Author Topic: Legit Go Fund Me campaign  (Read 4766 times)

englishteacheralex

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Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« on: December 01, 2016, 12:32:13 PM »
A family I know suffered a terrible misfortune on Thanksgiving--they were camping and the dad was making a turkey in a deep fat fryer that blew over and covered him with burns. Kind of a freak accident, but anyway, I want to give to their campaign.

The problem I'm having is that I inspected Go Fund Me's website and the fees seem high/bothersome. From what I gather it's 8% per donation?!?

We know the family personally; is there any reason we shouldn't just write them a check or give them an envelope of cash? 8% fees seem crazy to me. I've never given to a Go Fund Me campaign before; am I missing some great benefit of giving a donation through them?

Lagom

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2016, 12:41:10 PM »
Don't think so, other than your gift might inspire others to give. Some people are weird about contributing to something that looks like it's a "failure," so if they aren't getting much of a response, I would consider going through the website. But if the campaign is doing OK and I knew the family personally, I would probably just write them a check (assuming also that they would be OK with that avenue). Sorry to hear about their troubles. What a crappy way to end a holiday.

Cwadda

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2016, 01:08:52 PM »
Best off just writing them a check. 100% goes to them.

englishteacheralex

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2016, 01:18:19 PM »
Their story has started "trending" and they've already raised $27k; I think we'll just write them a check.

catccc

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2016, 01:41:44 PM »
This is probably horribly heartless of me, but when I see stuff like this, I think, 'don't they have health insurance?'

englishteacheralex

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2016, 01:53:54 PM »
It's not the health insurance, it's the lack of income while he recovers. They're a family of five and the wife is a SAHM.

needmyfi

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2016, 01:56:05 PM »
We had some very non mustachian friends lately face some very tragic circumstances.  We donated 10 bucks to the gofundme and posted a response saying "we would be sending a check to avoid the 8 percent fee".  We hoped that others might see this and realize how high these fees were.




catccc

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2016, 02:10:30 PM »
It's not the health insurance, it's the lack of income while he recovers. They're a family of five and the wife is a SAHM.

Thanks for explaining.  I guess not everyone has disability/accident insurance provided by their employer.  That's unfortunate for them to be in such a situation; I hope he has a quick recovery.

Giro

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2016, 02:39:44 PM »
Yep, there's a fee.  Just give the folks a check. 

Miss Piggy

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2016, 03:14:06 PM »
No, you're not missing anything. Give them a check so they get ALL the money you want to give.

Enigma

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2016, 03:18:41 PM »
Tricky...  I have donated money through a Go Fund Me campaign and I will have to say the advantage is others tend to also want to help.  More so when you back them.

For example you donate $25 to their cause then write up a quick blurb and repost on your facebook....  sparks one other person to donate $25 (100% gain)....  8% aside the advantage is increased crowdsourcing, you donating (legitimizing), and social networking.

jamesbond007

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #11 on: December 01, 2016, 04:32:27 PM »
Give the check, share the campaign on your social networks.

brokemom

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2016, 06:10:12 PM »
I set up a go fund me for a friend with cancer.  They took a sizeable chunk and it was painful to see $100 donation turn into $91
The up side is that it is easy to donate with a credit card, and that makes people comfortable.
I always told people to send a check if they could, but many seemed to prefer to use the go fund me.
Your bank might be willing to set up a "for the benefit of" kind of account for people to donate to  I think you just need an EIN


letired

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2016, 07:37:59 PM »
In similar situations, I've asked for a mailing address and mailed the check.

arebelspy

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #14 on: December 04, 2016, 08:33:33 AM »
Did no one else think of the corn baller from Arrested Development?  Just me?
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Dicey

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #15 on: December 04, 2016, 11:36:56 AM »
We had some very non mustachian friends lately face some very tragic circumstances.  We donated 10 bucks to the gofundme and posted a response saying "we would be sending a check to avoid the 8 percent fee".  We hoped that others might see this and realize how high these fees were.
This is a fantastic idea! My sister made a page for a friend in need.*  I forwarded it to a few friends and one of them made a completely unexpected $500 donation! However, he called me and sent a check directly to avoid the fee. (He's a pre-Pete mustachian, btw. His many tenants just think he's the handyman. I met him volunteering at the library, lol.)

*Gonna brag on my sister a bit: she organized a rummage sale that netted $5k before she set up the GFM page.

Metric Mouse

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Re: Legit Go Fund Me campaign
« Reply #16 on: December 04, 2016, 11:39:13 AM »
It's not the health insurance, it's the lack of income while he recovers. They're a family of five and the wife is a SAHM.

Thanks for explaining.  I guess not everyone has disability/accident insurance provided by their employer.  That's unfortunate for them to be in such a situation; I hope he has a quick recovery.

Right? And burns are pretty terrible injuries; it could easily be life-altering. This sounds pretty horrible.