We’ve all heard of GoFundMe, the website that allows you to donate money to other people, charities, organizations, etc. in need of money. On May 10, 2010, GoFundMe was launched and “has quickly become the World’s #1 fundraising site for personal causes and life-events.” Creating a fundraising campaign is easy to do. First, you create the actual campaign. In this step, you come up with a catchy title, explain your situation in detail and even add a nice picture to your page to gain sympathy from readers. (Who could possibly say no to donating a few bucks to Tanner’s emergency surgery bills? Just look at this pup’s adorable face!) Let’s be honest: we’re more inclined to donate money to your cause if you have a relatable or likable picture connected to it. It’s like judging a book by its cover. If you’re saying, “No, I don’t do this,” you’re wrong. We all judge people and stories around us.
Once your campaign is created, you’ll want to share it with friends and family on various social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. You can also email the link to your campaign to people listed in the address book of your email account. Friends will share with their friends who will share with their friends. Your fundraising campaign could reach hundreds (or thousands) of people! A link will be featured with your post that you share, making it easy for people to donate money electronically. If people donate, you can receive money through checks or bank transfers. It’s that easy.
Perhaps the easiness of creating these campaigns is what drives people to create them for such frivolous activities and selfish reasons. People have begun to take advantage of the generosity of others through these campaigns. We are beginning to see more campaigns that deal with peoples’ wants rather than their needs.
If someone is in need of money to send them and their spouse to Bora Bora for their honeymoon—they can easily create a GoFundMe campaign. If someone needs money for their wedding—GoFundMe. A teacher in need of pedal stools for her “kinesthetic learners” (a fancy way of saying her students can’t sit still)—GoFundMe. Anyone in need of any amount of money for any given reason seems to turn to GoFundMe these days, and it’s honestly because it’s so easy to do.
Why do college graduates create a GoFundMe campaign for student loans, but don’t make an effort to find a job? Or, why do people create a GoFundMe campaign asking for donations for a new car, but already have a working car sitting in their driveway?
The overall question I’m searching for an answer to is: Why are people so damn selfish? Better yet, why do selfish people think I’m going to give them money when I could use my money for more important things that relate to me?
Take college students for example: we’re all in need of money for various reasons. If you’re a college student who’s independently paying for college and living a lavish lifestyle, please share your secret with me and every other college student in the world. Sure, there are students out there who aren’t in need of money, but the majority of us are going to have to pay up—especially when the time comes to pay for books. We all know how pitiful our wallets and bank accounts look after buying outrageously expensive textbooks. No one looks forward to buying textbooks, but one thing I (and many other students) will not do is give you money to pay for your books when we’re struggling to pay for ours, too. So, before you send your GoFundMe campaign to fellow students in desperate need of the same thing you’re in desperate need of -- don’t… just don’t send it.
If you and your boyfriend just got engaged—congratulations! I wish you both the best of luck. But please don’t create a GoFundMe campaign for your wedding/honeymoon/housewarming/whatever. Just wait until you have the means to fund these things yourself. Stop being selfish. Don’t make other people pay for things in life that you want. What’s fair about that? (For the people that do donate to your wedding/honeymoon/housewarming/whatever, I hope you donate to theirs in return. You know what they say about Karma…)
While silly GoFundMe campaigns exist, legitimate ones do, too. Campaigns are made for medical bills, funeral arrangements, rebuilding cities after natural disasters and more. These are the types of campaigns we should be donating to.
A family near and dear to my heart is in desperate need of money to pay for medical bills. The Donahue family has been a second family to me all my life. Billy Donahue, a loyal husband, respected father, and proud grandfather has recently been diagnosed with kidney cancer in both kidneys. He is retired, and his wife is the only source of income his family has. They have three grown children, and he has a beautiful granddaughter. Billy truly is a gem to his family. But how can his wife possibly pay for his expensive medical bills all on her own? She simply can’t. She needs help, and that’s why a GoFundMe campaign was created. This family is not begging for money; they are asking for help. Their story is much more sincere than that of a greedy newly-wed couple.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I can be the voice of many when I say I’m more inclined to donate to a reasonable, heartwarming cause than I am to a selfish one.
