GoFundMe is a free fundraising platform that has helped people raise over $5 billion in donations for various causes including education, illness, accident, and charity. While they are a "free" fundraising platform, they do have a 2.9% payment processing fee for donors + $0.30 per donation. This is small potatoes compared to some of the successful fundraisers like Saving Eliza, which raised over $2 million for a child with a terminal degenerative disease. Setting up a campaign and donating are both fairly simple, as the campaign can be as generic as you want. I created a campaign last year to help raise funds for a trip to Lima, Peru on a mobile clinic. I did raise $500 but that was all from family and friends. When you look at the bigger campaigns, you start to see a lot of anonymous donations.
What prompts someone to anonymously donate to a campaign? There are several social psychology principles that help explain why people donate to campaigns with their name. One example being reciprocal altruism, which our book defines as "altruism that involves an individual helping another (despite some immediate risk or cost) and becoming more likely to receive help from the other in return." When a person donates to a campaign with their name visible, they may think that if they are ever in need or they themselves have to create a campaign for something, they may get a donation from the same person they donated to. While someone donating to a campaign does not have any substantial immediate risks, they are giving money away when they could use that money for themselves later on. So what about anonymous donors?
Long story short, helping others seems to just make people feel good. According to our book, there's a growing body of research revealing a strong relationship between giving help and feeling better, including improvements in mental and physical health. Studies also show that engaging in altruistic behavior activates areas of the brain associated with receiving actual material rewards. So when someone donates to a campaign on GoFundMe, whether anonymous or not, it still gives them a good feeling. Another possible reason for donating anonymously to a campaign could be empathy. If someone sees a campaign for a mom with breast cancer and their mom died from breast cancer, they may feel empathy for that person and donate, as empathy is defined as "understanding or vicariously experiencing another individual's perspective and feeling sympathy and compassion for that individual."
GoFundMe can be a great way to raise money when truly in need but since it's so easy and free to start up, there's bound to be some silly campaigns. GoFundMe currently does not have any restrictions on what kind of campaign people can create and do not review after one has been made, leading to campaigns asking for money for booze, cigarettes, new cars, etc. Take a look at this YouTube video on 10 stupid GoFundMe Campaigns.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2sTzgUGlEs&t=467s
So what do you guys think:
- What would prompt you to donate to a campaign on GoFundMe?
- Do you think that there may be other reasons for the relationship between giving help and feeling better? As we all know correlation isn't necessarily causation.
References:
GoFundMe. (2018, March 30). Retrieved April 02, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoFundMe
Kassin, S. M., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2017). Social psychology. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Picture Credit: https://www.google.com/searchq=gofundme&rlz=1CAACAR_enUS720US720&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwihrqysgZzaAhVOHqwKHda6AI8Q_AUIDCgD&biw=1366&bih=621#imgrc=04Q3yOjhA1IO_M:
The #1 and most trusted free fundraising platform. (n.d.). Retrieved April 02, 2018, from https://www.gofundme.com/
GoFundMe has lead to some both amazing and stupid ideas being brought to life. I have donated to a few GoFundMe pages before, and, as with the ones I have donated to, what gets me to donate is if the people behind the GoFundMe are working for something good, like building shelters for the homeless or something similar in nature. For the second question, I do not think there are other factors to donating other than feeling good or better about yourself. You may tell yourself that you are being selfless and only doing it to help others, but there is no lying about the fact that you do it because you feel good afterwards. Do you think that GoFundMe should stay as it is, letting anyone start one for anything they want, or do you think that there should be some sort of screening process before a GoFundMe is created?
ReplyDeleteI have not donated to any GoFundMe campaigns before but I agree with you that if I did, it would be for a bigger organization that is well established. I do think that they should have some kind of screening process! Some of these stupid campaigns have actually gotten a lot of donations and that just seems so wrong, like the money should be going somewhere else. And maybe if donors didn't see these stupid ones they might be more willing to donate to a better cause instead of getting a laugh. But who knows!
DeleteI’d have to disagree on this one, I don’t think GoFundMe should implement a screening process. I think the freedom people have in where they donate and what they raise money for is one of the pillars of this organization. If you don’t this people should donate to a less deserving campaign, you don’t have to but you can’t control other people’s money. In the end I think it’s really impressive and heart warming when a tiny, unestablished GoFundMe raises tons of money because of the actual need for money and deservedness of the story/cause.
DeleteYou're right that if GoFundMe did have a screening process it would take away from the freedom people have to do what they want online. And most campaigns are for a good cause. It just bothers me to see people donating to silly campaigns! But the good that comes from GoFundMe definitely out ways the bad.
DeleteFirst off, that video was definitely worth watching. It's crazy that people would actually donate to some of those ridiculous campaigns. To answer your first question, I would be prompted to donate to a campaign if they were raising money to help the less fortunate. Of course, I would do some research to see if the company/group/person was well known and had a good reputation since I'd want my money to go to good use. I would also be willing to donate to people I knew personally, especially if I knew for sure that the cause was legitimate.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your second question, yes I do believe that there are other reasons for people donating to campaigns. Like you mentioned in your post, I believe reciprocal altruism is one of the main reasons people donate money, especially when its not anonymous. Most people believe if they lend money to someone now, they'll eventually get that money back later on. Personally, I don't think I'd ever make a GoFundMe campaign for this exact reason. That gives other people the ability to play the "well remember that one time I lent you money..." card in an effort to guilt trip you down the road.
Yeah like I said to Connor, I would donate if it was for a good cause that I knew was legit. I would also donate if it was someone I knew. Most campaigns start out getting donations from people they know. I understand the reciprocal altruism bit - if I donated to campaign and then I had to make one for myself, I'd want that person to repay the favor. That definitely shouldn't be a reason to donate or make a campaign but it's a little hidden benefit.
DeleteI really enjoyed your post and the video you included! I think that GoFundMe can be very beneficial to people in need. However, it was truly amazing to see some of the crazy (and maybe not so deserving) campaigns that have actually met their goals. In my personal opinion, I think I would be much more likely to donate to causes of people I know. Like you mentioned with your campaign, I think that most people probably see donations from their close family and friends. I think this is most likely because we have a personal relationship with them and are more trusting of the intentions of their campaigns. Donating to someone you know seems inherently less wasteful and definitely can trigger feelings of reciprocity and altruism. If we donate to someone we know on a personal level, we are much more likely to be returned the favor than if we donate to someone who is an acquaintance or a stranger.
ReplyDeleteI was very intrigued by your thoughts on anonymous donations. In your post, you talk about the benefits of altruistic behavior. I think that the idea of altruism is something that is very interesting within itself because if we are benefiting from an act of altruism, whether that benefit is that we feel better, have a cleaner conscious, or are mentally healthier, we are still technically getting something in return for our actions. The party we are giving to may not be the one giving us something back but we are still benefitting from the act. This makes me wonder whether humans are ever acting strictly in the best interest of others.
In your post you talked about anonymously donating when a cause is something that is relevant to our own experiences. I think that example is the next most common reason for donating, beyond knowing the person. I think that when we feel emotionally engaged or attached to someone’s story, we are more likely to engage in empathetic behaviors. This is why emotional appeals in things like advertising are so common. Our emotions have the power to drive our decision-making processes.
Thanks for your reply! I would also be much more willing to donate to people I know. And even if I did donate to a random cause, I don't think I'd ever do it anonymously. And if I had a campaign, I would want to know who donated even if I'm not familiar with them. I applaud those who do donate anonymously though because they really have no way of getting reciprocal altruism and just have good intentions. I like your comment about whether humans are ever acting strictly in the best interest of others. I want to say no. Even selfless acts like saving someone from a fire comes with a hero complex and still makes someone feel good about themselves. But I think that's okay! Even if you're saving someone so you can be a hero, you're still saving someone.
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DeleteI think that GoFundMe is an excellent way to raise money for serious causes. In high school, one of my classmate's parents died in a car accident and his sister and he were left without parents. His aunt started a GoFundMe page for the two of them and after a few weeks, they had received thousands of dollars! So I do think that GoFundMe is reliable when it comes to raising money for legitimate causes. I would definitely be prompted to donate money to a GoFundMe page where people are seriously affected by a tragedy.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! I sometimes browse GoFundMe and I do see some wonderful causes with a lot of donations. I'm not a huge fan of a lot of social media but this website is a great example of the good that can come from it, as those going through tragedies 20 years ago would likely not get as much support to help relieve them from the costs.
DeleteI like and agree with this post that GoFundMe is a great way for people to raise money when they (or other people) are in need. However, there definitely are some stupid "causes" that people put out there to try and get money for. The thing is, sometimes it works and they can actually get money that way. I have donated to a GoFundMe before and I don't mind donating as long as it's for a cause or disaster that is real. That way, I know the money is going to the right person to make a difference in their life. It makes me feel good about myself knowing that I can help someone else out in their time of need.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I definitely feel good helping out a good cause. It would really have to be someone I know though or else I wouldn't be able to know for sure if it's real. Even though there are stupid causes, there are also fake ones. I've read a couple stories about people creating a campaign about some tragedy that ended up being fake. Either way, it's great for those who truly need it and the fake ones hopefully get weeded out.
DeleteI've never donated to a GoFundMe campaign although I've seen tons of them with a wide range of causes. The campaigns I've looked at haven't necessarily sold me on their purpose therefore I didn't feel a need to donate. Although, with various groups in school I've had to raise money (nothing online based) so I do think platforms like GoFundMe do seem much more convenient.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I see ones that I'd like to donate to or I think they're a good cause but a lot of them are already way over their goal and I don't know exactly what that extra money is going towards! I think using GoFundMe for school groups/charities isn't a bad idea but I'm not sure how many anonymous donors or random people would actually donate. It'd probably be mostly families or teachers!
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