Navigating the T&C of GoFundMe, Police Brutality Edition
April 10, 2017 2:05 PM Subscribe
Two friends of mine were among the most severely injured of the #JaxFive, who were arrested in this horrific incident of police brutality. In the immediate aftermath, there were a lot of people who wanted to donate, especially to support my friend Connell, a Deaf, progressive activist who was beaten by about five cops and dragged away unconscious. Hours after the incident, I volunteered to set up a crowdfunding page to channel people’s desire to help. People on the ground seemed most familiar with GoFundMe, so that’s what I set up.
I was warned by a fellow activist that GoFundMe had a tendency to pull funds that were created to raise bail money, so I made the wording intentionally vague. Here’s the initial post:
“At a peaceful protest organized by Jacksonville Against the War on Syria, Connell Crooms, a prominent Deaf activist, suffered injuries that lead to his hospitalization. In video footage captured by Action News Jax, Connell is clearly seen being taken down by five or so officers.
We have created this fund in the immediate aftermath of an ongoing incident, and the current goal is a ballpark estimate. The total will be updated as we discover more information about Connell's needs. The funds raised will go towards medical bills and other expenses incurred as a result of this appalling incident.”
The next day, I received an email from GoFundMe’s Community Management Team informing us that we might not be compliant with their Terms and Conditions, (https://www.gofundme.com/terms/) that they had placed withdrawals on hold, and that we had 14 days to respond to these questions:
1. What exactly are you raising funds for? Please be specific as possible.
2. Is this campaign for defense against legal charges, or in support of someone charged with a crime? If so, we will need clarity on the nature of any charges.
3. A clear explanation of how you know the beneficiaries.
4. A clear plan on how you intend to deliver your donations.
The main ones giving us trouble are the first two. My friends have all been charged with criminal offenses, including inciting a riot, although there’s a big push locally to try and get the charges thrown out. I tried Googling around to find out GoFundMe’s stance on cases like this, but it was hard to figure out. My questions are as follows:
1. Would GoFundMe condone our raising money for bail or legal representation?
2. If not, what can the GoFundMe money be put towards? We discovered afterwards that Connell has good insurance, so his medical costs are likely to be quite low. However, since the fund’s been so successful, and since other protesters incurred injuries, we’re planning on extending the fund to cover all of the Five.
3. What wording should we use when we post an update in order to be compliant with the Terms and Conditions and get the most utility out of the fund? People have suggested adding “expenses incurred due to the injuries, loss of work,” and taking out “other expenses incurred.”
4. Are there other crowdfunding platforms besides GoFundMe that we should consider that would allow us to raise money for bail and legal representation?
Thanks in advance, everyone. We have a meeting with the ACLU at six, so I may be offline for a bit.
I was warned by a fellow activist that GoFundMe had a tendency to pull funds that were created to raise bail money, so I made the wording intentionally vague. Here’s the initial post:
“At a peaceful protest organized by Jacksonville Against the War on Syria, Connell Crooms, a prominent Deaf activist, suffered injuries that lead to his hospitalization. In video footage captured by Action News Jax, Connell is clearly seen being taken down by five or so officers.
We have created this fund in the immediate aftermath of an ongoing incident, and the current goal is a ballpark estimate. The total will be updated as we discover more information about Connell's needs. The funds raised will go towards medical bills and other expenses incurred as a result of this appalling incident.”
The next day, I received an email from GoFundMe’s Community Management Team informing us that we might not be compliant with their Terms and Conditions, (https://www.gofundme.com/terms/) that they had placed withdrawals on hold, and that we had 14 days to respond to these questions:
1. What exactly are you raising funds for? Please be specific as possible.
2. Is this campaign for defense against legal charges, or in support of someone charged with a crime? If so, we will need clarity on the nature of any charges.
3. A clear explanation of how you know the beneficiaries.
4. A clear plan on how you intend to deliver your donations.
The main ones giving us trouble are the first two. My friends have all been charged with criminal offenses, including inciting a riot, although there’s a big push locally to try and get the charges thrown out. I tried Googling around to find out GoFundMe’s stance on cases like this, but it was hard to figure out. My questions are as follows:
1. Would GoFundMe condone our raising money for bail or legal representation?
2. If not, what can the GoFundMe money be put towards? We discovered afterwards that Connell has good insurance, so his medical costs are likely to be quite low. However, since the fund’s been so successful, and since other protesters incurred injuries, we’re planning on extending the fund to cover all of the Five.
3. What wording should we use when we post an update in order to be compliant with the Terms and Conditions and get the most utility out of the fund? People have suggested adding “expenses incurred due to the injuries, loss of work,” and taking out “other expenses incurred.”
4. Are there other crowdfunding platforms besides GoFundMe that we should consider that would allow us to raise money for bail and legal representation?
Thanks in advance, everyone. We have a meeting with the ACLU at six, so I may be offline for a bit.
Mod note: Link removed; no harm done but we should skip linking to an active fundraiser for the avoidance of doubt here, quoting for context should suffice.
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:47 PM on April 10, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:47 PM on April 10, 2017 [5 favorites]
Um, you might want to ask the mods to anonymize all of this information, immediately?
posted by snorkmaiden at 1:55 PM on April 11, 2017
posted by snorkmaiden at 1:55 PM on April 11, 2017
Response by poster: I'd seen that earlier, brainmouse - was wondering if any MeFites had any familiarity or legal savvy.
Thanks cortex, completely slipped my mind. Snorkmaiden, good point - while anonymity's not too much of a concern for us right now, certain phrases should perhaps be struck from my initial post.
posted by Devika at 7:32 PM on April 11, 2017
Thanks cortex, completely slipped my mind. Snorkmaiden, good point - while anonymity's not too much of a concern for us right now, certain phrases should perhaps be struck from my initial post.
posted by Devika at 7:32 PM on April 11, 2017
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posted by brainmouse at 2:17 PM on April 10, 2017 [3 favorites]