GoFundMe News

newspaper

GoFundMe Headlines

Ed. note: campaigns have not been verified for accuracy, headlines are presented as is. Donate at your own risk.
March 31, 2017

Donors in the #SaveMayowa Campaign are Reportedly Getting a Refund from GoFundMe GoFundMe is reportedly refunding money paid by donors for the #SaveMayowa campaign last year, according to multiple Twitter users. The #SaveMayowa campaign was a cause to gather funds for Mayowa Ahmed who was down with Stage Four Ovarian cancer. The campaign generated a lot of controversy after reports alleged that the family tried to defraud unsuspecting donors after they got more than what was initially requested for. [Bella Naija]

March 30, 2017

Teacher raises $80K for bikes for elementary school’s entire student body In September 2016, right after Labor Day, Blomquist started a campaign on GoFundMe in hopes of raising $65,000 for the bicycles. She said today that she’d initially come up with the idea to start the campaign for a student who wanted a bike that she couldn’t afford. [ABC]

March 29, 2017
Don’t give your money to that campaign to buy Republicans’ browser histories Have you seen the viral GoFundMe campaign floating around that vows to buy and publish the web histories of every politician and exec who is helping internet providers sell your data? Yeah, don’t give that dude your money. I’m all for wacky clever revenge plots, but this one just looks like a straight up scam. [TechCrunch]

March 25, 2017
Random act of kindness raises funds for Popeye’s worker to go to school for nursing “Literally crunching on the chicken and this thought dawns on me. What if you pay for her to go to school?” [WDAF]

Friday March 24, 2017

Thursday March 23, 2017

Wednesday March 22, 2017
GoFundMe For Ziggy The Pit Bull, Killed In Bed-Stuy Park, Surpasses Goal In 24 Hours A GoFundMe created on Tuesday to raise money for the pit bull who was killed by a police officer in a Bed-Stuy park this week raised over $1,700 in just 24 hours — more than $1,000 over its goal of $750. [Patch]

Slain DNC staffer’s family launches GoFundMe page to help solve case The family of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffer killed last year has launched a crowdfunding page to raise money to help solve the case. Seth Rich was shot multiple times last July while walking in his neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C.
The GoFundMe page launched over the weekend has a goal of $200,000. As of Wednesday morning, the page had raised about $5,200 from 110 donors. [The Hill]

Tuesday March 21, 2017

Monday March 20, 2017

Friday March 17, 2017

Police Officer Under Investigation After Raising $100K For Girls In Need A Chicago police officer is under investigation by CPD after he launched a viral GoFundMe campaign to raise money for three girls that he and other officers found living neglected last year. The department does not expect the officer behaved improperly, but is making sure everything was “proper” because the campaign was tied to the officer’s personal checking account, according to a police spokesperson. [Chicagoist]

Thursday March 16, 2017

Wednesday March 15, 2017

Fundraising campaign launched to preserve JFK’s sailboat President John F. Kennedy loved the sea, and perhaps nothing represented that love more than the wooden sailboat the family bought when he was just 15. To help preserve the boat the teenage Kennedy dubbed the Victura, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation on Wednesday launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $25,000 for maintenance. [AP]

Tuesday March 14, 2017

After apartment is trashed during SWAT team standoff, Edmonds man asks for help Timothy Sean Danaher said he was at a conference in Ocean Shores Saturday when a former co-worker “in a drug-induced psychosis” forced his way into Danaher’s apartment located in the 20900 block of 76th Avenue West around 2:30 p.m. March 11. Danaher’s 18-year-old son Ryan Grayson was home at the time of the break-in and the suspect ordered him to leave the apartment at gunpoint, Danaher said. [My Edmonds News]

Texas woman helps homeless man build a new life [S]he created a GoFundMe page, encouraging people to donate to help the “sweet, gentle man” get back on his feet. Within two months, Hubbard received more than $14,700 in donations. Fast forward three months later, nearly 9,000 people now follow “This is Victor” on Facebook to receive updates on his progress. [KBZK]

Monday March 13, 2017

How Will The Rise Of Crowdfunding Reshape How We Give To Charity? Viral campaigns may reach more potential donors but those givers often respond in an emotional as opposed to rational way: You’re paying to alleviate someone’s suffering, not the broader societal problem it represents. The result has left nonprofits scrambling for new ways to share their own community-minded messages within the medium. [Fast Company]

Friday March 10, 2017

The Real Peril Of Crowdfunding Health Care This paradigm sets up a dangerous expectation in which giving is contingent upon being moved, entertained, or otherwise satisfied with the righteousness of a fight. I’ll give, this arrangement suggests, but only if you give something to me — tears, sadness, hope, cuteness — first. [BuzzFeed]

GoFundMe campaign launched to support female servicemembers and veterans after nude photo scandal A staffer at The Daily Show with Trevor Noah has started a GoFundMe campaign to support the women who have been victims of a private Facebook page called Marines United that posted nude photos of female service members. Justine Elena works on the Comedy Central show. She’s also a captain in the Marine Corps Reserves. [Marine Times]

Teenager tries to crowdfund parking ticket, everyone loses their minds 16-year-old Ashley Mathieu-LaFrance has been taking heat on social media for attempting to crowdfund a $250 parking ticket on GoFundMe. [Popdust]

Thursday March 9, 2017

More turn to crowdfunding to help deal with unexpected debts “Crowdfunding isn’t free money, and when you create a crowdfunding campaign, there’s no guarantee that you’ll meet your fundraising goal,” Wu said. The two biggest determinants of success in charity crowdfunding are a large community and a compelling story, he said. [USA Today]

Samantha Bee’s show singled out ‘Nazi hair’ at CPAC. One of the joke’s targets has brain cancer. The segment then showed several young men sporting versions of the “fashy,” a partially shaved hairstyle that’s cut short on the sides and long on top. Except that one of the people featured in that segment had a very different reason for his haircut: He recently learned that he has brain cancer. [Washington Post]

Wednesday March 8, 2017

GoFundMe account setup to help raise funds for Spelling Bee winner Thirteen-year-old Briandria Starks is on her way to the nation’s capital as she’s set to represent Kern County at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. [23ABC]

Monday March 6, 2017

Restaurant donates weekend tips to GoFundMe for woman who lost her hand Draft Taproom in Charlottesville is donating its weekend tips to a GoFundMe page dedicated to Allie Redshaw, who lost her hand in a kitchen accident. [Newsplex]

Saturday March 4, 2017

Mum forced to abandon crowdfunding page asking strangers to fund a Disney World trip for her and her two daughters so she doesn’t have to pay for it herself Nikki Smith, of Bristol, set up the online crowdfunding page in a desperate bid to secure the overseas holiday, despite the platform being generally used for charity causes. [The Sun]

Brooklyn Couple Arrested In Theft Of Ailing 5-Year-Old Boy’s Photo For Charity Scam Police in Nassau County have arrested a man and woman they say used a picture of a boy battling cancer to con people. The boy’s grandmother told CBS2’s Tracee Carrasco on Wednesday that she found out that a woman had taken the little boy’s picture from his online GoFundMe page, and was telling his story to solicit donations – allegedly keeping the money for herself. [CBS New York]

Friday March 3, 2017

Neighbors claim defamation after others raise money in support of Rocket Market Another neighbor, Kate Pogue Rau started a Go FundMe account to rally support and money for Rocket Market after hearing news of the suit. Thursday, lawyer for the neighbors behind the lawsuit sent Pogue Rau a letter claiming she defamed them in the text of her GoFundMe page. [KREM]

As Clermont Lounge employees await reopening, GoFundMe accounts seek help A GoFundMe account has raised over $8,000 for employees of the club, which has been closed since the beginning of the year. “For some of our dancers, this is their only income and having to be shut down for several weeks impacts them and their families,” the GoFundMe page, which has shattered its $5,000 goal, says. “In many cases, these women are the sole providers and are having a hard time making through without the income from working at the Clermont Lounge.” [CBS46]

Thursday March 2, 2017

Credit card thieves target kitten fundraising drive Katina Balson, who runs the popular Cat Cuddle Café in Red Hill, raised $15,000 on GoFundMe to assist with the veterinary bills for the ‘twisted sister’ kittens suffering from hemimelia, a congenital disease of complete, or partial absence, of one or more bones. More than 15 percent of the donations, however, were either clawed back or soaked up in charges because pledges were made on stolen credit cards. [Courier Mail]

Wednesday March 1, 2017

Trapped Big Sur monks turn to GoFundMe for help Among those stranded on the “island” of Big Sur are a group of Roman Catholic monks. The New Camaldoli Hermitage is a community of monks that typically open their doors to visitors looking for a tranquil retreat. However, with the failing Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge to the north and Paul’s Slide to the south, they are completely cut off from civilization. “This is part of living in a beautiful and wild place like Big Sur,” the group says on a GoFundMe page. “This ruggedness is why guests are so grateful to be here.” [SFGate]

GoFundMe News for February 2017