How to fundraise to evacuate civilians from Gaza

GoFundMe’s mission is to help people help each other. We have witnessed an incredible outpouring of support for people affected by the current conflict in the Middle East

In the past few weeks we have seen a significant increase in people across the world fundraising to help those in Gaza – often to help them evacuate from conflict zones, and to free the Israeli hostages.

Below you can find guidance and tips if you want to fundraise for those trying to leave Gaza. You can see our guidelines on general fundraising here. 

Here are responses to frequently asked questions on how to fundraise for relief and evacuation efforts and what may be required during our Trust & Safety verification process. We will review all fundraisers for Gaza, so please note what documents you will need for vetting.

Please be sure to include the following information in your fundraising story – the more transparent your story and detailed your responses, the easier it is for us to review the fundraiser:

1. Who you are

2. Where you’re from

3. The full names of the individuals or organisations you are seeking to support or aid, where they’re located, and your relationship with them

4. How the funds will be spent and how you plan to get them to the beneficiary

Why is my fundraiser ‘frozen’ under review?

In order for us to be allowed to support fundraising including evacuations for those on the ground in Gaza, our banks and payment partners require us to apply additional due diligence, which may result in longer wait times.

Please know our global Trust & Safety team is working 24/7 to review each fundraiser related to this crisis, to protect your generosity, and provide support as quickly & safely as possible.We are committed to empowering people to help each other wherever we can. 

While fundraiser withdrawals are frozen, the public can still donate.

What details do I need to provide to help the fundraiser review process?

To speed up the review process, we recommend you include the following details in your fundraiser description:

• All cities where funds and assistance are being sent. Specificity is important here — please include the name of the city, town, or village. We cannot accept generally stated regions or territories, or vague and undefined groups of people.
• Clearly detail the purpose of the fundraiser and how the funds will be used. This can include, but is not limited to, humanitarian aid for civilians, a registered charity for medical supplies, or clothing and food for displaced persons.
• If you are distributing funds to an organisation after withdrawing to your bank account, you must list the organisation’s name on your fundraiser and you will be expected to agree, in writing, that you will transfer funds to that organisation and that the funds will only be used for humanitarian purposes.
  

Why do you need my documentation?

As part of our review process to distribute the funds raised, we may need to gather additional documentation to verify your identity or the identity of the recipient, as well as plans to distribute funds. We know getting money to people as quickly as possible is important, however, this is necessary to meet payment processor requirements and help ensure the fundraiser is compliant with our Terms of Service. The information you share is only required for internal GoFundMe verification purposes and will be used in compliance with our Privacy Policy: https://www.gofundme.com/privacy

Why can’t I get my funds immediately?

We are required to verify the identity of anyone raising the funds, the intended recipients, as well as the reason for raising funds to ensure it is in accordance with applicable laws. As part of this process, it may take some time while we work with you to complete required reviews. Once this is done funds will be transferred as quickly as possible. 

Why haven’t I heard from you yet?

Our Trust & Safety team will communicate with you through the email address you used to set up your GoFundMe account and fundraiser. Please be sure to monitor the email address for any important updates or notifications from our team that impact your ability to continue fundraising. If you are not receiving notifications from our GoFundMe team, please check your spam mail folder.

Please remember fundraising is not allowed for:

• Any support for armed conflict, regardless of the country, which includes funding weapons, any supplies to soldiers, territorial defense forces and more.
• Travel to any location to support military or territorial defense, except as required by a national government.
• Any fundraisers in violation of our Terms of Service and our processing partners’ terms of service.

In instances of removal because we are unable to support a fundraiser moving forward, donors will be refunded.  

GoFundMe doesn’t charge fundraiser organisers any fees to set up or run a fundraiser on the platform. The only fee on GoFundMe is a standard transaction fee of 2.9% + 25p per donation. That fee primarily goes to our industry-leading payments processors who play a crucial role in ensuring the safe and secure flow of funds, as they do for businesses worldwide that run on credit card and debit payments. Should a fundraiser need to be removed, a full refund will be issued to all donors. Learn more about pricing here.