Basic Introduction

The GoFundMe platform covers 21 categories including media, volunteers, education, sports, family, charity, etc. , with a total of more than 2 million projects and 50 million people participating in crowdfunding .

Success Factors

1. GoFundMe is different from the traditional social crowdfunding model. It is a public platform for launching fundraising activities for personal needs or goals. The projects released are more personalized and life-oriented, aiming to help people with practical life needs raise funds. For example: raising treatment costs for family members with cancer, asking for donations to pay for college tuition, raising funds for overseas travel, etc. In addition, unlike general crowdfunding platforms, there is no time limit or minimum amount limit for fundraising projects on GoFundMe .

2. If users want to start a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe , they can describe their fundraising reasons and the amount they hope to raise on the application page, and upload photos or videos. Projects on GoFundMe can be shared through social networks such as Facebook , Twitter , and email. This sharing by friends or acquaintances can greatly improve the efficiency and credibility of the dissemination.

3. Many projects on GoFundMe are of a charitable nature, but it is actually a for-profit company. Previously, GoFundMe 's business model, unlike other return-based crowdfunding methods such as equity crowdfunding, was to charge a 5% "platform fee" on all fundraising amounts.

Development History

In 2008 , Brad Damphousse and Andrew Ballester founded CreateAFund , the predecessor to GoFundMe .

In May 2010 , GoFundMe was officially established in Silicon Valley, USA. The purpose of the website is that anyone can raise funds on its platform for any reason.

In the fourth quarter of 2014, GoFundMe raised more than $ 156 million, bringing the total for the year to $ 470 million, an increase of 268% . This means that GoFundMe has surpassed Kickstarter to become the world's number one crowdfunding platform.

In June 2015 , Damphousse and Ballester sold a majority stake in GoFundMe to well-known venture capital firms Accel Partners and Technology Cross Ventures , and announced their withdrawal from the company's day-to-day management.

In 2016 , GoFundMe raised more than $ 1 million per month on average, growing three times as fast as in 2015. Crowdfunding funds reached $ 3 billion, with total revenue exceeding $ 100 million.

In January 2017 , GoFundMe, a crowdfunding platform for personal lifestyle projects, announced the acquisition of another crowdfunding platform, CrowdRise , but did not disclose the specific transaction amount.

In November 2017 , GoFoundMe cancelled its " commission " for personal fundraising projects in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom and tried to transform into a business model based on tips. Now, its revenue sources are composed of user tips, 2.9% payment processing fees for each transaction, and commissions from fundraising activities of institutions.

scam

In November 2017 , a couple and a homeless man in New Jersey, USA, were accused of using the public crowdfunding platform GoFundMe to raise more than $ 400,000 by making up heartwarming stories . The homeless man, Bobbitt, conspired with McClure and the D'Amicos to fabricate a heartwarming scam. In November of this year , the conspiracy scam was exposed after being prosecuted for uneven distribution, which caused anger. The crowdfunding company GoFundMe agreed to return a total of $ 400,000 to the 14,000 crowdfunders who were deceived , and ensure that Bobbitt could get the promised money.

References

• 1. GoFundMe, a well-known crowdfunding platform in the United States: Medical fundraising accounts for the majority, and the "blacklist mechanism" regulates online fundraising: Sky Military [cited date 2019-11-21T16:00:00.000Z]
• 2. GoFundMe refunds a total of $400,000 to the scammers of the homeless crowdfunding scam: cnbeta [cited on 2018-12-25T16:00:00.000Z]
• 3. Crowdfunding platform GoFundMe acquires competitor CrowdRise, and the foreign crowdfunding platform industry enters the M&A stage: 36kr [cited date 2017-01-12T16:00:00.000Z]