe established CrowdRise in 2010.

GoFundMe acquired Classy in 2022; Classy is also a platform for donating that helps nonprofit organisations unite supporters with topics they are passionate about. Marshall Peden, Pat Walsh, and Scot Chisholm founded Classy in 2006.

On the “Go Fund Me” website, users can select a fundraising target, tell their story, and build a campaign page. Subsequently, money can be contributed by friends, family, and the larger internet community to assist the campaign in reaching its goal.

GoFundMe allows Donors to contribute to the Fundraisers run by the Organisers. “Go Fund Me” is not a nonprofit organisation, broker, agency, financial institution, or creditor.

There is no platform cost for organisers on GoFundMe.

Donations made to a fundraising in a currency other than your own may be made; however, you will be charged the corresponding amount in your own currency. Currency conversion charges may be imposed by your bank, but “Go Fund Me” does not.

Donations can be made with a debit card or a credit card (Discover, Visa, Mastercard, American Express (with the exception of charity fundraisers), and Visa). Additionally, the digital payment methods that are available, such PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, vary per nation.

Donations from Belarus, China, Cote D’Ivoire, Cuba, Iran, Lebanon, Macedonia, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Sudan, Syria, or Ukraine are currently not accepted by GoFundMe.

How does “Go Fund Me” Work ? -

To get started, respond to a few questions (zip code, country, category, phone number, email etc.).
Include information about: who or what you are raising money for, why you think it’s vital, how the money is going to be used. A centrepiece photo or video that embodies your fundraising effort.
Provide a 1-3 paragraph explanation of your fundraising motivation in your fundraiser description.
Create a plan after establishing your “fundraising goals” (financial targets). Keep in mind that you can easily make changes later.
To get things going, send emails and texts to the community including the link to your “fundraiser page”.
To help you meet your goals, keep promoting your fundraising. You can do this by sending letters to individuals you know, sharing it in person with a printable poster, or promoting it on social media.
Using the GoFundMe ‘team’ feature you don’t have to fundraise alone; involving friends, family, or coworkers in the management of your campaign is a terrific approach to increase the likelihood that you will succeed.
Two times as many donations may result from posting fundraiser updates; regularly update your community on your progress through written updates on your fundraiser.
After each update or “donation receive”, you may thank donors with ease right from your fundraising dashboard. Sincerity and gratitude are essential.
To begin receiving money, provide your bank details (you don’t have to reach your fundraising target to get your money) right from the “Transfers” tab in your dashboard.
If you would like funds to go to an alternate account, you will need to change the bank account that is on file or “add a beneficiary to new fundraisers”.

How much does “Go Fund Me” take ? -

Each donation carries a single, minor processing/transaction fee. Donor tips are also accepted by “Go Fund Me”. Tipping is always optional on GoFundMe, but donors are welcome to do so.

There is no cost to start or run your campaign. There is a one, small processing/transaction cost for each donation, though. Every donation has a transaction fee of 2.9% + $0.30 (as of February 2024) automatically subtracted. On GoFundMe, this is the only cost that is taken out to meet all of your fundraising requirements. It helps “Go Fund Me” provide additional options for donors to donate—through credit, debit, PayPal, Apple Pay, or Google Pay—and pays for credit and debit fees as well as the safe delivery of funds.

Suppose you received $500 from 5 donors (i.e., $100 from each donor). $484.00 would be deposited into your bank account. (i.e., fee for transaction: $16.00).

“Go Fund Me” Countries Supported -

We can send money to 19 nations right now, and the recipient of the money must fulfil the withdrawal criteria set forth by that nation.

Countries
Australia	Austria	Belgium	Canada
Denmark	Finland	France	Germany
Ireland	Italy	Luxembourg	Netherlands
Norway	Portugal	Spain	Sweden
Switzerland	United Kingdom	United States

The US territory of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, and US Virgin Islands are currently not supported by “Go Fund Me”.

The recipient of the funds must be at least 18 years old, possess a valid government-issued picture ID, have a bank account in one of the supported nations (account in the currency in which the fundraiser was established), and fulfil all national requirements.

In-additional requirements for the US based citizens:

An ITIN or Social Security number in the US.
An actual residence address (not a PO box) in one of the 50 states.
A US driver’s license, a US State ID, or a valid passport from any nation.
A phone number in the US.

If you don’t meet the requirements for any of the approved nations, you must ask somebody who satisfies the requirements to launch a fundraiser for you or “add them as a beneficiary”.

“Go Fund Me” Search for Person by Name -

Any public fundraising can be found on “gofundme.com”.

Simply tap the magnifying glass icon at the top left of the screen. Then, enter the name of your favourite person, group or organization and hit Enter.

You can use filters (to focus on your search) to specify the objective of the fundraising, as well as whether it is near you, close to reaching its target, or falls into a category you’ve considered.

Keep in mind that this discussion is not about the “Go Fund Me” Help Centre search (at url “support.gofundme.com“).

“Go Fund Me” Page -

If you’ve made the decision to launch a fundraising initiative, you may be asking how to create a “donation page” or “GoFundMe page” that encourages people to donate. It’s crucial to create a page that highlights your special narrative.

Ensure that the headline of your fundraiser should draw potential donors in via social media, emails, and text messages. While one-word titles are poor due to lack of clarity, action words are suggested to urge contributors to take action. One excellent technique to make your title easier for people to understand is to use “title case punctuation”.
Compose a compelling fundraising story which will entice readers to donate to your cause. Start with a brief personal introduction that highlights the important details and briefly introduces you and the key characters in your story. Describe the key plot points, including who, what, where, when, why, and how. Also include the funds’ intended usage and their relationship to the cause. Describe the difficulties encountered, the steps taken to overcome them, and the effects they had on people or communities. Ask friends for their opinions on discouraging circumstances or incomplete facts.
Your tale can be effectively told with the use of visual Selecting lucid, well-lit images that tell a story is essential. Examples of such images are ones that inspire empathy, show people lending a hand to one another, have genuine facial expressions, show someone doing something they love, or show activities that are relevant to your cause. According to the “Go Fund Me” study, fundraisers who post 5 or more images receive twice as many donations.
Make sure the video you use for your crowdfunding campaign is steady by using a tripod or phone mount. Be mindful of the lighting when filming; aim the light behind the camera to capture well-lit areas. For clear audio, turn down background noise and remain in close proximity to the subject. In order to maximise viewer engagement, “prepare a script” or “talking points” that include the most important information in a video that lasts between 20 and 3 minutes.
A fundraiser should aim to build relationships in the community in order to attract a committed following, nurture returning supporters in order to enhance ongoing financial support, and expand the email list in order to encourage participation in the future.

Use these procedures to add more photos to your narrative if you would want to:

Click “Edit” underneath the title of your fundraiser.
Navigate to the story
After selecting “Edit” to make your story text box larger, click the Photo button/icon.
After choosing your photo, click “Done” and then “Publish changes“.

GoFundMe offers two main fundraising types: personal and charity, for those who are creating fundraisers in the US, UK, Ireland, Australia, or Canada. You can deposit money for a personal fundraising into your own bank account or the bank account of an organisation you support. Money raised during a charity fundraiser is sent straight to the charity using PayPal Giving Fund.

Are “Go Fund Me” Donations Tax Deductible ? -

In the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, and Australia, only contributions made to “GoFundMe charity fundraisers” are assured to be tax deductible and will instantly generate tax receipts. International donors will still receive the tax-deductible receipt through email for charity donations; however, one will need to verify the tax-deductible status of the donation with your local tax authorities.

The name of the charitable organisation will appear next to the “Go Fund Me” organizer’s name on a page dedicated to charity fundraising. E.g.,

Contributions to a “personal GoFundMe fundraiser” (as opposed to one for a charity) are usually regarded as gifts and may or may not qualify for tax deductions. To be sure, though, you can always consult a tax expert. “Go Fund Me” won’t give you a tax receipt.

That’s all friends.