I’m looking for some advice or suggestions on how to set up a crowdfunding site - I know there are lots of options. If you have done this I’m hoping you can share which site you picked and why.
We’re trying to set up a site to finish funding a scholarship in memory and honor of our daughter. The scholarship is more than half funded already. Once it reaches 10K it will fund itself forever and the school will be able to award an annual scholarship in her name.
I’ve done some research but I’d love some tried and true insight.
Thanks
I would encourage you to find a local charitable organization that would let you do this under its umbrella. That way donations are tax deductible and more importantly, you don’t have to pay nearly as much in fees and there is more credibility to your efforts.
Local community or education foundations often play this role; I manage many such scholarships.
If you can’t find a foundation, look to an organization that may be related to your daughters interests. A sports organization or medical related charity or even something like Kiwanis or Rotary. Feel free to PM me
The scholarship is with the local community college where her dad works - she took a few classes there as well. She graduated from a college in NC and was in grad school in MD but the community college has a emotional connection. I wanted to put the information on a Facebook page. We could have people send checks directly to the college but I thought it would be more successful if we had an online option with a tracker so people could see the progress with the goal.
I understand what you are saying and I know that people do react more emotionally to a GoFundMe sometimes. GoFUndMe does have a charitable arm that may take less in fees than the regular site, but you have to go thru a 501c3 organization.
Perhaps it’s because I work in the field, but I do not usually donate to GoFundMe type things because the donor literally has no control or follow up on the funds. The fundraiser can end up spending the money on a new wardrobe because there is no oversight. (I’m not saying you are doing this!) So I only give to causes where I know the person in charge of the funds well and then I usually just send a check so they get 100% of my gift instead of 97%
It looks like GFM has changed some of its practices to lower fees and ask for “tips” instead. Most people are not as cynical etc as I am so you will probably have some success with crowdfunding. Just wanted to offer that option in case you had an organization you could work with.
The more I think about this I think it has to be a crowdfunding site - I’m not in love with the idea but I think it has to be easy for people to donate. We would be sharing the site with family and friends so I’m not worried about people thinking its a scam - they would already know our story.
I saw the YouCaring site and it says there aren’t additional fees (there still must be transaction fees) - has anyone used this site? I read some negative reviews so before we decide to try it I want to be sure its a good, safe way to go.
I’m wondering if you could do this via PayPal. Set up your own PayPal account and then create a “free” website for your scholarship? Just another thought
GoFundMe and YouCaring seem to have the same fees. I feel like I see GFM appeals more often than YouCaring, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best one. It’s been around the longest I think
If I set up a YouCaring site it would clearly tell where the money was going and the college could verify it but without setting up a site I don’t think there is a way to include a tracker and allow people to contribute using a credit card. Facebook has a way to do donation sites too but there are fees involved. Has anyone set up a YouCaring site?
It looks like GFM has changed their fee structure to micro YouCaring @Madison85 I can’t link but you can read on their site.
I was remiss in not offering my condolences @rightfit - it is so wonderful to offer a scholarship in your daughter’s name.
I haven’t worked with YouCaring, and only a little with GFM, but GFM is easy to set up and retrieve your money. A ready made template and turn key platform is obviously attractive and desirable for what you want to accomplish. I would probably pick GFM due to it being the more recognizable of the two.
Happykid and some friends were fundraising and decided to use Venmo to transfer money as the fees were a lot lower. In that case however, the money is just going into the organizer’s personal account to write a one-time check for the honoree.
I have avoided contributions through GoFundMe sites; last I checked, their privacy policies were unacceptable to me. There are work arounds (finding a direct way to write a check) in order to support causes and allow all funds to go to the intended beneficiaries. I prefer to write a check to a specific scholarship fund than to share data with sites that administer fund raising efforts.
I also dislike giving my info and prefer to send a check directly to causes I support. I don’t want to be added to more databases for more appeals. Ugh! Can checks be sent directly to the school with a memo or something designating it’s for your D’s scholarship fund?
