GoFundMe

Crowdfunding harnesses the power of the Internet to help businesses and individuals raise money. GoFundMe was one of the first crowdfunding platforms to provide this service, and millions of people have used the service successfully since it was launched in 2010. It has occasionally fallen under criticism for having lax guidelines regarding the creation of campaigns. On the whole, however, most campaigns seem to be created with good intent. More than $3 billion has been raised by individuals and companies using GoFundMe as a method of promoting their fundraising needs. The process begins by creating an account and a campaign, entering a few details, and sharing the campaign with others. Those who create a campaign hope that their fundraising effort will go viral. Campaigns that go viral typically exceed the donations required to meet their goal. To assist the promotion of campaigns, GoFundMe offers convenient sharing to Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms. Many campaigns offer incentives to contributors. Those who donate can receive gifts and perks in exchange for their donation. The higher the contribution, the greater the perks. Unlike some crowdfunding platforms, GoFundMe has continued to allow individuals to create campaigns for a variety of reasons. People can ask for donations to cover medical expenses, college tuition, or unpaid bills. This has led some to criticize the platform. Other platforms restrict campaigns to those which are designed to finance start-ups or other business projects. In late 2017, GoFundMe changed its fee policy. Previously, individuals were charged 0.5% to use the platform. Personal campaigns that are US-based are no longer charged this fee. There is still a fee of 2.9% which goes to the payment processor that is used to withdraw funds. Fundraising campaigns that involve gambling, weapons, pornography, or controlled substances are not permitted. The platform cannot be used to promote investment schemes or the launch of cryptocurrencies. It is possible for individuals to withdraw their donations without meeting a predetermined goal. This is in contrast to the policy of some other platforms. There have been some negatives reported by GoFundMe users. Chief among these is that the platform requires a Social Security number in order to withdraw funds. Others have reported problems with the withdrawal process and poor customer support as ongoing issues.