Viral crowdfunding campaigns took on new meaning in 2018 | Mashable

December 26, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When James Shaw Jr. decided to launch a GoFundMe in honor of victims of a deadly shooting at a Waffle House in Nashville earlier this year, he set a modest goal of $15,000.

Shaw, however, had just become famous as the “Waffle House hero” after tackling and disarming the alleged gunman. The GoFundMe he launched with a few of his friends quickly went viral, and it ultimately raised $241,000.

“I was doing it just to help out, ’cause I know losing a child in that kind of way, and you have to plan that funeral, as young as they were, they probably didn’t have insurance,” says Shaw. “It was just my way of trying to ease the pain.”

The $400,000 GoFundMe for a homeless man was a scam | Fast Company

November 16, 2018November 15, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Let’s rewind to October 2017. Kate McClure, a New Jersey woman, ran out of gas on an interstate ramp outside of Philadelphia. Johnny Bobbitt, a homeless man, was allegedly panhandling nearby, and used his last $20 to buy McClure enough gas to get home. In return, McClure and her boyfriend, Mike D’Amico, took to GoFundMe, asking givers to help them raise $10,000 toward rent, a car, and a few months of basic living expenses for Bobbitt. The fundraiser went viral. In all, over 14,000 donors eventually contributed to the goal-shattering total of $402,000.