GoFundMe, a major online fundraiser, has completely changed the game for people needing financial help. Since launching in 2010, they’ve collected over $30 billion for medical bills, dream wedding attire, and business ventures. This GoFundMe review provides a comprehensive overview of its workings, including fees, pricing, and complaints.
The GoFundMe system is simple yet impactful – people campaign about their needs and goals. They then share their campaign with pals, family, and strangers on social media. Patrons can associate themselves with these causes in a few clicks and by adding their funds, making the process easy for both the helper and the helpee. Even though GoFundMe charges some amount for donation handling, they have an open pricing system so contributors know where their cash is spent. Despite its fame and success, it’s not always all good. GoFundMe also has its critics. Today, we will look at all its good and bad aspects.
What is GoFundMe?
GoFundMe, the prominent social fundraising site, is a vital bridge that strengthens human backing and boosts popularity on social media. Having helped and raised funds for over $30 billion and linked 150 million people in sending or receiving funds, GoFundMe stands atop the crowdfunding industry. Its unique trait lies in disowning an incentive-based model, distinguishing it from other crowdfunding sites.
GoFundMe’s mission is simple– it aims to assist individuals in aiding others and shape a world where eager folks unite to cater to collective necessities. Users are given the choice to initiate personal or charity-centric campaigns on GoFundMe, each type having distinct charges. By this inventive strategy, GoFundMe keeps motivating individuals and communities to bring about affirmative change through collective generosity.
GoFundMe Review: Pros And Cons
Pros of GoFundMe
- No rigid goals or deadlines are mandated to secure financial support, providing flexibility for various projects or endeavors.
- The process is rapid and uncomplicated, ensuring a hassle-free initiation for users and saving valuable time in the implementation phase.
- Seamlessly integrates with social media platforms, enhancing outreach and simplifying the engagement of potential backers.
- Allows for the collection of funds even if the initially set funding goal is not achieved, providing financial support regardless of meeting specific targets.
Pros of GoFundMe
- One drawback is the restricted availability of progress reporting, which may impact transparency and hinder stakeholders’ ability to track and assess ongoing developments.
- Disclosing the entire social security number raises valid security concerns, as it exposes sensitive personal information, necessitating careful consideration and risk assessment before participation.
What Services Does GoFundMe Offer?
GoFundMe provides a wide range of services for people looking to crowdfund for various reasons and who want to raise funds from friends, family, and anyone moved by their campaign. Users can create a campaign for any of the following purposes after signing up:
GoFundMe provides a wide range of services for people looking to crowdfund for various reasons and who want to raise funds from friends, family, and anyone moved by their campaign. Users can create a campaign for any of the following purposes after signing up:
- Medical:
GoFundMe provides essential help for medical funds. People with high healthcare costs can use it. The features are handy. People can start fundraisers or give to others. It helps people who can’t pay for health bills and treatments. Many who need urgent medical help see GoFundMe as a safety rope. They can ask their community for help in hard times.
With its crowdfunding features, GoFundMe changes how individuals access key health services. With this, no one fights health worries alone. It helps with surgeries that can save lives or regular treatment costs. This platform allows users to handle their healthcare journey.
- Emergency:
When disaster strikes, residents and neighborhoods usually require urgent financial backing. GoFundMe serves as a lifeline, granting quick and efficient fundraising for those confronting unpredicted emergencies.
It helps in all sorts of natural calamities like hurricanes or sudden situations like abrupt evictions. People can turn their distress into resilience and dignity by leaning on GoFundMe. Through the magic of internet-based fundraising and the larger community of donors, GoFundMe can create a substantial difference in these critical times.
- Non-profit:
GoFundMe is a potent service that nonprofits can tap into for funding. This platform has tailored tools and benefits for these organizations, helping them to chat with possible benefactors and augment their fundraising possibilities. Nonprofits can form persuasive fundraisers on this platform, letting them narrate their experiences and motivate others to back their endeavors.
Furthermore, GoFundMe delivers important resources like tips about crowd-funding, marketing methods, and donor outreach gadgets, assisting nonprofits in achieving their financial objectives more efficiently.
- Volunteer:
Utilizing GoFundMe is an effective means to secure funds for volunteer programs. It lets individuals and groups tap into a vast pool of prospective donors. Crafting a GoFundMe campaign allows these entities to speak directly about their program. They can highlight their goals and articulate the use of contributions.
Donors can read feedback from previous volunteers and beneficiaries, which adds trust to the campaign. Plus, GoFundMe offers tools to share campaigns on social networks. This helps to broaden the campaign’s reach considerably.
GoFundMe stands as a platform for people and groups to gather money for different goals, and other than what we have mentioned above, here are some other examples: Sports Competitions, Creative Projects, Animal Welfare, Travel, and more. Even though most of the purposes listed here are need-based, businesses can use the platform to raise funds for their projects. In addition, for your campaign to be featured on the site, it must adhere to the GoFundMe terms of service.
GoFundMe Pricing and Fees
GoFundMe provides a versatile platform for raising funds. You don’t need to establish a timeframe for your campaign, thus giving you control over your fundraising speed. Irrespective of its magnitude, you set a fund goal that needs to be fully achieved. Its standout trait is extending the campaign beyond achieving the target amount.
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GoFundMe’s fees are transparent and lack extra charges except for payment processing. Within the US, you do not pay for setting up and running a campaign, only a modest transaction fee for each donation. GoFundMe, thus, maintains its operations on voluntary contributions, ensuring that all collected funds are channeled toward the desired purpose.
So, what are the payment processing charges?
When using GoFundMe to raise funds for a cause, it is essential to know that the transaction fees are automatically deducted from donations. GoFundMe charges a transaction fee of 2.9% plus $0.30 for individuals or businesses, while charities are charged 2.2% plus $0.30. These fees cover debit and credit card charges associated with processing the donations. For instance, a $100 donation to an individual will be $96.8 after GoFundMe’s fees.
It’s important to note that tipping is optional, and you can adjust the tip amount to zero if you prefer. It’s reassuring to know that GoFundMe organizers are not informed whether their donors decide to leave a tip or not. Your choice in this matter is respected and confidential.
| Type | Description/Charge |
| Payment Processing Fee | 2.9% plus an additional $0.30 for each transaction |
| GoFundMe Platform Fee | 0% |
| Terms of Funding | None, as such. You can keep what you raise without fulfilling the target. |
| Tipping | Optional |
It is worth noting that on GoFundMe, the transaction fee mentioned above is the only fee taken for your fundraising. There are no additional hidden costs to worry about. The person receiving the funds will ultimately receive all money raised minus these transaction fees, ensuring transparency in the fundraising process. To keep track of what fees have been deducted, users can easily review this information under the “Breakdown” section within their GoFundMe account’s “Transfers” tab.
What Are The Requirements For Businesses?
There are limits for different types of businesses that can raise funds on GoFundMe. Any businesses that are involved in illegal acts, including fraud, drug dealing, or money laundering, cannot participate in fundraising. This firm standpoint guarantees donor confidence. It reassures them that their contributions support authentic causes.
GoFundMe benefits greatly from strict rules. Thanks to them, it has built trust as a dependable crowdfunding platform for anyone, individual or business. GoFundMe stands out from its competitors due to its devotion to honesty and fair play. It safeguards both donors and campaign managers from possible legal complications. In sum, sticking to these rules is how GoFundMe keeps its trustworthiness. It aids in funding deserving projects without any link to unsavory activities.
But mind you, to launch a campaign on GoFundMe, you must be a citizen of one of the following countries:
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Canada
- Canada
- Spain
- Sweden
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Portugal
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Ireland
- United States
Setting up a GoFundMe Campaign
In general, the GoFundMe application process is straightforward. All you have to do is enter your campaign details and tell your story through pictures or videos. You must also set your fundraising goal and the reward levels you wish to offer before your campaign can go live.
However, GoFundMe repeatedly asks users to connect their campaign to their Facebook page. You must sign up using your Facebook account if you want your campaign to appear in their Public Search Directory.
GoFundMe Customer Service
When you visit GoFundMe’s website, you’ll notice that there isn’t a phone number to call for immediate assistance, but it does have a contact form for contacting customer service. However, the company promises to respond to users’ queries faster than its competitors in five minutes or less.
Another disadvantage of its customer service is the lack of a live chat feature where users can quickly get answers to their questions. Aside from that, the site’s help center page answers some basic questions about the GoFundMe service.
User Reviews
Users of GoFundMe have filed several complaints with the company. One of them is that GoFundMe requires users to provide their social security number before withdrawing the funds they have raised. This is a significant concern given the number of daily data breaches targeting personal information.
Another issue is the number of complaints from users who claim they cannot withdraw funds raised on GoFundMe. When users request a withdrawal of their funds, GoFundMe responds with multiple requests for more information, and there have been reports of customer service not resolving these issues despite people sending emails requesting assistance. Other users have complained about WePay, GoFundMe’s payment processor.
The consistent scams that users encounter on the platform are another common complaint. However, this is a complex problem as GoFundMe can’t do much to verify the legitimacy of each campaign. Your fundraising campaign will go live if it does not violate the rules. While these issues continue to plague the platform and are partially born out of its massive popularity, GoFundMe has yet to find a solution, and people continue to face these difficulties when using the platform.
However, the company has received plenty of positive feedback, with users praising it for its zero-incentive policy, which allows users to keep the total amount received from their campaigns. Others praise the company for its social media integration and ease of use.
Conclusion
GoFundMe is on a mission to help people help others, providing invaluable assistance to people in need in the nineteen countries where it is available. Although many GoFundMe campaigns are medical, business owners can use this platform to raise project funds. One feature distinguishing GoFundMe from its competitors is its zero-incentive pricing model, which allows users to withdraw the entire amount raised on the platform while only paying a single transaction fee per donation.
With several complaints about the platform, including users being unable to withdraw funds and issues with the processor, GoFundMe needs to find a way to deal with these issues so that users who need access to these funds can do so without any problems or delays. Overall, GoFundMe is a valuable platform that aids in saving lives.
How much does GoFundMe charge for a $100 donation?
GoFundMe, a for-profit company, applies a 2.9% payment-processing fee for each donation and an additional 30 cents per donation. To illustrate, if a campaign raises $1,000 through ten donations of $100 each, GoFundMe would collect approximately $32.
Can you use GoFundMe to raise money for charity?
Certainly, there are two ways to raise funds for charity on GoFundMe. You can initiate a personal fundraiser, where funds are directed to a personal or business/organization bank account. Alternatively, a charity fundraiser channels funds directly to the charity through PayPal Giving Fund.
Can you donate less than $5 on GoFundMe?
While GoFundMe requires a minimum donation of $5.00, if you wish to contribute less or prefer a private donation, you also have the option to donate through Paypal or Venmo.
Is there a better option than GoFundMe?
Indeed, several alternatives to GoFundMe exist, with BetterWorld being a notable option. Its flexibility sets it apart, allowing not only crowdfunding campaigns but also diverse fundraisers like online auctions, giveaways, peer-to-peer fundraising events, and monthly giving arrangements.
