Donors like you continue to change the world for the better every day on GoFundMe. In 2023, the largest source of charitable giving came from individuals, who donated a huge $374.40 billion to good causes, representing 67% of total giving.
If you’re wondering, “How can I donate safely online?”, read on to learn how GoFundMe makes it easy to do just that.
At GoFundMe, we are here to help you safely make donations online through our platform. It is our mission to help people help each other, and being able to donate safely is crucial.
While you can donate to a GoFundMe fundraiser with confidence knowing your donation is backed by the GoFundMe Giving Guarantee, here are a few things to consider when making a donation.
Discover fundraisers to support on GoFundMe
Review the fundraiser’s details
GoFundMe has dedicated teams and processes in place to help ensure that fundraisers are authentic. And, we’re constantly looking at ways to improve our tools and processes. When donating on GoFundMe, take a second to make sure you’re donating to the person or cause you are intending to support by reading the fundraiser’s description, checking their official website, and verifying their social media.
To spot a potential scammer, it’s important to stay vigilant and look out for red flags. These could include inconsistent information, errors (such as misspellings), lack of updates, solicitation, and pressure to donate quickly using off-platform payments, like wire transfers or bank account transfers.
Donate on the GoFundMe platform
We encourage you to make all donations to a fundraiser directly through GoFundMe. To help facilitate the most seamless donation process and ensure funds are delivered to the intended recipient quickly, GoFundMe accepts various donation payment methods. These methods include credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, and many others. Take extra caution if someone requests that you send money for a fundraiser to an individual via means other than the GoFundMe platform.
Donate to a legitimate charity
If you want to make sure your donations are supporting a good cause, look no further than a charitable organization. Avoid charity scams by confirming the organization is legitimate and checking the charity’s website.
Use a charity watchdog to search for the charity’s names, such as Charity Navigator, CharityWatch, or BBB Wise Giving Alliance. We’ve also compiled a list of the best charities to donate to via the GoFundMe platform—these are all registered charities that fundraise directly through us.
Report anything that doesn’t look right
Fraud on GoFundMe is rare. If someone does create a fundraiser with the intention to mislead donors, our team takes swift action. If you believe a specific fundraiser is suspicious, you can report it here. Thank you for helping to keep our community safe.
Donate in confidence knowing you’re protected
You are making the world a better place for someone every time you give. GoFundMe believes it’s our responsibility to protect your kindness by protecting your donation with the GoFundMe Giving Guarantee. Fraud on GoFundMe is rare, but in case something isn’t right, donations of any amount are covered for one full year after you donate.
Donate today
You can make safe online donations with GoFundMe to individuals, charities, and nonprofit organizations. To search for a fundraiser to support, visit the GoFundMe search page or check out our list of the best charities to donate to.
