MANSFIELD, Ohio — While lemonade stands and bake sales still raise money for causes, other fundraising methods have cropped up over the years–especially online fundraisers. And one of the most popular fundraising websites utilized by hundreds of thousands of people across the globe is GoFundMe.
Even locally, people have used this fundraising tool for different causes.
Kiesha Boone of Mansfield, for example, created a GoFundMe account in support of her son, Chaise Nelson.
Seventeen-year-old Nelson is working toward qualifying for the 2016 Olympics for boxing, said Boone.
She said he’s had to miss some competitions in the past because of the combined cost of travel, food, hotel stays, entry fees for tournaments, gear, etc. but didn’t want him to miss out on competing in the Olympic qualifying tournament, “Pathway to the Podium,” held in Colorado Springs.
“It’s always been his dream to go to the Olympics,” she said.
And so, she set up a GoFundMe account, asking people to donate funds to cover Nelson’s traveling expenses so he could participate in the tournament.
“I do think GoFundMe is good,” she said, having personally donated to causes listed on the site.
She said by using GoFundMe, it allowed some friends who lived out of the area to donate easily.
The account helped raise $580. That money, in combination with funds that were generated via other means, allowed Nelson to compete in Pathway to the Podium, from which he advanced to the next qualifying round, Boone said.
Lisa Chumbley-Robertson is another local resident who recently created an account to help raise funds for Esther “Petey” Borders’ funeral expenses.
“What prompted me to do this is I’ve known [Borders’] family since I was a kid, and they lost their father exactly one year to the day before losing their mother, and they didn’t have life insurance. It was just one of those deals where the family needed as much support as they could get financially,” she explained.
On her GoFundMe page, she writes, “This family is not only grieving the loss of both of their parents but now trying to pay for the [funeral] expenses of both. Let’s come together as a community and a family and help ease this burden.”
GoFundMe–which doesn’t have campaign deadlines or goal limits–has raised $1.25 billion from 13 million donors since it was launched in May of 2010, according to the website.
The website says that the top five areas of usage on GoFundMe are medical, educational, volunteerism, personal emergencies and sports and teams.
“The beauty of GoFundMe is that it allows campaign organizers to invite others to take part in their story. Just as we share parts of our lives on Facebook, we also want to share our dreams, pursuits, celebrations and challenges online with crowdfunding. People will always be eager to support others they care about. GoFundMe removes the physical barriers traditionally associated with receiving financial support from the people in our lives,” the website says.
Though it’s free to create and share a GoFundMe account, according to the website, GoFundMe deducts a five percent fee from each donation received. Also, a processing fee of about three percent is also deducted from each donation.
Deanna Romano of Bellville said she wanted to create an account to help 10-year-old Julia Heintz move about her home with greater ease and independence.
Heintz has cerebral palsy and uses an electric wheelchair to get around. However, her split-level home in Wickliffe makes moving from one area to another a challenge. To alleviate this issue, the Heintz family would like to make $47,000 worth of renovations to their house to better accommodate her needs.
One of Heintz’s peers initiated the fundraising efforts. Romano–whose godmother is Heintz’s grandmother–caught wind of Heintz’s friend’s efforts via a Facebook post and wanted to provide additional support.
“When I saw that post, I was like wow, this 10-year-old girl is willing to fundraise–what would happen if we could all come together and have a means of communication? And then I thought about GoFundMe where people could donate to Julia’s cause,” Romano said.
Romano said she had used GoFundMe to contribute to other peoples’ causes but had never personally created an account–not until June of this year, anyway.
In just one month, she said over $13,000 was raised.
She said it’s been encouraging to watch as several people–friends, family members, and even strangers–have come to together in support of this cause.
“It’s just amazing,” she said.
