Go fund me…….has it gone too far?

Theexwife

It doesn’t bother me because I do not look at Go Fund Me or respond to anyone asking to donate to their page.

I'm afraid I agree. I donate to various charities and I know where the money is going. Although I feel sorry for some people I hear of - such as being injured abroad - I'm sorry but that is why you make sure you get insurance and an EU card. In these instances money can't be that tight if they can afford to go on holiday. I wouldn't dream of expecting strangers to bail me out or fund their exploits.

I don't know what go find me is. I've never heard of it and I certainly wouldn't be involved in handing money to strangers.

Go Fund Me - brilliant for the (ever present) 'What can I have?' brigade - but, as my mum used to say 'Nobody is forcing the money out of your pocket! so I'll continue giving to charities and let them decide who gets it.

Don’t see anything wrong with giving money as a wedding present. They can buy whatever they like…. Or put it towards a honeymoon.

Much better than buying something that they have 2 of already!

I read that over £65k has been raised for the family of the murdered transgender girl. How many funerals would that pay for?

What bothers me is this idea which seems to be ever-growing of financial compensation for loss.
Funeral expenses are one thing, loss of income another for the loss of a parent especially of young children, but how does money compensate for the loss of a child? Why should anybody feel any entitlement to financial compensation?
It’s putting a monetary value on a life and that is something I am very uncomfortable with.

I feel exactly the same Maw. Nothing can compensate for the loss of a child.

I suppose in this case it will give the parents the option of time off work without worrying about money to support the family.
Its not putting a price on a child .
A lot of companies are reluctant to give paid leave for bereavement.
Here we have a benefit for bereaved parents as well as leave now enshrined in law .Other parts of the UK aren't so fortunate .
I have only given to one GFM my neices MIL was in hospital for 3 months in that time no one paid her insurance premium so when she died it wouldn't pay out .The family had been struggling along without her wage so paying 5K for a funeral wasn't an option.
Go Fund Me raised the 5k in two days most from family and friends who were more than happy to contribute to the funeral of someone who they had known,worked with or grown up with .Nobody is forced to contribute ,I only did because my neice was heartbroken over the whole situation .I wouldn't help pay for a honeymoon though.

Yes. I had a request from a local person for a contribution to medical expenses, which I did respond to. Months later the same person requested help for the medical expenses of their dog. It seemed a bridge too far.

Our neighbours have used Go Fund Me to help pay for their child’s aggressive brain tumour treatment. This has been the reason why they have been able to pay for treatment in Germany and to take advantage of other treatment that hasn’t been available on the NHS. Both forms of treatment have had successful results and there is now hope in place of despair. So it is a terrible thing if self serving people ruin the chances of obtaining similar help when it really is necessary. I would also add that Coronation Street didn’t help when they included characters just setting up Go FundMe for little or no reason and apparently obtaining money.

I know of a couple on another continent who are both in fabulously paid professional jobs with own villa in the hills etc who set up a Go Fund Me page for their dog's vet's bills for $5,000 and their friends paid up. Not the world I knew.

I do feel quite sorry for people with pets when they set up a gofundme. Where we used to live there was the PDSA free treatment for those on benefits or v low income with just a donation asked for. Also the RSPCA clinic for low income people at a low cost for treatment. Where I live now there is nothing that I'm aware of. I'm fine as I have insurance and funds so can afford private vets for my dogs.
Insurance is limited to a set amount as a family member found out recently when their dog got hit by a car. Vet bill was in excess of 5K for a broken leg needing surgery with metal plates. Insurance was limited to 5K plus £100 excess. Thankfully it healed well but if it had needed amputation later that would have been self funded.
Family member could afford this if needed but many people wouldn't be able to pay.
Vets are very expensive which a lot of people don't realise until their animal is ill or injured.

I saw one where an amateur ladies rugby team wanted money to pay for a coach to take them to a game in London, otherwise the girls would have to pay for themselves. Surely sponsorship is the way to go for that and grants from WRFU.

If someone requires special treatment or equipment then that is a different matter.

Vets are very expensive which a lot of people don’t realise until their animal is ill or injured.

Which is why this should be thought about long before a pet is obtained, then expecting others to fund the cost.

Calendargirl

^Vets are very expensive which a lot of people don’t realise until their animal is ill or injured^.

Which is why this should be thought about long before a pet is obtained, then expecting others to fund the cost.

It's a tricky one, isn't it? As is well-documented on here I hate means-testing, and don't think a system that assumes who can 'afford' what is remotely fair. It takes no account of outgoings, discourages those on low incomes from trying to improve their lives, and can result in situations where those who work aren't able to do (or have) things that those who don't get given.

But it is sad that people who would love pets can't afford to keep them because of insurance costs, which can be very high, and very sad for animals who have no say in who owns them if they have to suffer because their owners can't afford vet bills.

I don't know the answer - I am 100% in favour of a compulsory insurance scheme (ie NI) to fund the NHS, so that treatment for humans is free at point of need, so the better-off and well fund the treatment of the less well-off and sick, but it's much harder to argue that a similar scheme should apply to animals' treatment. Owning pets is not a right, and it is a choice to keep them - even as a dog lover I can't justify asking everyone to contribute so that anyone who wants a pet can have one (or three or four - where would it stop?)

I'm thinking aloud, so don't shout at me, but maybe a licensing scheme that compels pet owners to take their animals for an annual check-up might work? The vet could decide whether the animal is suffering and have the final say on whether it should be fostered by people who can afford to look after it or put to sleep if the owner can't afford treatment. There would be sad tales attached, but at least the animal wouldn't suffer for too long. It would probably cost a fortune to administrate though, and would rely on there being a supply of people willing to take on a sick pet with the associated expense.

Sometimes it seems too much, but then a story comes along like this one this week ( I'm in Australia) . A young Australian couple and their baby were in the Philippines, and the little baby became very ill, far too ill for the local hospital to cope with. They were featured on the television one night, asking for donations to help send her back here for better hospital and medical care. Cost - $90,000 . Within 24 hours , the amount had been raised and the little girl was on her way on the plane. Sometimes Go Fund Me is a wonderful way out of a bad situation.

Unless I knew the person concerned I would never donate through a ‘go fund me’ site. The people I know wouldn’t ask , either.

I have contributed for people I know - one friend uses it to get sponsorship for his yearly marathons. He's raised over £45,000 for cancer charities so far.

I know of someone who lives near me, very well off, who paid for all her daughter's university costs through various GFM pages. Her friends all think she's a genius. Some of us think she should be in prison for obtaining money by deception. That was a while ago though, I have a feeling it is better monitored now.

I wouldn't donate to a GFM for reasons mentioned by previous posters

I also wouldn't donate to Oxfam or some of the larger charities. Their CEOs, directors etc are on huge salaries so I wonder how much actually goes to the people in need.

I donate to Children in Need and regularly donate to our local hospice.

The salaries of the CEO and directors don't bother me in the least. They are working for a charity, not working out of charity, and good Marketing professionals and business managers who can manage international concerns with huge budgets can command high salaries. If charities won't pay them the going rate they would go elsewhere, and charities would have to rely on well-meaning amateurs running cake stalls and tombolas. Goodness knows who would co-ordinate the takings and make sure they were spent how they should be, or manage the numerous charity shops and fundraising events, much less liaise with governments about getting aid into war zones and the like.

On the whole it is only tiny local charities (eg to raise money to get treatment for a named sick child, or to replace a church roof etc) that can give anything like 100% to the cause. Accountants, PR professionals, people who design logos, catalogue production, fundraisers - the list of people who are needed to run a large charity goes on and on, and they all need to be paid.

How mean spirited some of these posts are. If they have raised £65k for the transgender girl that was murdered, why be so nasty about it? People wanted to give and the family I am sure aren't interested in profiting from their daughter's death. I would imagine they will put any surplus towards a charity or some other way of remembering her.

I've no doubt there are some unscrupulous people who are putting forward untrue sob stories but I prefer to think that the majority are genuine. I would rather risk my money occasionally being wasted than never to give to people in genuine need.

Some of these big charities do a wonderful job but I have noticed that some of them have huge, quite plush offices in Central London. I don't begrudge staff being paid properly but I think an expensive location is unnecessary and wasteful. Yet few people complain about that.

The thing is, though, that it's nobody's business to complain about the standard of the offices. If you don't like it, don't contribute to the charity - it's really as simple as that. I think that decent working conditions operate in the same way as salaries, however. If someone could command a six figure salary and a spacious attractive office working for Acme Gizmo Manufacturers, why would they accept a five figure one to work in an open plan basement for a charity? So long as they bring in the funds, their salaries will be covered.

I didn't realise the thread was about Brianna, is it? I thought it was a general thread about GFM and so on, and people aren't being nasty - some are just pointing out that this method of giving is not for them.

When dd ran the London Marathon the charity she was running for asked her to raise a certain amount in sponsorship before they would let her run for them. This is because charities are only allocated so many places each and obviously wish to maximise the amount they make. This is why you see requests on go funding pages. Often charities choose exotic location fund raising events to get people to take part.

Just thought I would put the record straight.

I post on another forum which has raised money for various posters in the past ( they didn’t ask). Late last year it was suggested that those who could would donate to a ‘ Help Out’ fund, and anyone who was struggling could ask for help. It was decided to give the money on a ‘no questions asked’ basis, and just take the chance that someone might abuse it. It seems to be working very well, with many posters saying how it helped them, especially at Christmas, as often £20/£30 made a difference.
Strangely enough, at first it was quite difficult to encourage people to ask for help.

25Avalon

When dd ran the London Marathon the charity she was running for asked her to raise a certain amount in sponsorship before they would let her run for them. This is because charities are only allocated so many places each and obviously wish to maximise the amount they make. This is why you see requests on go funding pages. Often charities choose exotic location fund raising events to get people to take part.

Just thought I would put the record straight.

That is one GoFundMe I contributed to when neighbours ran for charity.