Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.
US donation-based crowdfunding platform GoFundMe said on Tuesday it has launched the first guarantee policy for crowdfunding in case of campaign misuse. The new practice ensures each donor can recover up to $1,000 in case the project they supported via the platform was not genuine.
Refunding will be possible throughout any stage of a crowdfunding campaign. In case of misuse on part of those raising funds, donors are guaranteed to receive the said amount back. If a campaign organizer doesn’t deliver funds, GoFundMe will fill the gap with up to $25,000. In cases of misuse, donors need to file a claim with the platform.
“GoFundMe wouldn’t exist without the empathy of our donors, and the GoFundMe Guarantee is about protecting their generosity with the industry’s first and only guarantee,” said GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon. “We want every donor to know that we have their back. It’s a big deal to give, and we want there to be complete peace of mind when you donate on our platform,” he added.
According to data that GoFundMe provided, campaigns with misuse are rare and make up less than one tenth of a percent of all campaigns.
“GoFundMe is already the largest and safest crowdfunding platform in the world,” said Daniel Gordon, head of trust and safety at GoFundMe. “The GoFundMe Guarantee is the latest layer of protection we’ve put in place for our customers, building on our fraud-prevention technology and our dedicated team of specialists. It ensures that your donations get to the right place, every time,” he added.
GoFundMe was launched in 2010 and has helped raise more than $2 billion since then. Its donors, which exceed 25 million in number, back personal and charitable fundraising campaigns. The platform presents no barriers as to who can create a fundraising campaign and for what cause. It also has no deadlines or goal requirements.
GoFundMe is among the largest crowdfunding websites in the US.
