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GoFundMe

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LAST UPDATED: March 25th, 2024

GoFundMe, the world's largest crowdfunding platform, is committed to turning compassion into action by providing individuals, teams, organizations, and nonprofits with the means to raise money for the causes they care about.

The process of creating a GoFundMe campaign is quick and easy. Users must first create a GoFundMe account, through with they set a fundraiser goal, tell their story, and then share the campaign with friends via email, text, and/or social media. Once donations begin coming in, users can easily manage funds and withdraw them as needed.

Whatever your fundraising needs may be, GoFundMe is a great option. Continue reading for pros and cons, and GoFundMe reviews from real customers.

Top Ranked Companies

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The Good

  • Fund Type
  • Fees
  • Maximum Allowed Raise
  • Deadlines
  • GoFundMe Charity
  • Administrative Work Options
  • Receiving Funds

Fund Type

GoFundMe uses a 'Keep What You Raised' funding type. With GoFundMe, reaching your goal is not required. This works well because you keep each and every donation you receive, no matter if you are running a personal campaign or a campaign on behalf of a team or organization. Some other crowdfunding campaign platforms operate under an "all-or-nothing" model, meaning that if you don't reach your fundraising goal, you won't receive any money.

Fees

GoFundMe doesn't charge anything to create and share your online fundraising campaign, nor do they charge for using the platform. GoFundMe is almost entirely free except for the payment processing fee or transaction fee, which is approximately 3 percent and will be deducted from each donation. This fee helps GoFundMe remain as a safe place to donate.

There is no partial or non-completion fee in the case you do not complete your campaign. There are crowdfunding companies that do charge you a fee if you fail to meet your campaign goal, so this is definitely a perk of going with GoFundMe.

Maximum Allowed Raise

Many crowdfunding platforms using donation models for individuals have a maximum amount or limit to what funding amount you can raise. GoFundMe has no funding limit. This lets you raise as much as you want or need in one campaign.

Deadlines

With GoFundMe, there are no deadlines or time-limits. Your campaign will remain live until you choose to stop donations or remove the campaign altogether. In some cases, users have left their campaigns up indefinitely as a lasting memory of all the wonderful comments and support they received. This is a great policy for personal fundraisers. Sometimes people can't donate within 30 or 40 days (a typical deadline for many crowdfunding platforms), so having an indefinite deadline can work well.

GoFundMe Charity

Through GoFundMe Charity, charities across North America can support and amplify their causes, subscription-free. Designed specifically for nonprofit organizations, the platform provides access to a variety of resources, including donor analytics and event registration software and more. 

Administrative Work Options

GoFundMe offers users several automated features for administrative tasks, which are extremely helpful for individuals trying to run an effective campaign without past experience. Even if they have experience, admin tasks take a lot of time and can get confusing the larger the donator pool gets.

GoFundMe's automotive administrative task features include: Thank You Messages: You can thank donators individually by selecting a recent donation and clicking the 'Say Thanks' button. GoFundMe will let you personalize the message and send it directly to the donor's email address.

Update Feature: In doing so, you can choose to share the post with your current supporters and donors - you can even share the Update on Facebook to attract more support. Update messages can also include up to 3 photos or videos. GoFundMe's 'Update' feature is a great way to keep your campaign fresh and your donators up to date without having to do it manually, which would take a lot of time away from campaigning.

Quick Assistance: GoFundMe will generally respond to your emails within 30 minutes during the day with any questions you have about your campaign.

Receiving Funds

Typically on crowdfunding platforms you have to wait until the end of your campaign to begin collecting funds. With GoFundMe, you can request your money right away as the donations come in or you can choose to withdraw your balance directly to your bank account (campaigns in the US may also request a check). Withdrawals may be made daily, weekly, or monthly and will always process for the full available balance in the user's WePay account. Funds may be received via electronic bank transfer within 2-5 business days, or paper check within 7-10 business days. (Daily checks are not available, weekly or monthly only.) 

Although you can request a withdrawal at any time, the time it takes to receive funds is a bit long when compared to other crowdfunding sites that can sometimes do it in as soon as 24 hours.

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The Bad

  • Model Type
  • No PayPal

Model Type

GoFundMe operates as a Donation Model. Equity model campaigns are not offered through GoFundMe. A donation model is a good thing for personal fundraising, but GoFundMe recommends signing up with your Facebook account if you want to appear in GoFundMe's Public Search Directory. 

Although this is optional, it actually isn't if you want your campaign to be featured publicly on their website. Not everyone has a Facebook account or wants to open one, or perhaps they would prefer to keep their profile off a public platform like GoFundMe.

No PayPal

It's important to note that although PayPal Giving Fund is GoFundMe's payment processor for their charity campaigns, there is still no PayPal for personal fundraising.

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The Bottom Line

It's no surprise that GoFundMe is one of the world's most popular crowdfunding sites. The company is highly successful. Customer Happiness representatives deliver answers to questions in a timely manner, (often within 30 minutes or less of submission), there's plenty of flexibility with funding options, and there are no limits on how much you can raise and no time restraints. GoFundMe is also the cheapest crowdfunding platform out there. A downside is that equity model campaigns are not offered and PayPal cannot be used for personal fundraising, but all in all, users can expect a convenient, simple experience when funding.

Based on customer reviews, the majority of which are positive, we would recommend GoFundMe for your fundraising needs. Satisfied customers most often remark on how easy it is to use GoFundMe, including setting up a campaign and managing funds. In addition, they note how GoFundMe is a trustworthy company and they feel comfortable donating through the platform. Of the negative reviews, customers most often detail withdrawal difficulties and unexplained account issues.

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Star Rating

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4.3

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462 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

65%

4 grade

13%

3 grade

3%

2 grade

2%

1 grade

18%

Sentiment Criteria

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Quality

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Jane Murphy Overland Park, KS

Watch out for their ridiculous preset tip that you need to change or get charged. It was $90 added on a $500 donation. Their customer service is nonexistent. Just a stupid bot that redirects to another bot that you have to pay for.

2 months ago

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John Lambert Euless, TX

Very difficult to get a correct answer on get money out gofundme it shouldn't take 2to 5 days if your going to take money for your services then speed the process up there people that really need that money for medical expenses it's hard as it is to ask for help then for gofundme to make you wait is not right it takes them 3 seconds to pull the money for the bank account of the donor but takes up to 5 days for the person needing it to get something not right on that end some one needs to look in to gofundme and explain why if bank accounts are all ready Verified it shouldn't take up to 5 days gofundme is joke

10 months ago

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Jethro Bodine Toronto, ON

Donated to the Canadian Freedom rally only to have them shut it down and try to "steal" the money for charities they deemed fit. If I wanted to donate to another charity I would have done so. I don't need GFM to make that decision based on what they think is "worthy". First it was, fill out a form within a 2 week period to get my money back until they were threatened by a few state governors/AGs. Now they are just returning the money directly. This should have been their first move after disgracefully denying to give the money to whom it was donated to. Very dishonest and deceptive. They support who they want to support and if you're not aligned with them, they'll try to screw you over. Never going to donate to anyone using this platform in the future. Goodbye forever GFM. Can't say I'm going to miss you.

2 years ago

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Bobby The One Montreal, QC

NO matter how much you provide and how much or lil you raise the withdrawal to your account will not happen. Providing all the bills, lease, business reg, bank info and certifications yet still they want to phish people govt ID and even or those who gave them DL, passport and all still they are awaiting money over 2 yrs. AND, they expect us to provide government ID which in Canada it is illegal, it's even written on the ID and passport: NOT to be used as ID, property of Canadian government. The privacy act is clear on that, and keeping the money hostage in return for govt ID is a federal offence here,yet they still do business here and impose these rules. I have reported them to RCMP fraud dept. They know about them, not the first person to be scammed by them. They keep replying that it's their terms, who cares, if the terms are illegal doesn't make them ok! People with positive experience are 3yrs and before, looks like mostly all negative after that. Don't try to email back and forth to explain you will not win any argument even if they know you are right. AVOID AT ALL COST! It's quite disturbing using people in need urgently and scam them like this.. I read that they use the funds to invest hence why they keep you in a loop of 'security verification' all bogus claim. Be very wary if you have money in donations, best you ask to send back to people and get them to send you directly with PP or FB donations, which I knew that before!

3 years ago

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Laura Medford, OR

-1 Star: Platform Automatically added a tip, stated it would be refunded within 3-7 days. Never received and then took the refund out of the funds donated....horrid when family going through tragedy has to see a deduction in their campaign. Still no credit to my credit card over two months later.. They have 120 days to return the money and will take the entire period while I have to sit tight and wait for my $500. HUGR JOKE IN CUSTOMER SVC. Essentially none. Probably admins are sitting on a beach on their laptops responding “when they can/feel like it”. What a joke for a “goodwill” crowd sharing platform. Will never use again with all of the games they play to try and dissuade someone from disputing....you’ve met the wrong person when it comes to giving up. Not a chance. Complete FRAUD.

4 years ago

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Anna

My sister`s nice set up a funeral fundraiser called "Arek`s Wish` to help her manage the costs of her husband`s funeral. She raised over 17 000 Canadian dollars. It happened at the beginning of July. Until today my sister has not received any money despite multiple attempts of money withdrawal. The family is devastated because they really need this support during the hardest of times and it affects their life in a very dramatic way. It seems like the raised money have been purposely held back and every day they are losing hope for a positive ending. All the donors that generously donated have been deceived as well. Cannot get over this company`s cruelty and ruthlessness. Hopefully the court will get them the money back if it comes to that. Do not use GoFundMe!

4 years ago

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Javier Brooklyn, NY

I open a GoFundMe page to help my dad get a surgery he badly need. I notice the withdrawal failed. So I’m being trying to get an answer of why this happen. The website explain that might be cause my SSN or my Bank account number is not accurate wish is not the case. So I’m just trying to get a simple answer to see how can we fix this issue. I’m still waiting for a response from them. They say that will replay you in 24 hours. I’m being waiting days now and no one to speak with. And the worse part it’s that they don’t even have a phone number to speak with someone. The customer service is terrible. And who knows if my dad will get the help he needs and my friends help me to fund the money.

4 years ago

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G Blythewood, SC

I set up a fund for a high school classsmate's family to help with hospital and funeral bills. We have gotten about $2k in donations but the family is having issues connecting and withdrawing funds. I submitted a help request and got an e-mail back. The GFM person asked if we could loop in the recipient. Of course, I agreed and we waited and waited and waited and she never got back to us. There is no phone support. This has been a disappointing, frustrating and time-wasting experience. Not sure how GFM has gotten this far and become a top-ranked fundraiser. Consider some other way if you're planning this.

5 years ago

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Andrew

So a friend of mine who has fallen on hard times had his Playstation break on him and his kids. A bunch of his friends and I told him to start a go fund me and we would all chip in to help him out. So his wife started one of these go fund me accounts. Within an hour or 2 he had enough to replace his broken playstation so his children and himself could enjoy so form of entertainment. The next day I get a refund notice because my friend "violated" the terms of service for this pathetic company. We all inquired as to what the issue was when he was told that his wife needs to prove her identity. They did as instructed just to be told that it wasn't good enough and refunded everyone's money. They would not tell him or any of us why it was violated. They just used their standard refer to terms of service. Which we all looked through but could not find 1 term that was violated. To add to this absolute B.S, thanks to these scammers that is go fund me, they waited to refund me when the exchange rate was less so that I don't even get my full refund back. Their scamming ways still cost me $4. Which in all honesty is nothing for me but its the principle of them screwing all parties involved and then trying to show how wonderful they are. I truly believe that the REAL reason they canceled his go fund me was because no one donated part of their donation to their website and the choose to screw him over. NEVER would i use this scam of a website again.

5 years ago

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Reply from GoFundMe

Hi Andrew, thanks for sharing your feedback with us. We can see our team has reached out to you regarding these issues, and we would like to confirm that we would never close a campaign or account if donors choose not to tip GoFundMe. If a campaign does not comply with our Terms & Conditions, we will remove it, but we are happy to answer any questions your friend may have.

Feb. 27th, 2019

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Jasmyne Walker

*UPDATE* Since writing this review my issue with GFM has been resolved, but I'm going to leave this review here as it may help someone in the future. Go Fund Me had replied to my requests, but had used a different email address so the answer was in my spam folder. I never use my laptop for emails, and as spam folders are not supported on tablet, I had no idea. I had received confirmation from GFM that they had received my request email, but then nothing...so I made the assumption they were not attempting to reply to me and didnt even consider they would use a different email to make contact. I have suggested they add to their support information that they reply from a different email, and to check spam email. What a rort. There is $10k in a Stripe acc that can't be accessed (I cannot figure out why as one intial payment of $5k was paid to the beneficiary without issue) and GFM will NOT reply to my REPEATED requests over the past 3 weeks to help me pay this money to the 23yo stroke victim that our rural, small community has managed to raise the funds for. For the record Stripe have tried to help but I've been advised that ultimately GFM have precedent over the funds. THERE IS NO WAY TO CONTACT GFM.

5 years ago

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Reply from GoFundMe

Thanks so much for sharing your feedback with us, Jasmyne. We're glad we could help get this resolved for you, and we always recommend creating a GoFundMe account with an easily accessible email. If we can help with anything else at all, please do let us know.

Jul. 31st, 2018

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Linda Shawnee, KS

I really wish I'd given them a fake e-mail address. I got signed up for their e-mail list after donating to one campaign, despite never checking a box or otherwise asking to be added. I hit the unsubscribe button on multiple e-mails before finally contacting customer service, since the unsubscribe button wasn't unsubscribing me. Customer service responded quickly and got me unsubscribed, but then I got not one, not two, but THREE follow-up e-mails asking if I was happy. No guys, sorry, I'm not happy. I really didn't want any more e-mails at all. I'm sure some people would be grateful that you care this much about customer service, but I feel more like my privacy has been violated (especially since I originally asked to have my info expunged from the database, not just to be unsubscribed.)

5 years ago

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Reply from GoFundMe

Thank you for the valuable feedback, Linda! We're always looking to improve our satisfaction survey, and with your help, we can make sure the messaging we give is as minimal as possible. We've ensured that your information has been removed and our Customer Happiness Team will always be here to help, 24/7.

Jun. 13th, 2018

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Martha John-Rose

I used GoFundMe collect donations for the Dominica hurricane. In response to the scenes of devastation and knowing my relatives were enduring this, I looked for a funding site to start collecting donations straight away. GoFundMe was one of the first sites to pop up from my internet search. I hadn't used a funding site before but should have taken the time to read the small print, (my fault) as it was a surprise to see the size of the cut the company took from the donation. I felt bad about this, as that money could have made a difference to some very desperate people and I realised there were other organisations who wouldn't have charged so much, and also, individuals who I could have made arrangements with. For me, the site has some positives, but I wouldn't use it again or recommend it, as there seems a bit too much focus on the money making side of things (e.g. a bit overly enthusiastic in promoting ideas for generating more funds, which course result in an even bigger percentage raised for the site). I don't have an issue with companies needing to make a living, but the way this company (and others like it) goes about it doesn't resonate with me.

6 years ago

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Reply from GoFundMe

Thank you for this honest feedback, Martha! It's never our intention to hide fees from our users. They're displayed here before you set up a campaign:

That being said, in response to the feedback we've received from users like you, we've recently decided to waive our 5% fee in the UK (as well as a few other countries): - Please note a standard payment processing fee still applies.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.

Feb. 26th, 2018

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Cathy Salamon - Mauser Cares NJ

Customer service is reprehensible. We collected over $130,000 to help our employees in Houston - many of whom have lost EVERYTHING. Yet it has been impossible to withdraw the funds. We are a global company. Our CFO has on numerous occasions entered the information they requested. They email us asking for additional information and say they will remove the hold after receiving the information. We provide the additional the information. Then we receive another email from another representative with the exact same message asking for the same additional information, etc. etc. etc. WTF??? We have been trying to withdraw funds for the last 2 weeks. So while our employees are living in shelters in Houston, the GoFundMe clerks are sitting anonymously behind their computers in their air-conditioned cubicles or homes or on the beach or WHEREVER...doing nothing for anyone. I believe this company has lost sight of their original goal to help not just themselves, but others as well. They do not provide a phone number with good reason - because they would be inundated with angry phone calls.

6 years ago

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Reply from GoFundMe

Hi Cathy,

Thank you for this honest feedback. After reviewing your message history with us, it looks like your campaign was caught up in security and verification measures of our payment processor. These measure are in place to ensure donations are sent safely and securely to the correct people or organization. That being said, I see that the resolution of this situation took longer than it should have during an urgent times. It looks like our team made a call to your organization and we were able to reach a solution that worked for both us to make up for the time that was lost.

Feb. 27th, 2018

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Karen Dudas Brentwood, TN

Klunky user experience, must use exact case for email address (its 2017?), closed our campaign and requested money 6 days ago and still have not received. We had a team within our organization raise money for others on our team impacted by Hurricane Harvey. We setup the campaign to appear as if it were from the team and not one individual person. Go Fund Me has all of my personal contact info, bank account info, SSN, and heck I even think they have my kids SSNs yet they refuse to send a payment because I will not post "I, , am deducting these funds" publically on the campaign site. We intentionally created this site as a group so it would show our unity as a team. If I post "I , am withdrawing these funds" everyone on my team will receive an email showing that. How embarrassing! Customer Support - just pick up the phone and call me back instead of trying to find ways to continue to earn interest on our money!

6 years ago

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Reply from GoFundMe

Thank you for this feedback, Karen. I have reviewed your interaction with us and while it is common for us to require verification messages to be posted on campaigns that have the name of the campaign organizer hidden, it does appear like it took our team a bit too long to respond at some points during your interaction with us, so I apologize for that delay.

That being said, I can confirm that we do not require anyone's social security number except for the person withdrawing the funds. I can also confirm that we do not earn interest on holding funds. Our sole reason for holding funds is to verify they are being sent to the proper beneficiaries, and the verification message we required you post is part of that process.

I speak for the entire team when I say we're hopeful that the funds raised were able to help the families who were impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

Sincerely,

Rudolph
Customer Happiness Lead

Mar. 2nd, 2018

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Misty Brooks

My son Michael "Mike" Busbee passed away July 23, 2017. Insurance would not cover his death, because it was a suicide. Michael suffered from depression. Christopher "Topher" Nichols started a GoFund Me campaign to help with funeral arrangements. The campaign raised $8550.00. The campaign stated that all funds were to go directly to Michael's mom, however, Topher decided to keep the funds, and they were transferred directly into his personal account. My son's ashes remain in the cardboard box that was given to me from the funeral home. I made a claim to GoFundMe, returned all proof of identity for Michael's Mother, along with all other documents they requested. Go FundMe is dragging it out with no remedy for the situation. Their customer service sucks, with no contact to an actual person. Their Guarantee. Is a line of bs that they do not stand behind. I am a grieving mother that should not be having to deal with all this, I have lost my only child, and shpuld not be fighting this fight.

6 years ago

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Reply from GoFundMe

Hi Misty,

Thank you for providing this honest feedback. I've reviewed your interactions with our Trust & Safety department and I can confirm that you your claim was covered under our GoFundMe Guarantee. It seems like this was a very complex situation, and I'm very sorry to see you had to go through that during your time of a grief.

Myself and the rest of the GoFundMe Team hope that the coverage of the GoFundMe Guarantee offered some relief during this difficult time.

Sincerely,

Rudolph
Customer Happiness Lead

Mar. 2nd, 2018

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Francesca R Nastasi Fair Lawn, NJ

Dear Gofundme, this is a very shocked user. My husband and I thought to use the site to help paying our beloved cat's expensive bill. I didn't think your rate to help us out were so outrageous. We remained appalled about your policy. Nothing is for free that's a given unless you agree on a fair trade. I would have appreciate a fair flat fee of for instance $25 or even $30 for you and whatever we make it was going towards the veterinarian's bill. Perhaps you should embrace the same plan as more fair companies like Airb&B or other ones. When people use your site is to get an extra help. Also, you didn't even circulate the page around. We had to take care of letting people know about the site. So the $67 you made through us are based of doing nothing. Congratulations you are definitely e legal unfair site! I We reached only $770 of this money gofundme kept about $67. I should be ashemed on a human and value creation society level. Some of our family and friends decided to donate separately. I am glad this happened. I am officially protesting against this abuse of power. You are taking advantage of people feelings and emotions. I read online some of the reviews and if I were you I would start expanding life through the process of introspection. Whatever we think say or do will have an equal effect. When we don't create value a lesson is about to occur. We only lost $67 you lost compassion, kindness, empathy and so forth. Meditate on that and work hard on how you behave in the future. I will send my daimoku for you to open the eyes and realize we are ONE and if dont' take responsibility on helping one another we totally miss the concept on being a human. Thank you for listening Francesca Romana Nastasi

7 years ago

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Jean E. Rightmire Williamstown, NY

Gofundme along with Wepay has ripped us off of $1,000, and that's not counting all the time I have had to spend trying to get the to understand their mistakes. They made them from the very beginning and their employees can't seem to comprehend simple things. I should be dedicating this time to the care of my husband who's in stage 3 of 4 of heart failure. Nope these yahoos can't tie their shoes. This originated from them illegally charging my friend's credit card twice. They cannot even admit their mistake, and they can't even understand their mistake, despite the fact it has been pointed out to them, practically with charts and such. They do not respond in a timely manner and there is no phone number to call and actually speak with a person. They are hiding behind a scam "security" screen about having a phone number!! I am filing formal complaints with the CA and NY attorney generals office and many more. I am taking to social media to call them out and warm others. I will be contacting people who have gofund me pages up b/c they are ripping people off at their greatest time of need.

7 years ago

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Reply from GoFundMe

Hi Jean,

We've reviewed your account, and it looks like a bug caused some trouble here with charging a donor twice. To make up for that mistake, we waived our fees and covered the second charge while also refunding your donor. While this bug was a unique situation for your campaign, that's no excuse for the stress caused to you during an already stressful time in your life.

We wish you and yours the best.

Mar. 29th, 2018

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Oh man

I made a go fund me thinking I might be able to get some help buying a new computer. As an artist they can be pretty expensive. And even harder when you have a bad anxiety disorder and can't work. Magically I woke up to see someone gave me $3000 with the message to make it count. I was so happy and tried to withdraw the money. I got an email saying I wasn't clear about who I was (not possible, I used my Facebook, real name and stuff) I was too vague on what I'd spend the money on (a new computer, duh) and how I was related to the person the funds were being raised for. (Me) so I messaged them back saying it was all true and sitting on the edge of my seat. I get another message then next day asking how I was related to the Donor? I'm not, they were someone I didn't know. They could have been a fan of my work or just someone who felt really generous. So far no email back and my funds are on hold. I really got my hopes up here. This is Turing into a really terrible expirience.

7 years ago

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Cori Marie Scott

I will NEVER campaign through GoFundMe because they work alongside WePay, a joke of a company. They are the absolute worst. They take money straight out of your account for chargebacks (when the donations are supposed to be NON-REFUNDABLE, but don't let them fool you, they aren't), unauthorized! They refuse to return it to you, or be understanding in any way. They'll send you an email telling you that they had already done so, not even giving you a chance to contest or ask why. $45.46 stolen by WePay from my personal bank account, and I'll never see it again. I guess I do have one thing to thank WePay for... Thank you for showing me that I should have never done business with you or ever again, and now I can warn others against doing the same. I have nothing good to say about this company. Unfair and money-hungry... The absolute worst experience. The much worse part? GoFundMe would not help me in any way. My first, and certainly last experience, with GoFundMe or moronic WePay. It's a shame that GoFundMe works with them.

7 years ago

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KRISTINA Q CA

Gofundme is a scam!!! They make it super easy to sign up and donate but then to withdraw the money is a nightmare. They ask all kinds of repetitive questions regarding the fund. I knew the campaign organizer for a funeral fund and they would ask her such questions as: what is the money being used for? Can you verify the expenses of the funeral? Can you verify that you are you? My poor sister in law couldn't even grieve her own mother because she had to deal with gofundme on top of planning a funeral she didn't have money for. Their customer service department is non existent. You can only contact by email and they respond with automated BS messages. You reply to that and then they don't reply. Eventually the cycle starts over because you have to reach out again. Gofundme.. Nah GOFRAUDME!!!!!!!

7 years ago

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Lyjan Graham

I don't like gofundme.com. I was campaigning for funds for less fortunate children in the Philippines that would run all year round, unfortunately I had no enough donation for my $2000 target (only $50.00 was donated), so gofundme.com removed the donation url for that reason. I checked my account why, and their reason is because the donation did not reach $500.00, Because of this, I was not able to make anymore donation from where I embedded the donation code in my own website for a few more people to donate. The link was removed without prior notice, living me expecting it was working alright until I noticed the link did not exist anymore. I still have to try more crowdfunding sites that has no such policy and be more helpful to anybody seeking help.

8 years ago

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Tom Reay Salmon Arm, BC

I have used gofundme a number of times over the years for worthwhile Causes and People. It has now become obvious that gofundme is a Political Organization. When they succumbed to Political Pressure to shut down disbursement of donated funds, then tried to steal them to give to their own cherrypicked 'charities or causes'; that was it for me. I will never use that service ever again.

2 years ago

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Maranatha Quickly Cheyenne, WY

I was paying to an event in Canada and the fund was shut down because of Media coverage. George Floyd and BLM was not closed down and there was burning and death in the streets. I feel this was a political move and politics should not be involved with charity funds. GFM is only an conduit to get funds out. NOT to end funds because they disagree with them. I will never use this platform again. There are plenty others to choose from.

2 years ago

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Taylor Smith Reno, NV

GoFundMe is a horrible business that just stole $10 million from the Canadian Truckers account. Not only will GoFundMe NOT give the money to the trucker's organization, they also REFUSE to give it back to the donors. Instead, they have decided to give it to organizations of THEIR CHOICE. Guess ehat Gofundme? We did donated the money to YOU!!!! You are theifs!!!!!! GIVE BACK THE MONEY!

2 years ago

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AlexK QC

Why is responding to emails such a problem for this platform? This is not some game app but a platform for people in dire needs to get help and yet gofundme simply either does not respond or responds with totally irrelevant, off topic replies, mind you takes 2-3 days just to get one if you get one. I am unable to log in, no error message of any kind, screen simply fades away as if logging in and stays this way forever. Have sent 3 emails asking for assistance or what to do with no response at all. So what am i suppose to do?

2 years ago

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K C Chatsworth, GA

I have used this site to get donations for three or four different reasons. I do exactly what is recommended to get donations started and to get to my goal. But not one of these gofundme fundraisers that I started has ever received a donation, not even a penny. And my fundraisers are about important things that are not stupid at all. But in my opinion, people that do stupid things are getting the money and absolutely way more than they asked for. This isn't a Fundraiser site of importance. It is a site for doing stupid crap and getting paid for doing the stupid crap. A very huge difference

2 years ago

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judith stoll-stark Lawton, OK

Had a go fund me for friend who battling with cancer initiated . As I withdrawn the money for her, a couple days later I received an email my account was negative! Donor rebattled his donation as i contact go fund me i got an email stating a lot of donors don't realize the draft it does not say go fund me. Seriously company is aware of that problem, but doesn't ensure donors be notified what the bankdraft will say on bank statement. didn't even get a warning ,money was taken out of my account before I got notification , but go fund me keep there fee, never again .Bad business

4 years ago

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Helena Rutherford Oakland, CA

What started off as a honeymoon fundraiser for my mother has now turned into a major loss in personal finance. My account was suspended and all funds frozen. After weeks of jumping through hoops and running in circles, I get an email saying donations will be reimbursed within 10days. A month later and I get an email saying my funds have now been locked with National Treasury and I will need to apply for a liscense to access account. HUH? No response except the spam link to national treasure website. An impressively unhelpful platform.

4 years ago

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Laura Weaver Kittrell, NC

I have been attempting to make withdrawals for some time now but I never get any type of a confirmation when I enter my bank account information in and everytime I email these guys they never get back to me!!! I will never use the gofunme platform again...it looks like I will never be able to make any withdrawals from my donors so now I love issues going to the doctor's; thank you GoFundMe for being a complete waste of time and effort. You guys are complete garbage and I am speaking nicely about you when I say that!!!!!

5 years ago

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Gary

Made a donation using my credit card to help Irma victims. Very next morning I was informed of the fraudulent use of my credit card that I had given to GoFundMe, to buy $243 of food from Panda express located only 4.1 miles from the GoFundMe offices. Coincidence possibly but I think they have a dishonest employee and I will not be taken in again.

6 years ago

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Kelly

Only really useful if one is a social media butterfly, otherwise those who are not are SOL. Kind of sad that people can raise money to pay for their unicorn's pet bill but those who are taking care of two dying parents, trying to pay over 200k in student loans, all while on disability and raising a young child cannot get any assistance from gofundme type of companies. Don't bother responding.

6 years ago

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Tarek

I have never seen a business or organization with no phone number to call. The email response is so generic and I can't reach anyone to help. I'm raising a charity for an orphanage and we did so well in one day, they ended up closing my account, refunding all the donations we raised with no valid reason, investigation or even responding to my emails Worst company ever!!!!!

6 years ago

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Reply from GoFundMe

Hello Mr. Elshaarawi,

I can confirm that our Trust and Safety team has been working in conjunction with our payment partner to understand why these actions were taken on the donations you raised. I do see that you have two separate campaigns on GoFundMe, one that is raising funds that will be sent directly to a charity, and then another that you set up that was a personal fundraiser. I can assure you that donations to your charity campaign have not been affected here -

I have asked our Trust and Safety team to follow up with you to clarify how we can best continue with the second personal campaign you set up should you wish to raise funds on two separate campaigns.

All the best,
Rudolph

Mar. 6th, 2018

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almontecindy Foster City, CA

GoFundMe is a scam. We're a PTA, I'm the treasurer, and we have a simple campaign. They're happy to take people's money but it's nearly impossible to get the funds out, and there is no help if you're stuck. A teacher opened the account to help out, then PTA took it over. Both he and I are locked out getting any funds, we keep getting the same email over and over - add more info. We've added info everywhere - still nothing and no help from GoFundMe. This company is a scam. Use anyone else.

6 years ago

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Reply from GoFundMe

Hi Cindy,

After reviewing your account, it looks like you had a conversation with our Community Management. They needed to verify some information for security purposes because you were not mentioned in the campaign itself, but you were withdrawing the funds. It looks like after providing the requested documentation, our team was able to verify your identity and clear you to withdraw the funds. We can confirm that at that point you were able to continue to withdraw all the funds that were raised on behalf of the PTA.

Mar. 26th, 2018

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Daniel Catlover Las Vegas, NV

Gofundme sucks 1. Their system is moronic. There is a "start a new campaign" link but it just takes me to my already started and over campaigns. There's no other option to make a new one. 2. In both dolphin and chrome browser (android lolipop) the gofundme menu malfunctions, it either won't open or flickers open and closes up again. 3. There's no way to change your wepay email. And it's been YEARS stuck at this level of stupidity.

6 years ago

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Reply from GoFundMe

Hi Daniel,

We're sorry to hear about the trouble you had with our site! In searching for "Daniel Catlover" in our system, we were not able to locate any campaigns or correspondence with our Customer Happiness Team. After testing the issues you listed, we were not able to replicate any issues and can confirm that the above issues are working properly.

If you wish to contact our Customer Happiness Team for further assistance, please go here:

Mar. 26th, 2018

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Amy Glaser Ithaca, NY

Go Fund Me Double billed my credit card for my donation. My attempt to get this corrected involved contacting the credit card processor, We Pay, as it was there error. They redirected me to Go Fund Me, who promised to resolve the issue with We Pay. Two days later, I get a frantic Email from the person whose campaign I supported informing me that they are refunding my donation to her when it was supposed to be that they would refund the extra charge to me. They are charging her service fees to boot and this transaction. Customer service is friendly but entirely ineffective. I suspect fraud.

7 years ago

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Thomas-Victoria Kraus

I tried to help my brother who has been wrongly convicted, and there was a lot of crookedness with his case. Our family was ripped off from a couple attorneys, and my brother was not represented correctly. He has just paid another attorney to appeal his case, and I was trying to help him raise money for his attorney fees through go fund me, they allowed me to start the campaign, but then canceled it on me. I am very dissatisfied with go fund me service, and will look to other crowdfunding sites, before I ever decide to use go fund me in the future again.

7 years ago

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kylie od Southampton, PA

Raised money to help pay for my father's funeral services...GoFundMe's website doesn't even work properly. We cannot withdraw our money and was never made aware that we would also be subject to WePays percentages to be removed from the donations as well as GoFundMe's percentage. 5% plus an additional 2.9% and 30 cents for every donation. But that doesn't even matter because we cannot get a dime withdrawn from the site. DO NOT USE GOFUNDME

7 years ago

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Rosi Sanchez New York, NY

I tried to change my password because I am grief stricken after my brother's death. They were supposed to send me a confirmation password to reset my password. I couldn't!! Another email says password successfully set. They never sent a confirmation password. I can't even register for a new account because it says email taken. There is no money to give my only sibling a decent sendoff!! He died suddenly!! Please help me. I am beside myself with grief and worry because this is affecting my mother worse!! She is elderly with major heart problems. Please help!! Thank you kindly.

7 years ago

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Antonio J Gonzalez Fairmont, WV

Terrible sight. Unless you are tied in with every single media Network on the planet, it will not help you. I needed help with medical and legal expenses I was explicit about it had photographs and still to no avail. I would never recommend this to anybody I know unless I wanted someone to waste their time or I knew that they had created every media Network.

7 years ago

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Steve Gossett Pasadena, CA

WOW! Set up an account because my wife passed away and needed relief with funeral costs. We had a total amount raised of $4,435.00. GoFundMe took 5% ($221.75) and WePay took two fees (2.9% + 0.30) per transaction for a total of $141.50. So between them both they got total fees of $363.25 from our funeral fund. I hope life is as sympathetic when someone who works there loses a loved one.

7 years ago

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M

Terrible terrible my friend and her fiancé past away last December leaving two boys orphaned so we started a gofundme me page as a trust account and we still haven't received funds we raised. 18 months later!! Fighting back and forth only by email for them to do a complete circle of request we complete then the sign a new person to email us to start again. Terrible no contact number or physical adress. Garbage site!!!!

8 years ago

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Wilwil Sainte-Therese, QC

Quel désappointement cette organisation GoFundMe, plus jamais, j'opte maintenant plutôt GiveSendGo, beaucoup plus crédible. What a disappointment this organization GoFundMe, never again, I now opt for GiveSendGo, much more credible.

2 years ago

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Soltes Mountain Properties LTD. Calgary, AB

Go fund me blocked a campaign like the one from the Canadian truckers due to politics. They truckers have legitimate support from thousand of Canadians and raised over 10 million in about a week. They should not decide which causes should get support.

2 years ago

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Rebecca Foss Chilliwack, BC

I will never use GoFundMe again due to how they've handled recent events. If a campaign is shut down, money should be automatically reimbursed and not kept and redistributed how GoFundMe sees fit. Shame on GoFundMe for this mess. It has ruined their reputation in my eyes.

2 years ago

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Free Dom MN

I will never use Go Fund Me ever again! They misled me as to where my donation was going. They freeze the funds that I intended on going to a wonderful and popular cause!! I am switching to Give send go for now on and I will tell everyone I know about this experience!!

2 years ago

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Ruth Las Cruces, NM

I'm very confused about this? I Don’t know what happened but gofundme dropped my account! Good thing the refunded all donors money back. There is no way to contact anyone to find out why. If anyone knows how, please let me know! Much appreciated!

5 years ago

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Ciara Rockford, IL

Hello I was wondering have any one had a problem with getting your money from go fund my money is stuck and my dates keep changing I put one because I’m trying to find out what going on but I would rate it 5 beverage it is a good thing to do

5 years ago

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Ann Cornelius Sapulpa, OK

We raised over $1000 on GoFundMe, but are unable to get the money out for the funeral expenses. There is no withdrawal ability. Very sad day for the family, and no response from GoFundMe. I think this is a scam of the most outrageous proportions.

5 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

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Reply from GoFundMe

Thank you for sharing your feedback with us, Ann. We're sending our best to the family during this difficult time, and we're glad to confirm that our Customer Happiness Team was able to help you withdraw all funds.

If we can help with anything else during your time on GoFundMe, please reach out and our team will be here to help further.

Aug. 21st, 2018

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Tommy Green Pass Christian, MS

I have over $832 in my go fund me account I've locked myself out and have no way of contacting these people do not use go fund me because if you make one mistake they get all of your money they do not have proper questions and proper answers for all the fucking problems they have all that money and I can't even afford a damn telephone

6 years ago

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Leo Mckenna

Changed their operations to a stripe account we are a small society who don't have the money to get a company number so this has prevented me from money for my choicen charity and left me uncertain of what will happen to the little donations we do have

6 years ago