Shady GoFundMe for Big Dipper at Geauga Lake

"I can find, you can find, happiness in slavery."

OK Timber-Rider, you've convinced me this time, and for that reason I just bought you a prom dress.

I could use the cash these days, and I actually thought about going to the ramp and holding a sign. But I was just too lazy.

Ok, deep breath.
Dear Timber-Rider,

I found your plea for help at GoFundMe (it's on page 13 if you're still looking, Mr.Vater) and I was struck by a couple of things. First of all, it's written well enough so that anybody reading will have a clear understanding of the need and the circumstances that led to it. But, sadly, those circumstances aren't anything the rest of us won't eventually face, if we haven't already. And that includes the loss of family members, the inability to work, and personal illness. But after reading through many of the requests there, (and man, that is one sad zip code you got there) I've come to the conclusion that your situation is no less dire than many on there, and your cause is no less deserving. Well, no less than the dress seekers, at least. So what gives?

There's a photo. And not of the family manse you're trying to save, but of yourself in a graphic tshirt standing by your car. And I wish I could read the tshirt, but at a glance it seems to lean away from the more appropriate "help me, please". You also ask donors to mail the money to a p.o. box somewhere instead of through electronic channels. So any potential donors are made to get up from behind their device, write a check, find a stamp, and get to a mailbox, which in this day and age is a real charity-killer.
I wonder how much "advertising" you've done to promote this fund? As I look around at GFM it seems like a place where people can direct their friends, their family, their neighbors, and their fellow church members to go if they'd like to help. Not so much a place where random people go looking to act randomly with kindness. I'm sure there is some of that, but you better believe Prom Dress Girl is out there working the crowd herself everyday. That dress is mostly being paid for by people she knows. Who do you know?

Maybe you would have better luck if you posted a large sign in the yard that says "Help us save our home. Visit GoFundMe #blahblahblah for details and God Bless." Perhaps the neighborhood will rally. Put up signs on phone poles, on the grocery store community board, and in the corner tavern. Hell, call the gay campground and tell the guys you know there that you need help. Then give those impulsive donors a convenient way to contribute before you lose them to someone else who's less needy. You said it yourself, some people on there get all the money and some get none. There's got to be a reason for that, and it clearly isn't about who's got the saddest story or who's most deserving.

You may have thought of these things, and may be already putting them into practice, but knowing your views on how things work and your overall (and recently reiterated) sense of entitlement, I'm guessing no. In the grand scheme of things, a thou isn't much to raise (especially to save a house) and you can do it. I'm not saying this just to be an ass, but as your friend. Quit whining and get to work on this.

-Mac

Well, kudos to you for actually taking the time to search out TR's appeal.

Having read it just now ... what MAC said.

T-R, is there any way to set up that account for online donations, like, ASAP? Like RCMAC said, that's probably one of your biggest issues. A charitable heart shouldn't be thwarted by having to mail something, but you'll get the money a whole lot faster online (which should be important seeing as you needed it in March and we're a few days into April at this point) and sometimes you have to go with what works. Also, I imagine it might inspire more people to give when they see others doing it, and I'm guessing you aren't able to enter the cash donations online (or at least you haven't done it yet), so how is anybody going to know you've made any progress?

I Googled the zip code followed by gofundme, and his was the second result.

I'm sorry you are going through a difficult time. My sympathy is all I can offer.

https://www.gofundme.com/22nyuu5g

This struck me as timely...

http://www.awesomelyluvvie.com/2016/04/crowdfunding-gofundme-campaign.html

LostKause said:

I Googled the zip code followed by gofundme, and his was the second result.

I'm sorry you are going through a difficult time. My sympathy is all I can offer.

https://www.gofundme.com/22nyuu5g

+1

T-R I'm really sorry you have to deal with this and hope it gets sorted out soon. Thoughts and prayers are with you.

I think the market will sort out whatever issues GoFundMe (and related sites have). And to the extent those issues are un-sort-outable, I expect the market to go around them. Other sites will replace them and will place limits on them to avoid the current GoFundMe issues. Benefit of the process in terms of ability to reach large numbers of people with low transaction costs is too great. And to the extent there is junk out there, don't donate to it.

The biggest issue I have with this concept is that we are talking about infinite need requesting support from finite resources. I can't imagine that meeting everyone's need (defined however one chooses) is possible. And because of that, we deteriorate into discussions about why that illness is more worthy than that homelessness or any combination of X vs Y you can imagine. I think that leads us to a general divisiveness that may be more detrimental than the benefit some are receiving here...conceptually and big picture speaking, of course.

I agree that the market will generally sort out any issues with this current system. But I also think there will still be people left without things they legitimately need. What's the best way to teach a person to fish?

That's why I tend to be a fan of charities that can sort it out. United Against Poverty here in Orlando, for example, give a "hand up, not a handout." I love the idea of that. It's better equipped to provide that help more efficiently than I ever could, choosing among individual cases.

GFM doesn't change the amount of resources available or the amount of "need" (real or mislabeled wants).

I'm not saying that it does. I'm just saying there's no scalability that makes it a viable solution in a societal sense. So for one-time quick fixes it may help some. But for some recurring needs, it's not really helping move people forward.

But that is true of most charities, isn't it? Giving them fish rather than teaching them how to fish is a problem, right?

Perhaps. I can see where you're drawing the connection. But I do think most charities have a balance between giving fish and teaching to fish.

Where the distinction exists for crowdsourcing to me is the part where we pick and choose who we specifically help and why. If you donate to the VA, though you know you can't help them all and that they all may not get helped, you aren't deciding who should be helped and who shouldn't. It's that aspect on the larger scale that I'm suggesting has its challenges.

I get that having the power to choose that way may be more appealing to those parting with their dollars (market and such.) But I just don't think as a society, we can handle that kind of transparency for long. Much like we judge the success of the prom dress request over the lack of response to the nearly homeless.

Anyway, I'm not really for or against crowdsourcing. I just think it's an interesting conversation and that there's the potential for more than what's on the surface.

Someone is making decisions about the use of all charity money (same is true for government aid). In the process picking winners and losers. And often that comes with high administration/transaction costs making less money available for the given cause. That the masses don't take part in those decisions doesn't change the fact they are being made and the winner/loser aspect of them.

Seems odd to me to say that we can't handle more transparency. Its better that we don't know what decisions are being made and why?

But the popular decision isn't always going to be the right decision, or the best decision if you prefer. Charity organizations can direct resources to people in need, even when they don't have an Internet connection and a bank account.

Organized charities often don't make the "right" decision either. And sometimes "right" is subjective.

Of course, "right" is subjective. (As is the "often" in your post.) I take it you don't like organized charities. I'm not comfortable with relying on sites like GoFundMe to get money to people in need, since they require those in need to be Internet savvy. Not everyone is.

As a general matter, I am in favor of organized charities. I give to several of them. But I accept the reality that some are better than others (and I also accept the reality that is subjective). They have finite resources with needs which are pretty much always greater than the ability to meet them. Allocations must be made. Who is most deserving/needy is subjective. Decisions are made by humans with various motives. So all the issues with popular decisions not necessarily being the "right" decisions already exist well before GFM hit the scene.

I am not suggesting that GFM replace traditional charities (or government aid programs). To my knowledge, no one is. So there will continue to be various methods of getting money to people "in need." GFM provides an additional opportunity to do so which I do not see as a bad thing. No one is ever forced to donate to any cause on GFM.

If transparency results in problems, the problems already existed but were buried under the surface or otherwise hidden. Transparency just brings the problems to light and in the process provides opportunity for changes/solutions. Keeping them hidden does not but does allow them to fester.