GoFundMe
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About
GoFundMe is an online crowdfunding platform used to raise money for personal projects, necessities and life events, ranging from healthcare costs and charity projects to graduations. Similar to Kickstarter.
History
On May 10th, 2010, Brad Damphousse and Andrew Ballester founded GoFundMe, originally based on the idea "CreateAFund" the two had in 2008. Since its launch, GoFundMe has raised more than $4 billion, receiving more than that $140 million in donations per month and more tahn 40 million donors. The site has raised money on more than 2 million individual campaigns.[1]
News Coverage
Numerous news outlets have covered GoFundMe and its various projects, including The New York Times,[2][3] CNN,[4] The Atlantic[5] and more.
Social Media Presence
On February 9th, 2010, GoFundMe launched their Twitter [6] account, garnering more than 580,000 followers in seven years.
On April 16th, 2012, GoFundMe's Facebook [7] page launched. Within five years, the page has received more than 1.1 million likes and follows. Additionally, the company's Instagram [8] account has more than 22,000 followers.
Features
A GoFundMe account can be set up for free either through the user's email address or Facebook account. On the sign-up page, the company lays out its fees, requiring 5% for each donation and a processor fee of 2.9% + $.30 per donation.[9] Once signed in, users can start a fundraiser. The website walks through four steps, including creation, sharing, accepting donation, and results.[10]
GoFundMe breaks the projects down into different categories, including education, medical, charity, emergencies, animals, memorials, volunteer, sports, wishes, competitions, newlyweds, faith, travel, creative, community, events, business and family.
Highlights
Top Grossing Projects
The top-funded campaign on GoFundMe went towards the project Support Victims of Pulse Shooting. Started on June 12th, 2016, the campaign raised more than $7.8 million. With more than 90,000 people contributing to the campaign, GoFundMe waved transaction fees for the campaign.[11]
On October 3rd, 2017, CNN[14] reported that a GoFundMe launched for the mass shooting in Las Vegas collected more than $3.2 million in less than 48 hours, making it the second most successful campaign in the site's history.
Healthcare Costs
On Jun 15th, 2017, Quartz[12] reported that $930 million of the $2 billion raised between 2010 and 2016 went health-related causes. Bloomberg[13] said, "Crowdfunding platforms such as GoFundMe and YouCaring have turned sympathy for Americans drowning in medical expenses into a cottage industry."
Traffic
According to Alexa,[15] GoFundMe has a global rank of 1,372 and a United States rank of 379 as of October 2017.
Search Interest
External References
[1] Bad Credit – GoFundMe -- How the World’s Largest Social Fundraising Platform Has Garnered $3B in Donations for Worthy Causes in 125 Countries
[2] The New York Times – GoFundMe Gone Wild
[3] The New York Times – In Crowdfunding, New Source of Aid After Catastrophe
[4] CNN – GoFundMe for Las Vegas victims passes $3 million
[5] The Atlantic – Growing Cheaper Embryos for IVF Inside the Vagina
[7] Facebook GoFundMe Facebook
[10] GoFundMe – How It Works
[11] CNN – Orlando GoFundMe campaign sets record
[12] Quartz – $930 million
[13] Bloomberg – American Health Care Tragedies Are Taking Over Crowdfunding
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