In just the past couple of weeks, I've seen an explosion of references to GoFundMe pages.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

And while I think GoFundMe sounds like something with the very best of intentions, can it really be trusted in the wild west that is the internet? It just sounds like something that is prime territory for scams.

I'd love to believe every story I read in a GoFundMe page. But are all of the stories real? And even if the stories are real, is the money earned actually being spent in the way it is supposed to be spent? Who is getting the money in the pages? Who is managing the money? Lots of questions, and few answers.

Like I said, it sounds like a wonderful, noble idea. But I'm still a little hesitant to give to anything to these internet crowd-funding websites given the apparent total lack of oversight and accountability.

And mind you, you're talking to a guy who has no problem giving a dollar to the homeless man on the street corner, without a single thought of whether that dollar will be spent for food, or whether it will be spent for alcohol or drugs. Nor do I have any problem giving to a more established identifiable charity of my choice, even though those sometimes run up against problems of their own.

But when you are dealing with hundreds or thousands of dollars coupled with all the issues of internet anonymity, I think it is a little bit different.

[elias49]

1. I'm with you.

Where's accountability? Even otherwise legitimate charities have been found to have little. Not to mention the legitimacy of the recipients!
Maybe someone's child needs a major operation. Maybe not.
Someone walks 20 miles to work, but never bothered to buy a bicycle.

I'll keep my charitable contributions closer to home!

[rjsquirrel]

2. Couldn't agree more

Kickstarter and gofundme = begging for money from my friends to make a movie/album/book no one would actually pay for otherwise.

Crowd funding is a scourge. And the amount of outright begging on the progressive web is getting out of hand. Is everyone a homeless single mother veteran with ptsd and a fake service dog these days?

Go fund this.

[trumad]

3. I agree...

I see it here on DU. I'm certain most is legitimate but who knows. I believe that before a request is posted on DU, permission should be received from Admin...and only after its vetted.

[HERVEPA]

7. No way you can expect the admins to vet these

[Phentex]

13. No. Approval is no longer needed...

The choice to donate is up to the individual. And so is the choice to make the request.

[chrisa]

8. 99.9% of stuff on Kickstarter is garbage. People put indie games and products on there saying

"I plan to start building it after I get the necessary funds." Who is going to donate based on a PowerPoint presentation, or some stupid skit (which they all have to do, and it's never funny)? On the other hand, serious developers or product creators promise their product to donors for cheaper - it's basically a way of buying the game before it comes out, and you get your money back if the goal isn't reached. They also release tidbits of the product in action, and give insights / proof of development.

Or, you could get scammed and get a lemon of a product, while the developer / creator runs to Vegas and gambles all the donations away. That's happened a few times.

[Android3.14]

4. The idea of suppressing crowd-funding efforts is undemocratic

I would wager large corporate interests are the only ones that would like to blunt the influence of crowd-funding. I'd even wager they might throw money into a marketing campaign to spread the idea that crowd-funding is dangerous (as opposed to, say, purchasing anything from any Big Box store and then having hackers steal your information) as a step in that campaign.

I think I am finally understanding how segments of this community work.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

6. I'm not saying to suppress it.

Last edited Sun Feb 8, 2015, 11:01 AM - Edit history (1)

I just think additional scrutiny is needed in such efforts. It shouldn't be given carte blanche simply because it is perceived as grass roots.

I guess my skepticism towards it is the same skepticism I have towards people who want Bitcoin accepted as a legitimate currency.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. DU helped a member via Go Fund Me, about a month ago.

And that site was available to help the pizza guy who got stiffed and then abused by the assholes at the used car dealership a week or so ago.

I agree that additional scrutiny is a smart thing, as is true of Kiva and all the other charities.


btw...I do believe GoFund Me takes Bitcoin...

[blogslut]

5. The fraudulent ones get outed fairly regularly.

I'm fine with crowd-funding. I don't have to donate unless I want to and I am not required to donate a prohibitive amount in order to support the fundee.

[cwydro]

9. Agree.

I give to the homeless I see in person.

No way on the internet.

[MineralMan]

11. Most GoFundMe campaigns only succeed if there is

heavy social media coverage linking to the fundraising page. I don't think anyone goes there in search of people who need donations.

To that extent, I think it's relatively trustworthy. People respond to, and check out, social media requests for donations. Sometimes, a big news story is also behind such crowdsourcing efforts.

That said, I normally don't donate to such fundraising. Instead, I donate to charities I choose after thorough investigation. Well-publicized GoFundMe campaigns get plenty of donations.

[jwirr]

12. Isn't Wishadoo a DU crowd fund raiser?