Online Donation Blog

With the release of our new homepage, today marks the beginning of many new improvements to GoFundMe. Fueled by your feedback, our team has been working hard to deliver the best experience possible for GoFundMe users.

Over the next few weeks, you’ll continue to notice shiny new upgrades to the site. These improvements will help make GoFundMe even more effective – and easier to use for both you and your supporters. Of course, we’ll keep you informed about any important announcements that will help you raise money online.

If you’re new to the site, visit the Fundraising Ideas area to see how other people use GoFundMe. You can also donate online to other causes that interest you.

As always, you can contact us with any questions or feedback and we’ll get back to you right away.

Thank You!
-The GoFundMe Team

Below is a summary of GoFundMe causes in the news for July 2011.

Atlanta Post: June 30, 2011
Crowdsourcing Craze: Black Artists & Businesses Getting Funded by Friends
“The old way of getting money is dead,” declares LaShunda Davis, owner of ‘Cure Beauty Bar nestled in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood. “Knowing that banks were totally not giving out loans,” Davis continues, she opted to make her pitch on GoFundMe to acquire more capital. “My thought was to get people and friends involved.”
Support this cause >>

The Suburbanite: July 8, 2011
A luau to benefit Springfield resident Judi Sammons
“The goal is to raise funds to help offset the medical expenses,” said her sister, Dee Rummel. “We are so blessed to have such wonderful support from family, friends and the community,” she said. To follow Judi’s progress visit www.gofundme.com and enter “help Judi beat breast cancer” in the search box. This link was set up by her daughter, to update others on Judi’s journey.
Support this cause >>

Reno Gazette Journal: July 10, 2011
Erin Breen: On the journey of a lifetime
He’s walking from San Diego to Maine to bring awareness to breast cancer and the importance of early detection. And he’s taking photographs and blogging about everything he sees along the way. By the way, you can follow Arthur on his journey at arthurhitchcock.tumblr.com, and you can help fund his supply of water and walking shoes at www.gofundme.com/californiatomaine
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Canton Rep: July 15, 2011
Jazzer Seeks Donations
“People have been asking me for a Christmas album for years, and I have yet to deliver. I believe with your help, I can get this accomplished and have a top-notch project (released by) November 2011,” he says. “Every little bit helps.” To make a donation, visit www.gofundme.com/2011-Christmas-album. Earlier this year, both Ryan Humbert and Lovedrug sought support from fans to finance their next albums.
Support this cause >>

Victorville Daily Press: July 15, 2011
Family rebuilds after fire
Richard Pipkin and his family are still sifting through the rubble that used to be his mother’s home. People in the community have stepped up to help the family and Pipkin said they are very grateful to them. A friend of Pipkin’s sister has set up an account on www.GoFundMe.com, a site that allows people to raise money for various causes and needs. To make a donation, visit the site and search for Pipkin.
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Parker Chronicle: July 15, 2011
Parker teen raising money for global program
Kayla Lehne is on a mission to earn $30,000 for a Global Gap program called Projects Abroad. The 27-week volunteer program is designed for high school graduates spending a year before attending college to explore the world and learn about global issues while helping with volunteer projects. People can donate money online at http://funds.gofundme.com/2ftv0
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The Courier: July 18, 2011
Police to reassess search for Jason Richards
Police maintain the investigation into the father-of-two’s disappearance remains ongoing, despite the search being suspended on Friday. Friends back in Ballarat have established an online search fund so the team in the outback can afford accommodation, food and fuel as they search for their missing loved one. To donate to the search fund, visit www.gofundme.com/68cvs
Support this cause >>

The GoFundMe Team recently heard from former US Marine Tyler Hamby about his Wounded Warrior Project donation page.

When I decided to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project. I debated building my own website or looking for a web site ready to go. After searching several web site companies, I decided on going with GoFundMe. They had reasonable fees unlike some of the sites I looked at. The site offered more flexibility and creative tools than I could do creating my own my website. Setting up my personal site as well as connecting to my Facebook and email account was incredibly easy.

I planned on running the half marathon and I wanted to raise some money for a great cause. With GoFundMe, I was able to spend time on my running and not sitting behind the computer all day. It took me about 20 minutes to complete my website and have it posted. I immediately emailed my friends and family and requested they go to the site. Within an hour of posting my site I received my first donation. That was a good feeling but the positive encouragement I received from friends and family were incredible.

I sent out an update requesting my friends and family forward my link to their friends. A couple did and I continued making that request over several days. Before long, I noticed my total site hits nearly doubled. As of this writing, I am half way to my goal and I’m confident I will reach my target. I plan to continue with the updates on Faceook as well as asking a couple friends I know who own a website to post my link on their site. I started doing updates regarding the run I did that day. However, I think posting interesting information about my cause such as talking about a Marine who recently received help from the Wounded Warrior Project is a better way to go. I want people to see first hand how the money they are donating is being spent. I’ve also learned to directly ask for a donation with each update posting or email. Prior to doing that I noticed an increase in hits to my website but not many donations. Once I started asking point-blank for a donation, I got a better response.

With GoFundMe it makes raising money for something important, easy. I’m looking forward to reaching my goal and since I’m halfway there with over two months to go, I’m feeling really confident I’ll make the goal. For those of you who have not looked at my site, I want to share one paragraph from my message.

“…With so many young Marines coming home with life changing injuries, how can we as free American citizens not be there for them? For those who know me, I don’t like to run unless it is to the fridge or after the ice cream truck. I have even been known to run to the bathroom until the dinner dishes have been done. With that said I have been blessed with two healthy legs and have the ability to raise money for those who cannot. I am asking you for a donation in the amount you would like to give. I am thankful for any amount.”

Thank you and God Bless you.

Tyler Hamby
http://www.gofundme.com/HYMN-Project

There’s a new way to put money in your pocket.

That’s right – the team behind GoFundMe is launching a new site that helps people earn money doing what they love. Check it out >>

We made it really easy for people to offer their skills & services to the World – and get paid! It’s called Paygr (pronounced, ‘pager’) and it might just be the next big thing.

Just think – if you have something to offer, then someone else is probably willing to pay you for it. You just haven’t met them yet : )

From music lessons and math tutoring to dog walking and car repair, Paygr helps interested Buyers discover talented Sellers like you.

Want to know the best part? We made it incredibly easy to use. Accepting payments, attracting customers and communicating with Buyers is all built-in… you just need to sign-up, customize your Seller Page and take good care of your customers.

Ready to get started?

Visit the page below to learn more and create your account. Signing up is Free:
Sign Up Now >>

Want more information about buying & selling on Paygr? Check out our help section.

Thank you!

-The GoFundMe Team
(and Team Paygr too)

p.s. Don’t worry, GoFundMe and our customer support team is here to stay!

This week’s GoFundMe user story comes to us from Sandra Rizkallah of Needham, MA. Sandra is the organizer behind Plugged-In Teen Band Program

Through GoFundMe, we raised over $4,000 in three weeks…and we still have 2 days left of our fundraiser! And, this is more than $1,000 over our goal! Raising that much money in such a short amount of time is amazing, but what makes GoFundMe even more incredible is how easy it is, how much fun it is, how it brings an organization’s community together and how it lets you tell your story with people all around the world.

We are raising funds for the Plugged In Teen Band Program in Needham, MA, a non-profit teen rock band program teaching kids about using music to create positive change in the world. In addition to weekly classes, songwriting workshops and community performances, three times a year students perform in benefit concerts that raise money for causes and organizations chosen by the students themselves. Plugged In provides a nurturing and supportive community to which young musicians feel a sense of belonging, an opportunity to express and be acknowledged for their musical interests and a chance to use their music to help others around the world.

Every spring, we have a student fundraiser. This year, the fundraiser is called Plugged In Live: A Concert Streamed Around the World. On May 28, over an 8-hour period, 32 teen bands in Plugged In will be performing in 10-minute increments at the studios of Young Broadcasters of America (YBA), a television studio run by teens. The performances will be streamed live on the internet and will be available via pay per view around the world. The concert will also be available to download from the internet after the event via pay-per-view. In addition to “Plugged In Live” being an exciting event for Plugged In and YBA students and their families and friends, it is also a very critical fundraiser for Plugged In. Plugged In students are using their talent, love of music and social networks to raise money to ensure the sustainability of Plugged In and that Plugged In’s high-quality band program continues to be available to teens, regardless of their ability to pay.

Our Youth Board decided to have a pre-event fundraiser and set a goal to raise $3,000 before the May 28 event. Since Plugged In Live is a concert streamed on the internet, it seemed like a great idea to have an online fundraising campaign. We looked at all of the different online fundraising companies and we chose GoFundMe. It seemed the most user friendly in that we didn’t have to meet our goal in order to receive donated funds and we didn’t have to offer rewards to the donors.

Our GoFundMe experience exceeded our expectations. With GoFundMe, our teen students were able to use email and facebook, something they use everyday, to fundraise for Plugged In and give back to a program that means so much to them. It was an empowering experience for them and for our whole community. We had music friends all over the world donating and sharing our GoFundMe page link…from London to Zimbabwe to Germany….even Algeria! It was also inspiring to read the comments of the donors…who were able to let everyone know what our program means to them.

Another aspect of GoFundMe that we loved was being able to post videos and photos. Each day we posted a video of a different student talking about what Plugged In means to them. We have heard from many of our donors how much they enjoyed this…and our students loved being able to tell their stories to our supporters.

We look forward to using GoFundMe again next year at our 2012 Plugged In Live event!

Thank you, GoFundMe!

- Sandra Rizkallah

Plugged-In Teen Band Program
Needham, MA
GoFundMe Page: http://www.gofundme.com/PluggedInBand

Durango Herald staff writer Emery Cowen covers GoFundMe – excerpt and links below:

Faced with tragedies, people turn to social media for support

Dawn Mayberry talks about her fight with cancer in her La Plata County home. Her daughter Jasmine has set up a webpage on gofundme.com to raise money to help pay for her treatments. ”It flipped me up like a piece of paper,” Dawn Mayberry said of the disease. She said she has been humbled by the donations she has received through the GoFundMe webpage, some from as far away as Australia.

Read the full article here. You can visit Dawn Mayberry’s GoFundMe page and make a donation below:

As of 10:10 AM PST, GoFundMe’s hosting service has resolved the outage. Thanks for everyone’s comments & emails. We appreciate it!

Thanks again!

http://status.mosso.com/2011/04/cloud-sites-php-wc1dfw-degraded.html

Our sincere apologies – GoFundMe is currently experiencing temporary outages. Our hosting company should have the problem resolved soon: http://status.rackspacecloud.com/

Stop the Presses! GoFundMe users are getting some decent news coverage these days. Just check out a few recent stories below. Also, be sure to let us know if your GoFundMe story gets some press as well!

From Patch.com on March 23, 2011

Teen’s Walk Across America Needs Support by Nancy Woo
This mother’s son, whose vivacious spirit seems to take after her own, hopes to one day start his own non-profit organization for Breast Cancer research and awareness so that he can be sure that funds are going to the right places. As of now, he is using gofundme.com to raise money for the cause as he seeks sponsorship and builds relationships with organizations.
You can view this user’s GoFundMe pages here & here.

From Cincinnati.com on March 25, 2011

Locals Find Funding Online by Laura Baverman:
Individuals can raise funds for travel plans, college courses or mission trips through GoFundMe. Matthew Dooley, a marketer with American Modern Insurance Group, is using the site to help raise money to attend a conference called Mashable Connect in May.
You can view this user’s GoFundMe page here.

From Examiner.com on March 28, 2011

UFO Ranch achieves fundraising target in 48 hours by Jon Kelly
James Gilliland, founder of Enlightened Contact with Extraterrestrial Intelligence, described the “extreme gratitude” he felt having launched the effort only 48 hours earlier.
You can view this user’s GoFundMe page here.

Here it is! We recently received a couple of heart-warming messages from GoFundMe users Jennifer Haron and Heather McCabe. Below are their comments along with links to their GoFundMe pages. Thanks again you two!

Jennifer says:
“Wow!  I had 3 months to raise $1,000 in order to surprise my husband with a trip to NYC for his birthday.  We are 3 weeks away from our deadline, and we have raised 92% of our goal!  There is no way on EARTH I could have done this without GoFundMe.com!  Thank you so much for making it possible!  I’m telling everyone to use this site!”

Learn more by visiting Jennifer’s page: http://funds.gofundme.com/1opu8

Heather says:
“I’ve been rescuing Special Needs pets for 12 years and for the first time, I found myself unable to come up with the money for a much needed surgery, a friend suggested GoFundMe so I set up a page figuring every little bit helps… my goal was $1,000 for the double eye surgery Nikki needed – I am pleased to say it took only a week to reach that goal and our final total is $1,240! Nikki has had her surgery and is now pain free : ) Thank you so very much from Nikki and I.”

You can learn more at Heather’s page: http://funds.gofundme.com/2ce3s

Do you have a GoFundMe success story that you would like to share? Contact Us!