Donation-based Crowdfunding: Begging?
Discussion
Have a look on Kickstarter (crowdfunding for business ideas) I saw one woman that had written a long post that essentially said she would like to get into photography and needed to buy gear. All behind a sob story.
There's loads of them, crowd funding to go on treks, holidays etc.
I do think personal responsibility is being gradually eroded, it seems that if something bad happens there must be someone to blame and some means of not paying for it yourself.
There's loads of them, crowd funding to go on treks, holidays etc.
I do think personal responsibility is being gradually eroded, it seems that if something bad happens there must be someone to blame and some means of not paying for it yourself.
I agree 100% with the OP. Plenty of good or worthy causes, but there's also a lot of chancers out there. Had a work colleague trying to raise money to send her daughter to some pony club event (the parents were not exactly hard up, having just bought a custom built horsebox).
It's unregulated and open to misuse/fraud. If I wanted to be pedantic I'd also suggest that the proceeds from some 'campaigns' should be subject to tax.
It's unregulated and open to misuse/fraud. If I wanted to be pedantic I'd also suggest that the proceeds from some 'campaigns' should be subject to tax.
I get the ones where money needs to be raised for some kind of treatment or equipment for someone who is ill and for whatever reason the NHS won't fund it, in the past people would have had charity events, auctions or car washing days to raise money; its just a more modern version of that.
However when it comes to people who have had a house fire or burglary and claim they couldn't afford the £60 annual home contents insurance but have had 3 ipads a 65"inch telly and other hugely expensive things destroyed/stolen then it's taking the piss.
Like the guy recently on here with his Porsche, Ok I know he didn't set up the page, but come on, it wasn't insured properly and it was his fun car, in the past would there have been a charity fair (fayre, haven't a clue which one), or charity car wash, to raise money towards the repair bill......of course there bloody wouldn't have been!
The problem is nowadays is, it's so easy to just fire off a fiver from the comfort of your sofa and think nothing of it.
However when it comes to people who have had a house fire or burglary and claim they couldn't afford the £60 annual home contents insurance but have had 3 ipads a 65"inch telly and other hugely expensive things destroyed/stolen then it's taking the piss.
Like the guy recently on here with his Porsche, Ok I know he didn't set up the page, but come on, it wasn't insured properly and it was his fun car, in the past would there have been a charity fair (fayre, haven't a clue which one), or charity car wash, to raise money towards the repair bill......of course there bloody wouldn't have been!
The problem is nowadays is, it's so easy to just fire off a fiver from the comfort of your sofa and think nothing of it.
HTP99 said:
I get the ones where money needs to be raised for some kind of treatment or equipment for someone who is ill and for whatever reason the NHS won't fund it, in the past people would have had charity events, auctions or car washing days to raise money; its just a more modern version of that.
However when it comes to people who have had a house fire or burglary and claim they couldn't afford the £60 annual home contents insurance but have had 3 ipads a 65"inch telly and other hugely expensive things destroyed/stolen then it's taking the piss.
The problem is nowadays is, it's so easy to just fire off a fiver from the comfort of your sofa and think nothing of it.
I saw one recently a bit like this, they wanted a small sum of money to speed up treatment for their child, recovering from a serious condition. All well and good but at the same time the family were putting up on FB how they were going on a holiday to Spain, and the the following week pictures of them at a weekend spa at a posh venue. However when it comes to people who have had a house fire or burglary and claim they couldn't afford the £60 annual home contents insurance but have had 3 ipads a 65"inch telly and other hugely expensive things destroyed/stolen then it's taking the piss.
The problem is nowadays is, it's so easy to just fire off a fiver from the comfort of your sofa and think nothing of it.
Just doesn't sit comfortably.
Zetec-S said:
It's unregulated and open to misuse/fraud. If I wanted to be pedantic I'd also suggest that the proceeds from some 'campaigns' should be subject to tax.
Closer scrutiny for sure. But then, if it is someones free will to donate money to a cause, or plea, does it [what happens with that money] become irrelevant? Like the bloke who - or his ally - raised a grand for motorbike repairs after someone tried to steal it. When the target was reached, they changed it to two... and people still donated. Does anyone put the brakes on and declare that the repairs were actually £400.00 and so the surplus was passed on to a registered charity?
I think we all know the answer to that one.
The repairs become mods.
El stovey said:
If it’s a kickstarter campaign, it might be about some cool new gadget. I might be interested in reading about it but I don’t think I’ve ever sent any cash.
Theres a youtuber called Thunderfoot, bit of an ultrageek but actual achieved scientist who did quite a few videos calling out a lot of these kickstarter gadgets as snakeoil. Theres been all sorts from refilling water bottles that were literally inefficient dehumidifiers, to solar freaking roadways that are again, incredibly inefficient but now have government money in the US all the way to the heartstrings but ultimately futile unlimited water perpetual motion machines for one of the un-ending Geldof inspired African crisis'.I do get what you're saying, the oculus rift was funded through kickstarter i think before i got big backing and there are a few decent gadgets, but have to agree with the others on here that for ever single decent thing funded, theres a truck load of absolute guff, lies and cons.
Glassman said:
Closer scrutiny for sure. But then, if it is someones free will to donate money to a cause, or plea, does it [what happens with that money] become irrelevant?
Yes, it does matter. If I was to donate money so someone I've never met could receive life saving medical treatment, I'd like to think if there was any left over money it would be donated on for someone else in a similar situation to benefit. Not so they and their family could spend 2 weeks in Disneyland.Zetec-S said:
Glassman said:
Closer scrutiny for sure. But then, if it is someones free will to donate money to a cause, or plea, does it [what happens with that money] become irrelevant?
Yes, it does matter. If I was to donate money so someone I've never met could receive life saving medical treatment, I'd like to think if there was any left over money it would be donated on for someone else in a similar situation to benefit. Not so they and their family could spend 2 weeks in Disneyland.I've seen so many pleas to raise cash for something that hasn't been quantified. In effect they're just asking for a bundle of cash. My car has just s
t itself. I need to buy an engine; they're about a grand (but with a grand in your hand you'll find one cheaper). 
Glassman said:
so the surplus was passed on to a registered charity?
I'm not sure if registered charities are better places for peoples money ( Charity pay study) Jinx said:
I'm not sure if registered charities are better places for peoples money ( Charity pay study)
Link says: "To continue reading this article you need to be registered with Third Sector." 
jdw100 said:
we have insurance (covers earthquake and volcano damage as well)
We've found Peter Griffin!The back pages of Private Eye have long contained small ads seeking financial help for all manner of things up to and including people just asking for money for no reason. One of the papers looked into the affect of these some years back and found them to be surprisingly effective.
IIRC, the best one was a bloke who's ad read something along the lines of having spent £8k over the years advertising for help but never received any. Peter Cook sent him £800 which equates to the 10% commission agencies got for placing ads in the magazine.
IIRC, the best one was a bloke who's ad read something along the lines of having spent £8k over the years advertising for help but never received any. Peter Cook sent him £800 which equates to the 10% commission agencies got for placing ads in the magazine.
4159265 said:
A part of this which is odd in my mind are the people who set up a GFM on behalf of someone else.
XYZ is going through a hard time and would love a new kappa tracksuit, so I have set up a GFM for them.
I don't get it for a few reasons, I wonder how many of the setter-uppers ask the beneficiary for the go-ahead.
Assuming the setter-upper and beneficiary are really separate people...
After the Manchester bombing, someone set up at GFM on behalf of that homeless chap who rushed to the help of the victims. XYZ is going through a hard time and would love a new kappa tracksuit, so I have set up a GFM for them.
I don't get it for a few reasons, I wonder how many of the setter-uppers ask the beneficiary for the go-ahead.
Assuming the setter-upper and beneficiary are really separate people...
Worthy cause, of course, and he was unwittingly thrust into the spotlight by the events. But I read on the BBC website a few weeks later how despite the GFM campaign being hugely successful, he had not actually seen any of the money people had given him, and the woman who set it up, seemingly couldn't just give it to him outright?
All seemed very dodgy to me, and unnecessary.
Me and my other half were talking about these crowd funding pages that people set up which are basically begging in my opinion.
Ok, so there may be the odd noble cause out there but some of it just seems like a p!ss take. I don't mean to belittle someone having a hard time but there are thousands of people in this country going through something bad at any given time. Just seems there's a generation of people that think that their tough time entitles them to other people's money!
For example a distant cousin of my other half died in an accident abroad, was only in his 20s and was a totally tragic event. I'm not knocking that at all. For some reason his friends decided a Just Giving page to raise money for his funeral was the done thing, even though his parents are rather well off. What do most people in this country do when someone dies? They pay for the funeral so why does this particular funeral warrant donations? Again, I'm not knocking the tragedy but the sense of entitlement irritated me.
Ok, so there may be the odd noble cause out there but some of it just seems like a p!ss take. I don't mean to belittle someone having a hard time but there are thousands of people in this country going through something bad at any given time. Just seems there's a generation of people that think that their tough time entitles them to other people's money!
For example a distant cousin of my other half died in an accident abroad, was only in his 20s and was a totally tragic event. I'm not knocking that at all. For some reason his friends decided a Just Giving page to raise money for his funeral was the done thing, even though his parents are rather well off. What do most people in this country do when someone dies? They pay for the funeral so why does this particular funeral warrant donations? Again, I'm not knocking the tragedy but the sense of entitlement irritated me.
Alex_225 said:
Me and my other half were talking about these crowd funding pages that people set up which are basically begging in my opinion.
Ok, so there may be the odd noble cause out there but some of it just seems like a p!ss take. I don't mean to belittle someone having a hard time but there are thousands of people in this country going through something bad at any given time. Just seems there's a generation of people that think that their tough time entitles them to other people's money!
For example a distant cousin of my other half died in an accident abroad, was only in his 20s and was a totally tragic event. I'm not knocking that at all. For some reason his friends decided a Just Giving page to raise money for his funeral was the done thing, even though his parents are rather well off. What do most people in this country do when someone dies? They pay for the funeral so why does this particular funeral warrant donations? Again, I'm not knocking the tragedy but the sense of entitlement irritated me.
A gent from my town died in a tragic accident recently. He was pensionable age, had a nice car, premier league season ticket, out drinking/socialising several days a week.Ok, so there may be the odd noble cause out there but some of it just seems like a p!ss take. I don't mean to belittle someone having a hard time but there are thousands of people in this country going through something bad at any given time. Just seems there's a generation of people that think that their tough time entitles them to other people's money!
For example a distant cousin of my other half died in an accident abroad, was only in his 20s and was a totally tragic event. I'm not knocking that at all. For some reason his friends decided a Just Giving page to raise money for his funeral was the done thing, even though his parents are rather well off. What do most people in this country do when someone dies? They pay for the funeral so why does this particular funeral warrant donations? Again, I'm not knocking the tragedy but the sense of entitlement irritated me.
Yet his family are now crowd-sourcing for his funeral.
Crowd-sourcing is now replacing financial prudence!
Shakermaker said:
After the Manchester bombing, someone set up at GFM on behalf of that homeless chap who rushed to the help of the victims.
Worthy cause, of course, and he was unwittingly thrust into the spotlight by the events. But I read on the BBC website a few weeks later how despite the GFM campaign being hugely successful, he had not actually seen any of the money people had given him, and the woman who set it up, seemingly couldn't just give it to him outright?
All seemed very dodgy to me, and unnecessary.
Just as well as he was recently charged with stealing from one of the victims as they lay in a coma!Worthy cause, of course, and he was unwittingly thrust into the spotlight by the events. But I read on the BBC website a few weeks later how despite the GFM campaign being hugely successful, he had not actually seen any of the money people had given him, and the woman who set it up, seemingly couldn't just give it to him outright?
All seemed very dodgy to me, and unnecessary.
Here's an example of a local one that will probably boil OP's piss:
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/resort-rall...
Burns part of his rented house down, no insurance as it had "just ran out " (that old chestnut, since when has insurance not been on a rolling contract?), idiot public give him £5k.
Oakey said:
Just as well as he was recently charged with stealing from one of the victims as they lay in a coma!
Was he now? That's a shame, really, I hadn't read that. Not "a shame that he's been charged for committing an offence", but just that having seemingly been so ready to rush in and help (which I hope most people would do) he's gone and turned around the perception so fast back to what many people probably think about homeless.And all unbeknown to the person who set up the GFM page, who too wanted to help someone who looked to be doing the right thing and was perhaps deserving of a bit of charity.
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