Go Fund Me is considered the most popular personal crowdfunding platform. To date, people have raised over 3 billion USD using Go Fund Me. Many of my closest friends and family have used this platform to raise money for things like medical bills or raising funds for mission trips. People that start these campaigns have great hearts, there is no denying that. Their intentions are genuine, and they have a strong desire to simply help. They subconsciously know that people back in the states will generously contribute money to things that tug on their hearts.
Before we dive in to this blog, here is some history and future projections for crowdfunding. Kickstarter was started in 2009 and was the first crowdfunding site. There are currently over 300 platforms. “The Crowdfunding Industry Report by Massolution put out data showing the overall crowdfunding industry has raised $2.7 billion in 2012, across more than 1 million individual campaigns globally. In 2013 the industry is projected to grow to $5.1 billion.” If this growth rate continues we will see about $15 billion raised by crowdfunding in 2017.
My heart behind this blog is not to bash Go Fund Me, Indiegogo, or any other platform that charges a fee. The purpose of this blog is to dive into the topic of financial stewardship. I want to take a deeper look into what Jesus says about finances. I want to give my readers other options for crowdfunding that would be, in my opinion, financially wiser options. I’m open to feedback or to hear a 2nd opinion if it’s out there. So let’s look at 2 common examples of crowdfunding.
Example 1:
Say I’m an average Joe, and I start an Indiegogo to raise 1,000 dollars to fund a general building project for a local school in Peru. Everything goes great, and I raise the 1,000 dollars. Did you know that when I get fully funded, almost 9 percent of the money will go into the pocket of someone unaffiliated with that school? Don’t you think 90 dollars is a lot? I mean, the whole reason for raising the money is because you wanted to help a local school in Peru.
Example 2:
Let’s take the example of the World Race. Let’s say you used Go Fund Me to raise the $17,000 needed to go on the Race. (However, I know most Racers use their blog website to raise the money.) Here are the facts, 1,680 dollars would have gone to Go Fund Me and the credit card companies. So that means a Racer must raise a total of $18,680 to be fully funded for the Race. Doesn’t that seem a little off to you?
What if I told you there were other crowdfunding platforms that do not charge a platform fee? Some example of these platforms are YouCaring.com, FreeFunder.com, Generosity.com.
Generosity.com says that, “Everyone should have the best possible opportunity to raise funds for themselves, their loved ones, or their favorite causes. That’s why Generosity never charges a fee for running a fundraiser. Our goal is a community of compassion and support, and platform fees are simply not a part of that equation. Separate from the fundraisers, our payment processor charges 3% + 30 cents on every donation to manage the transfer of funds from the accounts of donors to the accounts of organizers.” This is to say that Generosity.com charges no more than the credit card fee that is standard across all platforms
YouCaring.com has helped people fund over 500 million dollars, which means they are established and proven. These platforms offer the exact same service that the others do, but they allow for more money to go towards the cause that you’re trying to fund. So, for example 1, the school in Peru would receive an additional $50. In example 2, you would have to raise almost $1,000 less to be fully funded for the Race if you used one of the three crowdfunding sites listed above.
Here is a trivia question for you. The answer will be at the bottom of the blog.
Q: On average, Americans spend ________% of there annual income?
I want to finish by going to the Bible and examining what Jesus has to say about financial stewardship. We have to be better financial stewards of our money. In the Bible, money is discussed over 800 times, which is the second most talked about topic. There are 38 parables in the Bible and 16 of them are about how to handle money and possessions. A few of the parables include those of the lost coin, talents, and the pearl of great price.
Luke 21:1-4 says: “Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Matthew 6:24 says: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
You see, we are called to be good stewards of the things God has entrusted us with. Though we should not de driven by money, we should still be financially wise. To put it simply, we should always do our homework when finances are involved. You never know, it might just save you or a cause you want to support thousands of dollars
A: On average, Americans spend 110% of their annual income. You know what that means? We as a nation are in personal debt.
-Josey The Outlaw
