Are Go Fund Me campaigns ever successful for normal people without hundreds of f

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   peeplesposted 8 years ago

   Are Go Fund Me campaigns ever successful for normal people without hundreds of friends?
   
   Or is it really just for churches, people wanting to make potato salad, and viral people?

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   Shelley Weingaertposted 8 years ago

   I actually had some success with go fund me. Not nearly the million dollars just because someone asked for it. My campaign was for my son who needed a liver transplant and while I am not a viral person, I did have several friends who did all they could to help me manage the campaign. It does need to updated often and of course, pictures always help.

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      peeplesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      That was of course a worthy cause. So lots of photos, and lots of updates. It seems it would need to be shared far and wide. Glad you had some success.

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   friendlywebguyposted 8 years ago

   You will only be successful if you market your campaign.  You can't create a campaign and let it sit and expect people to find it.  You have to spread the link all over.  This means social media, blogs, websites, forums, word of mouth, etc.

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      peeplesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      So spam it? Just seems that would make people not want to help, but I guess it's what I'll have to do.

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   Curiadposted 8 years ago

   I have not had any success with GoFundMe. Yes I marketed it, blogged it, shared it on my site etc. What irks me is that the ads on their site shoe some guy getting thousands of dollars to make potato salad, but my need when homeless was ignored.

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      peeplesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      This is my problem to. It seems people skip right over the real stories and instead donate to "fluff" a lot of time. I also don't have any idea what ways to market it Might not be for me. Glad you got on your feet BTW.

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   tsmogposted 8 years ago

   I think there is validity with them from experience and too there may be scams. Personally I am cautious. From personal experience a former Hubber (RIP), Jamie created a Go Fund Me account to raise the funds necessary for a cancer procedure that was not authorized. It was successful and the lung procedure helped her fight.
   
   I have donated to a few of whom I knew with some degree of personal knowledge or insight. They all had a degree of success. The one with Jamie was successful exceeding her goal. That IMHO is because of the support of her friends promoting it at social media sites, personal websites, and even a few hubs were written. Not surprisingly there were anonymous donations. However, almost all of the largest donations reaching in the hundreds to a few at or above $1,000 were anonymous. Fortunately, donations are made by credit card at the time of donation, so there are not any false ones made.

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      peeplesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I think people are willing to help those who are severely ill, and that is amazing. The hub community is awesome.

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      sockiiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      There are a lot of scams on GoFundMe and that certainly is why some of us are cautious donating to them, unless we know the people involved very well.  http://gizmodo.com/gofundme-is-a-great- … 1681401839

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      peeplesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Ok so some bad apples ruined it for those of us who might actually need help. Figures, same with everything in life.

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      sockiiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      So this is a personal thing for you, right? Then if you want people to trust you with a campaign, be upfront with it, don't whine at those who might hesitate to donate, and promote to friends & family and not the random internet.

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      peeplesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      If i had friends and family, I don't think I'd need to ask the random internet, but some of us hit points where there is no one to ask other than strangers. I'm just bothered by the # of ppl on there who need help and get none.Not just self,but other

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   sockiiposted 8 years ago

   I had success with a GoFundMe campaign last year when I needed to raise money to fund a major website upgrade. Many of the people who have used the site for years were more than happy - and generous - to help keep it going. Granted we weren't talking about tens of thousands of dollars or something, but I managed to raise the $1000 or so it was going to cost for the programmer's work and to pay for some other improvements to the site. For marketing it really was only an issue of posting about it a few times on related Facebook pages and a few forums.
   
   As others have said, you can't just create a campaign out of nowhere and expect it to succeed. You need to market, you need to show your project will fulfill a real need, and if it's a more personal type of campaign then please, don't try to guilt-trip friends and family into contributing! That's a turn off more than anything. And accept that many people may feel more comfortable giving to recognized charitable organizations for medical research, humanitarian aid, poverty campaigns, etc than they would to some random person on the internet who claims to need the money.

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      peeplesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      See I think this is what irks me a bit. People would rather donate to a charity over a regular person down on their luck, but they feel it is ok to donate to help a website upgrade. Am I the only one who thinks that's backwards?

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      sockiiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I don't know a random stranger on the internet. How do I know if he/she is really sick/needs assistance or isn't just a scam artist? It happens. I'd rather donate to an organization where I can see just where the money is going vs. a random stranger.

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      peeplesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      But how did ppl KNOW for sure the money they donated to you were going to a website. ALL giving online comes with risks you know. Why do people change their feelings when it comes to ppl asking for personal help but not when ask for say, a website.

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      sockiiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      They knew quite clearly that it went to the site because of the visible upgrades to it, the change in URL, and that I shared the details of the programmer I employed so they could contact him directly for verification if need be.

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      peeplesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Ok so the possible key to making a personal one successful may be providing proof, hmm. Ok Makes sense.

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      sockiiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I'd also like to say that I don't agree with passing judgement on how people choose to spend their money. Some choose to help a website community. Others choose to help an animal charity or shelter. Their money, their satisfaction, their choice.

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      peeplesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Not passing judgement, just don't understand why someone would donate to help someone make potato salad, but not to a homeless person, person with medical bills. I just don't get it and wouldn't do. You're right, their money,Idon't have to understand

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      sockiiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Do you never spend money on things that bring you pleasure and happiness? Do you spend every penny you earn or have on helping others?

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      peeplesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      This isn;'t related to personal spending. This is talking about a site designed to HELP others. If I were spending my money to help others I'd want my money to go towards someone who had an actual need. My comments are only related to this website.

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       sockiiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       Then how to decide 1 person on GFM needs the money more than others? Say 100 people there are trying to raise money for cancer treatment. Who deserves my $s? I'd rather give to the American Cancer Society who can do more good for more people overall.

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       peeplesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       I guess it's just different personalities. I'd personally donate directly to the sources. I'd pick the one that I was personally drawn to. Again, I think this really might just come down to different ways of thinking.

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