Individuals seek and receive donations online
Howard Lake | 25 January 2003 | News
If you thought your charity can’t raise funds online, try visiting some of the Web sites of individuals who have seemingly persuaded others to making donations to help them pay off their credit card debt.
There are generous people on the Internet. Some of them seem to be a little too generous in that they are giving to some causes that are, shall we say, a little less pressing than a cure for cancer or an end to starvation.
A number of people have set up sites asking for donations to swell their own private coffers. Some of these online beggars say that they need help such as paying off their credit cards. And they are successful, it would seem. Karyn Bosnak at SaveKaryn.com was able to pay off her $20,000 credit card bills by November 2002 due to the online generosity of people who gave her $13,323.08.
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Penny Hawkins has set up a similar site to generate funds for herself at helpmeleavemyhusband.com. Rich Schmidt has raised £3,000 for himself so far at sendmeadollar.com.
At least savethesuburbanites.com are honest about their pitch. The site, which doesn’t look as if it has been updated since 1999, reads: “Looking for a worthwhile charity to donate to?… Then you’ve come to the wrong place!… We want your money so we can quit our jobs for a year and see the world.”
Some of these begging sites are amusing, others the result of some degree of need, and others are plain greedy. Still, they do demonstrate that people will give to the most unusual causes online. Most charities should be able to use their Web sites to convey a more truly compelling need for financial support.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.