Quick Ed. note: if you reached this page via Google, HI! You’re probably wondering what the hell is going on here. GoFraudMe is the only resource in the world dedicated to reporting on and discussing GoFundMe fraud. Take a look around, see if you see anything you like, and please come again. You can check out our GoFundMe fraud tracker, report a fraudulent GoFundMe campaign, comb through our resources for reporters, and/or join the conversation on Facebook.
So, we’ve had a few people reach out and ask if we help write GoFundMe campaigns for others, to which the response is always bwhahahahahaha no. However, in the interest of ridding the internet of terrible, low-effort, and just plain stupid GoFundMe campaigns, we humbly present the following. And lo, GoFraudMe said unto them be not afraid of bad GoFundMe campaigns.
Thou shalt not use bad or stolen photos
As self-appointed Sergeant of GoFundMe Fraud Detection, the first thing I do when I’m checking the validity of a campaign is to run the campaign photo through a reverse image search. As easy as it is for a scammer to steal a photo, so is it simple for me to find said photo in a 10 second search.
When choosing a photo for your campaign, avoid potato cameras whenever possible. If that’s all you have, fine, but even my $100 burner smartphone takes decent pictures, don’t tell me all you have is a photo that looks like it was faxed to you from 1994.
Thou shalt not TMI
Medical fundraisers raised $100 million on GoFundMe in the last year, and it’s an ever-growing category what with healthcare costs being what they are and human bodies being susceptible to falling apart outside of the warranty period.
Medical issues are also personal, which is why we have patient privacy laws. No one needs to know about your spastic colon. So you get in a tricky spot when you’re asking for money to treat said colon, because you’ve kinda got to bring it up.
Find a happy medium between letting people know what’s going on with you and describing in great detail the color, consistency, and frequency of every bowel movement. No one wants to read that shit. No pun.
Thou shalt not blame others
So, your ex-husband is a piece of crap. Or your parents abandoned you on a church doorstep forty years ago. Or the mailman’s babysitter’s cousin’s hairdresser looked at you funny once and now you’re unable to work because of it. Stop this.
Take responsibility for the choices you’ve made in life. There’s nothing wrong with saying “ya know, I made some bad choices that brought me to this bad spot now, but I’m working on being a better person and just need a little help in the meantime.” I’d much rather help someone aspiring to be better than someone who blames their kindergarten teacher for everything wrong in their life. OWN IT.
Thou shalt not bully people into donating
Being in animal rescue, one thing I hear a lot is “why do you give a shit about cats when there are starving kids in Africa?!” I usually ask these people what they’re doing about starving kids in Africa, which is almost always nothing, at which point I tell them to kiss my ass. All that to say, no one owes anyone anything and we are free as autonomous human beings to put our time, effort, and money into causes which move our individual hearts.
Some people donate to animals. Others donate to sick kids. Others think Kickstarter potato salad is a worthy cause. You, as the person asking for money, are not in a position to strong-arm people into donating to your cause just because you think it’s more worthy than others. Of course you do, it’s your cause. Back off and let people do what they want.
Thou shalt not steal other people’s campaigns
Why do I even have to say this. I feel like I do. Just don’t.
Thou shalt not embellish
Listen, if you’re facing homelessness or battling cancer or trying to save your precious furbaby from dying, that story alone is compelling. There’s no need to embellish or make things seem worse than they are, as things are already pretty bad if you have to turn to strangers on the Internet for money. Stick with that.
All too often, I see these long rambling campaigns going into personal details outlining every horrible thing ever to happen. This isn’t a screenplay for a Lifetime movie, just cover the basics and move on.
Thou shalt not campaign shop
The other day, the GoFraudMe readership found at least three campaigns from the same guy, each with a different issue: student loans, a car, and medical bills. Why does one person need that many GoFundMe campaigns? What that tells us is that he’s throwing darts at a virtual dart board hoping at least one of them sticks. If you need a car and chemotherapy, then say so in a single campaign.
Anything else makes you look like a drug addict hitting as many doctors as possible until you get an opiate prescription.
Thou shalt not GoFundMe and run
This is an actual piece of advice for people who actually want to succeed in online fundraising: a good campaign takes effort. By effort, I don’t mean slapping up a picture and a half-assed plea then spamming it on social media, I mean actual effort.
If you want people to donate, then give them a reason to. Simply posting your campaign everywhere someone will let you isn’t enough. Nurture it. Take care of it. Update people to let them know the good their donations are doing.
Thou shalt consider GoFundMe your personal ATM
For some bizarre reason, thousands of people on GoFundMe are under the mistaken impression that online fundraising is a bank at which they can withdraw money from strangers at any time for any reason. You might not get a single donation, especially if you phone in your campaign or worse, phone in your campaign while asking for tens of thousands of dollars.
Fundraising takes effort, so put some into it FFS.
Thou shalt not live a GoFundMe lifestyle
I’m a Libertarian, so honestly I couldn’t give less of a crap what you do with your life. If you want to spend your 20s putting up GoFundMe campaigns for every little thing, have fun. As much as GoFundMe culture annoys me, it isn’t for me or anyone else but GoFundMe themselves to say what the platform should and shouldn’t be used for.
That said, GoFundMe isn’t an insurance policy. Nor is it meant as a substitute for good planning when possible. Yeah, shit happens, but when more than your fair share of shit is happening and you’re constantly turning to GoFundMe to help, one has to wonder if perhaps the person to whom all this shit is happening is doing something wrong.
GoFundMe is a stop gap measure, neither a permanent solution nor a particularly reliable temporary one. Remember that.
Now, go forth and crowdfundify. Safely and responsibly.