Everyone likes to help someone in need, its human nature, and in recent years a new element has been added to those efforts.
GoFundMe and similar sites have raised millions of dollars for deserving people to get life-saving surgery, help burned-out families and victims of crime.
We support these efforts, but there are two sides to this coin.
Many times, requests are made to BayToday to cover these fundraisers, but we need to exercise caution.
Not only do we get requests from good-hearted individuals, but also from the PR arm of GoFundMe itself, suggesting that certain fundraisers would make great story ideas.
The first time I encountered this was for a child that needed surgery. At first, I didn't catch that it was a GoFundMe release, but once I did I arranged for them to set up an interview with the family. It turned out that the family wasn't interested in having its story go public, so it made me wonder if the company had even contacted them before the original release was sent out.
It's important to remember that GoFundMe is a for-profit company, and stories featured in the media increase the chance of improving profits. "Discover fundraisers on the world's #1 free and most trusted fundraising platform," says the website, but that's a little misleading.
While it's free to set up, GoFundMe charges a 2.9 per cent payment-processing fee on each donation, along with 30 cents for every donation. That means if a campaign raised $1,000 through 10 donations of $100 each, GoFundMe would collect about $32.
Even so, we have occasionally done stories that include a GoFundMe element, and the recent fire in Mattawa is a good example. We did our own story, and because we knew everything was legit, added the GoFundMe sentence with a link that would allow people to donate.
See: Fire victim geared up and fought Mattawa blaze
But there have been reports of GoFundMe being used for scams and we don't want to set our readers up for that kind of thing, so again we are very cautious.
One website, GoFraudMe, highlights the various ways thieves can use the donation website and similar platforms like it.
One common method is for scammers to hijack existing pictures and stories and direct donations to their own sites. Others simply create fake sympathy campaigns.
There is no doubt that GoFundMe profits from tragedies, and the company does make efforts to eliminate scams.
It's been called, "PayPal for a cause" because it is essentially a secure way to collect and distribute electronic payments or donations, as its users create campaigns specific to their needs. A goal is set depending on how much they hope to raise. People describe why they need the money by adding stories and photographs, then others can add comments and support.
Donations are routed through GoFundMe payment processors and are typically released only to the named beneficiary but sometimes donations will be released to campaign organizers who have a direct, personal connection to the beneficiary.
The company says, "We rely on the GoFundMe community to let us know if there is suspicion that a campaign organizer is involved in any of the examples of fraud."
To report a campaign for potential fraud contact us.
BayToday was caught up in one fraud after a traffic accident a couple of years ago.
We knew the event was legit because we reported on the accident, and when a GoFundMe was launched to help the victim, we included that in the story. We later learned the recipient was a drug dealer who was using the money to replenish supplies and buy a new truck. We deleted the GoFundMe mention, and soon after the web page was disabled.
Sometimes we get caught up in family disputes, despite our best efforts to help.
One instance was a child who needed money for surgery for a brain tumour. It seemed like an exception to the regular appeals, so we jumped on board enthusiastically. Turns out the parents were separated and accusations started flying. Family members started complaining to us that some of them weren't getting enough credit. In the end, three different GoFundMe accounts were set up by feuding family members. For us, it was turning into a nightmare. Strange things happen when big money is involved.
I'll finish with a recent one.
It's the fire on Lakeshore, and the GoFundMe request is the picture I've used.
Pets died in the fire, so I don't want to make light of the situation. But to have GoFundMe contact BayToday to suggest doing a story the next day, when there are so many more important causes, seemed opportunistic and left a bad taste.
I'd like to hear your take on this. You can email me at [email protected]
