money collection for a colleague: 21st century edition

September 12, 2018 1:05 PM

I want to collect money to fund meals for a colleague who is ill. How do I accomplish this without a manila envelope of small bills on my desk?

The money will be used to purchase grocery/meal deliveries. I do not want to handle cash. Ideally I would have a link that anyone could use to donate, with the most minimal sign-up process possible and a low-pressure vibe. Do I want to use SignUpGenius group gifts, Paypal Money Pool, Gofundme? Please tell me about what you have used and liked.

posted by a moisturizing whip to Work & Money (6 answers total)

You might want to check with HR. When I was working in offices the envelope for cash would go on the desk of someone like the head of finance or an HR person. They can cut a cheque or wire it to an account. A privately organised online service would be a no no. This has the advantage of being very much more likely to get people to chuck in some of their pocket money as they don't have to sign up for something online. It's super awesome you're doing this :)
posted by Mistress at 1:35 PM on September 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

Also online services all have fees which can be a turn off to donors.
posted by Mistress at 1:36 PM on September 12, 2018

Best answer: In general, GoFundMe is the way this is done in offices where there isn't an official collection protocol.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:05 PM on September 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Online services afaik do not have fees that the donor pays. Paypal charges nothing if you are sending to friends/family (as opposed to goods/services, but even then it's the recipient who gets charged) Gofundme takes a small percentage of your overall donations, but again that cost is not borne by the givers.

I frequently use Go Fund Me to raise money for things like this within my community. It's easy to use, their take is small, and people trust the platform.
posted by ananci at 3:06 PM on September 12, 2018 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone. I plan to use GoFundMe. GoFundMe itself does not charge a fee for personal fundraisers, but payment processing costs 2.9% plus $0.30 per donation. My (large employer) HR department gave the thumbs up, and also recommended Meal Train.
posted by a moisturizing whip at 7:31 AM on September 13, 2018 [1 favorite]

Meal train is outstanding for this, by the way.
posted by ApathyGirl at 11:21 AM on September 13, 2018 [1 favorite]