I have been asked by an organization I am involved with to create a fundraiser using GoFundMe. Anyone have any feedback on the use of crowdfunding sites? There are a ton out there. Good ones? Bad ones? Pros and cons? I know this isn’t really running related (feel free to delete) but runners are notorious for helping all kinds of causes so thought this might be a good place to ask.
Some years ago, I worked with GiveGab, which is a local company, to do fundraising for the Technology Student Association at Ithaca High. I was impressed with the people at GiveGab, and if he’s still there, one of their employees (Jesse Saldana) ran cross country with us a few years back.
That said, it was a long time ago and I don’t know how their platform or policies might have changed. When I was doing the research that ended with us choosing GiveGab, I remember that there were a lot of variables in play, so you might want to think about:
- What percentage does the platform take in fees?
- Are there any other issues, like minimum or maximum campaign size?
- How will you be paid (monthly, lump sum, etc)?
- How much control do you have over the donation pages?
- Can donation pages be per-individual or only for the group or event?
- Is it easy to set up and manage donation pages?
- Can you add video to the donation pages easily?
- Is it easy to link to your donation pages for social media or other external promotion?
- Are there any limitations on the payment methods they take?
- Do they provide all the necessary paperwork for tax deductions?
Good luck!