GoFundMe
GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the beginning of 2020, over $9 billion has been raised on the platform, with contributions from over 120 million donors.
For personal campaigns in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain, GoFundMe is a free platform.
The company is based in Redwood City, California, with offices in San Diego and Dublin, and with operations in France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.
History
The company was founded in May 2010 by Brad Damphousse and Andrew Ballester. Both had previously founded Paygr which is a website dedicated to allowing members to sell their services to the public. Damphousse and Ballester originally created the website under the name "CreateAFund" in 2008 but later changed the name to GoFundMe after making numerous upgrades to the features of the website. GoFundMe was founded in San Diego, California.Until march 2017 GoFundMe become the biggest crowdfunding platform, responsible for raising over $3 billion since its debut in 2010. The company receives over $140 million in donations per month and made 2016 $100 million in revenue. In June 2015, it was announced that Damphousse and Ballester had agreed to sell a majority stake in GoFundMe to Accel Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures. Damphousse and Ballester stepped down from the day-to-day oversight of the company. The deal valued GoFundMe at around $600 million. In January 2017, GoFundMe acquired CrowdRise. GoFundMe's leadership team includes Tim Cadogan Ballester remains on the board of directors and holds an undisclosed stake in the company.
Business model
GoFundMe allows users to create their own website with which they raise money. During this process, members can describe their fundraising cause and the amount they hope to raise, and upload photos or video. Once the website is created, GoFundMe allows users to share their project with people through integrated social network links and email. People can then donate to a user's cause through the website using a debit card or credit card and track the progress of their funding. Those who donate can also leave comments on the website in support of the project. If the user receives no donations, then no charge is made. Payment processors collect 2.9% and $0.30 from each GoFundMe transaction.GoFundMe is unique to crowdfunding in that they are not an incentive-based crowdfunding website. Although it does allow projects that are meant to fund other projects for musicians, inventors, etc., the business model is set up to allow for donations to personal causes and life events such as medical bills. GoFundMe also has a special section dedicated solely to users who are trying to raise money to cover their tuition costs. One of the most notable tuition projects involved helping a user raise $25,000 to pay out-of-state tuition to a PhD program.
GoFundMe targets social media platforms to create awareness for campaigns, and encourages individual users to promote their fundraiser on social media throughout a campaign. According to a 2018 report by GoFundMe based on past campaign data, a donor sharing a campaign on social media results in $15 of donations on average, while any share of a campaign on social media, regardless of whether the user donated to the campaign, results in $13 of donations on average.
In 2015, GoFundMe announced that the site would no longer support legal defense funds on their platform. The news came after the site suspended funding for the defense of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, a bakery that was fined for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding., GoFundMe's terms and conditions allow for campaigns for certain kinds of legal defense.
In June 2019 GoFundMe terminated a $3 million fund raising for an Australian rugby player, Israel Folau, to finance a court case to appeal his multi-million dollar dismissal. He had quoted on social media, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, which was said to be homophobic. An alternative fundraising site was set up by a Christian organization with the public donating $2 million in 24 hours.
In November 2017, GoFundMe announced that it will no longer charge a 5% fee per donation for US, Canada, and UK individual campaigns, and instead rely upon tips left by donors to support the website. The processing fee for online credit card payments will still apply to donations.
Employment
GoFundMe has received several awards including best workplace in technology 2017, best workplace in giving back 2017, best small and medium companies in the bay area 2017, and best medium workplace in 2016. GoFundMe has a notable give-back program where employees pick a campaign that inspires them. GoFundMe then donates $1000 to that campaign. In 2015, GoFundMe gave back more than $500,000. GoFundMe employees receive $600 a year for a wellness program benefit. This money can be used for gym memberships, gym equipment, spas, and dietary needs. GoFundMe matches 401k contributions up to six percent. GoFundMe has designed their office with open floor plans to build a collaborative work environment.Medical fundraising
GoFundMe has stated that they are the "leader in online medical fundraising". One in three campaigns is intended to raise funds for medical costs, with about 250,000 campaigns for a total of $650 million in contributions each year. This is attributed, in part, to failures in the United States healthcare system in which GoFundMe is used to bridge the gap.Rob Solomon has commented on this, saying that "When we started in 2010, it wasn't purposefully set up and built to be a substitute for medical insurance. We weren't ever set up to be a health care company and we still are not. But over time, people have used GoFundMe for the most important issues they are faced with." In a 2019 interview, he further adds that the large medical fundraising is the result of severe problems in the healthcare system in the United States, stating that "The system is terrible there are people who are not getting relief from us or from the institutions that are supposed to be there. We shouldn't be the solution to a complex set of systemic problems."
Notable projects
Unless otherwise stated, the following amounts are in US dollar. Days raised is the number of days between Date raised and As of.| Project | Amount raised | Target amount | Success rate | As of | Notes | Date raised | Days raised | Status |
| Help Chelsea Manning Pay Her Court Fines | $267,000 | $256,000 | Created by Kelly Wright to raise money to help former intelligence analyst and whistleblower Chelsea Manning pay $256,000 in court fines levied against her after her refusal to testify to a grand jury about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Nearly 7,000 contributions ranging from $5–$10,000 were made within two days. | |||||
| Coronavirus, rafforziamo la terapia intensiva | €3,800,000 | €200,000 | Created by Chiara Ferragni and Fedez to support San Raffaele hospital, in Milan, during COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. All raised money will be used to create new beds in intensive care unit. In the project's first 24 hours it has raised over $3,000,000 from 165,000 donations, coming from over 90 countries. It is the most successful GoFundMe money raising in Europe. | |||||
| Help KyoAni Heal | $2,369,520 | $750,000 | Created by Sentai Filmworks to support Kyoto Animation, an anime studio which was targeted in an arson attack on July 18, 2019, leaving one of its studio buildings destroyed and resulting in the deaths of 34 people. In the project's first 18 hours it has raised over $1,000,000. The campaign received almost 70,000 donations in total. | |||||
| We The People BUILT the Wall! | $25,462,400 | $1,000,000,000 | Created with the goal of building a wall as private citizens to inhibit illegal entry along the U.S.-Mexico border. The founder, Brian Kolfage has since started a non-profit with the money, We Build The Wall, which has constructed sections of the wall. Currently most money raised on GoFundMe. | |||||
| Children Lost Both Parents In Wreck | $500,075 | $7,000 | Created to support four children who were recently orphaned after both parents succumbed to injuries from a motor vehicle accident, in Georgia. The children were being moved to Sarasota, Florida. The eldest child requested $7,000 from investigating Georgia State Patrol Trooper Nathan Bradley to cover the cost of transporting their parents to a nearby cemetery. Trooper Nathan Bradley began the campaign, earning over $700,000. The remaining funds have been placed into a trust to be used by the children when they reach adulthood. | |||||
| Support for FBI Veteran Pete Strzok | $448,357 | $500,000 | Created to support former FBI agent Peter Strzok with his legal costs and lost income after he was fired by the FBI on August 10, 2018. | |||||
| Funds for Humboldt Broncos | $11,163,623 | Created to support the victims and families of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash. The staff of GoFundMe got in contact with the president of the Humboldt Broncos as they work out how to distribute the money. | ||||||
| March for Our Lives | $3,531,110 | This fundraiser was created to support the March for Our Lives demonstration, set to take place on March 24, 2018. Created following the Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting by student Cameron Kasky, he states on the page that the funds would be used for organizing the march and everything left over would go to the fund set up for the victims. | ||||||
| Stoneman Douglas Victims' Fund | $10,009,300 | $10,000,000 | This official Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting fundraiser was created by Broward Education Foundation to help the victims' families, survivors and those impacted by the horrific tragedy on February 14, 2018 in Parkland, Florida. GoFundMe waived its platform fees and donated $50,000 towards the campaign. | |||||
| TIME'S UP | $24,206,200 | $24,500,000 | TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund will provide subsidized legal support to women and men who experienced sexual harassment, assault, or abuse in the workplace and while in pursuit of their careers. | |||||
| William Osman's Fire Relief | $172,471 | $10,000 | Created to support William Osman, a content creator on YouTube whose house was burnt down by the Thomas Fire on December 4, 2017. A considerable amount of the total funds raised were donated Osman's fans. | |||||
| Paying it Forward | $402,826 | This fundraiser was created by Kate McClure, Mark D'Amico, and Johnny Bobbitt Jr., in order to swindle people. Their fictitious story was that Bobbitt, a homeless veteran, spent his last $20 to assist McClure on the highway when her car ran out of the gasoline. Widely reported in the US and internationally, it exceeded its goal by 4000% but when they began publicly squabbling for the money, an investigation was launched and all three were arrested and charged with theft by deception. | ||||||
| LAS VEGAS VICTIMS' FUND | $11,874,100 | $15,000,000 | This fundraiser was created by Steve Sisolak of the Clark County Commission to help the victims of a mass shooting from the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. | |||||
| Students with Puerto Rico | $216,180 | $150,000 | Fundraising organized by Puerto Rican college students living in the United States to help with Puerto Rico's recovery after Hurricane Maria struck the island. | |||||
| Stefan Karl's Year of Healing | $169,670 | Stefán Karl Stefánsson, actor best known for his role of Robbie Rotten in the children's television show LazyTown, announced in September 2016 that he had been diagnosed with bile duct cancer. In the following month, Julianna Rose Mauriello and Chloe Lang, the two actresses of Stephanie in the same show, created a fundraiser to help Karl with his cancer by offering him a year of healing and rest. The GoFundMe page was then popularized through Internet memes and parodies of "We Are Number One", a song performed by Robbie Rotten in the series. | ||||||
| Support Victims of Pulse Shooting | $7,853,140 | $10,000,000 | This fundraiser was created by Equality Florida to help the victims of a nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. Over 90,000 people have contributed to this campaign. GoFundMe headquarters donated $100,000 and waived every transaction fee for this campaign. | |||||
| Support The Grimmie Family | $192,396 | American singer-songwriter Christina Grimmie was shot while signing autographs after a concert at The Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida, and later died of complications due to injuries. Grimmie's talent agency, LH7 Management, created a fund for the Grimmie family to assist in their time of need. | ||||||
| Saving Eliza | $2,025,540 | $4,000,000 | Saving Eliza is a campaign about Eliza O'Neill started by Eliza's father Glen. Eliza is a 5-year-old girl diagnosed with Sanfilippo syndrome, a form of childhood Alzheimer's. Over 37,100 donors have made contributions. The campaign is funding research to stop the terminal and rapidly degenerative disease in children. | |||||
| Saving Eliza Continued | $2,115,870 | $3,000,000 | Saving Eliza is a campaign about Eliza O'Neill started by Eliza's father Glen. Eliza is a 5-year-old girl diagnosed with Sanfilippo syndrome, a form of childhood Alzheimer's. Over 37,100 donors have made contributions. The campaign is funding research to stop the terminal and rapidly degenerative disease in children. | |||||
| mmsdefensefund | $131,796 | $200,000 | Nominally a legal defense fund for Louis Daniel Smith, who faced criminal charges in relation to him selling "MMS". On May 27, 2015, Smith was found guilty of fraud and other charges. On May 31, 2015, the mmsdefensefund was removed from GoFundMe. | |||||
| Support Officer Wilson | $183,259 | $250,000 | A page was set up to solicit donations in support of Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Michael Brown. Because of the controversial issues involved, many of the attached comments were considered highly racist and inflammatory. | |||||
| Build Barbara Garcia a Home | $73,810 | After losing her home during the 2013 Moore tornado in Oklahoma, Barbara Garcia was shocked to discover her dog among the wreckage in a live news interview. Moved by her story, Erin DeRuggiero of Minneapolis created this fund to build her a new home. | ||||||
| BUCKS FOR BAUMAN! | $810,230 | $1,000,000 | This project was created for Jeff Bauman after he lost both legs during the Boston Marathon bombing. | |||||
| Celeste & Sydney Recovery Fund | $797,430 | $1,000,000 | Celeste and Sydney Corcoran were both victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. Sydney suffered severe injuries as a result of being hit with shrapnel, and Celeste lost both legs below her knees. This campaign page was created for their ongoing rehabilitation. | |||||
| Emily Scott's Dream 2014 Sochi, Russia | $59,380 | $15,00 | Emily Scott created this project to fund her trip to the 2014 Winter Olympics. The funds helped her get to Sochi to represent the United States on the women's speed skating team. | |||||
| Official George Floyd Memorial Fund | $14,595,200 | $1,500,000 | After the Killing of George Floyd, his brother Philonise Floyd established the fund "to cover funeral and burial expenses, mental and grief counseling, lodging and travel for all court proceedings, and to assist our family in the days to come as we continue to seek justice for George. A portion of these funds will also go to the Estate of George Floyd for the benefit and care of his children and their educational fund." One week after the tragedy and only four days after the start of the fund, it had already raised $7 million putting it in ranking as one of the most highly funded GoFundMe campaigns to date. |