How to help my gofundme succeed?

February 6, 2017 9:57 AM

I've put together a gofundme campaign to try and cope with a big financial setback. I've sent the link to friends and asked them to share, but I'm new to social media stuff and don't really know what else to do. Can folks recommend any other approaches or guides to crowdfunding that could help me with this process?
posted by anonymous to Human Relations (10 answers total)

Th GoFundMes that I've donated to were usually started by someone on behalf of someone else. "Hey, our friend Anon is having some tough times and we want to help her out." The person who started it was often well connected and got people to share the news.

I think it's unlikely that it's going to get beyond your friend circle. Very few people are going to give anything to a friend of a friend or a stranger unless it's some story that goes viral somehow.
posted by bondcliff at 10:22 AM on February 6, 2017 [16 favorites]

If this is because you are dealing with something like a medical debt or discrimination due to being LGBT, I've seen people get way more than I would have ever expected (donations and reblogs) on Tumblr.
posted by fiercecupcake at 11:26 AM on February 6, 2017 [3 favorites]

I recently set up a gofundme for myself to pay for an attorney for a legal matter. I explained clearly in the text what the money would be used for and how much I needed. Then I would re-post the gofundme every three to four weeks as a reminder.

I brought in the amount I asked for, all of it from friends and family. They saw that I had a need and they helped fill it.

I come from a very religious family, though, so that might have helped.
posted by tacodave at 4:26 PM on February 6, 2017

I did a gofundme nearly a year ago when my cat needed dental and cyst removal surgery. First I wrote about how funny and smart and lovable my cat is, illustrated by glamour shots of him taken before the cyst developed (he's a beautiful little creature), and then I explained that because of my financial situation, I wasn't able to save up for the surgery, and that Trilby's teeth were in bad shape and he had dropped part of a tooth on the kitchen floor and I'd spent two freaking years looking at the tumour on his head and couldn't take it any more -- this part of the email was illustrated by a recent shot of Trilby with a grape-sized, veined tumour on his head.

My gofundme campaign reached its goal in less than three days. I would say having a good story accompanied by compelling photo evidence helps a lot. So does having a lot of online friends who will not only contribute but post the link on their Facebook pages.
posted by orange swan at 5:59 PM on February 6, 2017

No, I'm a disabled veteran. I'm 69 and applied 5 years ago for VA disability
due to my medical problems. The VA said I was 100% disabled due do my
heart, even though I have multiple health disorders. Now five years later they
said a mistake was on my part by not reporting my wife's social security income.
Then I was told what I was receiving was not the type of pension
that I thought it was, but a household income based pension,
called "Aid In Attendance." Due to my and my wife's social security
income I was not eligible for the program. So they want their
money back! They have sent letters, and after going to my congressman for
help, they have said they could attach my social security check for payments.
posted by egm1947 at 11:34 PM on February 6, 2017 [1 favorite]

My wife did not and do not have much of a family circle that most are talking about. We live in a rural WV where we don't even get home mail delivery if you can believe that. As far as our family, yea, we have 3 daughters. One hasn't
spoke to us in 20 years, can't remember why, lives in Tennessee. The other two live out west and we get a card once in a while from them. So basically no family.
I'm worried that if they start taking my Social Security, we will loose our home and my wife will have no place to live when I'm gone.
posted by egm1947 at 11:59 PM on February 6, 2017

I would strongly recommend revising this question with the mods' assistance to reflect the crux of the situation: you are a disabled veteran of retirement age who was erroneously given benefits which are now being claimed back from you, and you have been informed that the VA could garnish your social security benefits, and how can you proceed. I don't have the expertise myself, but hopefully someone with knowledge and legal background could guide you as to how to appeal this decision and ideally get some kind of veterans' assistance / legal aid in this matter. I am so sorry that you are in this position and that the very people who should have been helping you seem to have set you up for failure. Perhaps reaching out to your representatives in Washington, DC might help as well.

This is certainly a compelling story which may garner attention via crowdsourcing, but were I in your shoes, my first line of inquiry would be legal assistance so the garnishing doesn't happen to start with.
posted by pammeke at 12:58 PM on February 7, 2017 [1 favorite]

I found your name in your profile and through that your GoFundMe page. Your story is compellingly laid out there, and I see that you've already contacted your congressman, but have been given little encouragement there.

I would still advise adding "disabled veteran" to your question or to your keywords on this question, so others with greater knowledge here can pitch in, but here is what I might suggest: send your GoFundMe page to online outlets which you think might be sympathetic to your situation. I am more in the special needs / mental health area, so for example I would approach The Mighty. They might be a possible sympathetic ear. Gawker might be another possible outlet interested in your story. They posted this story a few years ago, which makes me think they would be.

I'm sorry to hear that you have fallen out of regular contact with your children. I do think that younger folks (50s and younger) tend to share these GoFundMe pages and donate to them more than older folks (likely a level of comfort with giving money online). Do you or your wife have friends through your social circles or volunteering or hospital visits or hobbies that might be open to sharing your story? Online support groups, for example? There are online support groups for disabled vets, for example.

Good luck. You shouldn't have to be dealing with this, and I'm truly sorry that you are.
posted by pammeke at 1:20 PM on February 7, 2017 [1 favorite]

One more question (sorry!): the letter you post a copy of says that you have the right to dispute the debt and to request a waiver - have you also done those things? If so, I'd recommend adding that to the GoFundMe page, essentially showing that you'd exhausted your options.
posted by pammeke at 1:42 PM on February 7, 2017

First off, I want to thank everyone who has responded so far to my situation, (problem whatever)
I appreciate all the response.
1. Legally I don't have a foot to stand on. My congressman's staff informed me in Washington D.C.
It was an error by the submitting veterans group that filled out the paperwork on my behalf.
2. An application for a waiver was submitted for the $31962. But like
the case of California National Guard, it would likely take an act of
Congress.
3. I tried to connect to the mighty (could not), Gawker, did not see how to post or see the relevance?
My e-mail is public if anyone is interested. Again I can't Thank you enough for all the help !
posted by egm1947 at 3:12 AM on February 8, 2017