Amid L.A. fires, more than $100 million has been raised on GoFundMe. Direct donations can have a big impact.
A 93-year-old grandfather lost his Pacific Palisades house — which he’d bought in 1963 with his wife, who recently died — to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, leaving him with only a small suitcase of clothes and not a single personal photo or keepsake. Everything Marike Anderson-Dam, who has a 7-year-old son with special needs, owned, including their Altadena home, is gone after the Eaton Fire. Levi Heidelberg, an Air Force veteran, and his wife, Varetta, a saxophonist, only grabbed a few things before they fled their home, with journals, instruments, books and more destroyed. Stories like these are being shared on GoFundMe — and people are turning out to help: More than $100 million has been raised via the crowdfunding platform in less than a week. The funds directly help families, communities and businesses affected by the fires and support nonprofits providing relief on the ground, including World Central Kitchen, Direct Relief and the Salvation Army, according to a company spokesperson.
With at least 24 people dead and more than 100,000 residents displaced, the full scope of the devastation to the city is unfolding. Yet aid for immediate recovery and eventual rebuilding has poured in from around the world. GoFundMe has a dedicated online hub to make it easy for people to find campaigns to donate to or start one themselves for a family in need. “Our California wildfires centralized hub provides an easy way for people to help, housing all verified GoFundMe pages and nonprofit resources related to the wildfires in Southern California,” the GoFundMe spokesperson tells Yahoo Life. “The hub will continue to be updated with more fundraisers as they are verified by our trust and safety team.”
Supporters are also finding victims to assist through social media, with personal tales of tragedy and perseverance being shared along with links to donate. Google spreadsheets have also been created to help Black, Latino and Filipino families displaced by the fires reach their GoFundMe goals.
Direct donations go a long way in helping those impacted by the fires get back on their feet. According to the U.S. government, one of the best ways to provide aid after a natural disaster is to donate money, which gives people the flexibility to buy what they actually need. “Since the fires began, we’ve seen thousands of fundraisers help meet the immediate needs of family members and friends, aid with long-term relief and rebuilding and fund nonprofit on-the-ground relief efforts,” says the spokesperson. “There has been an incredible outpouring of support for needs that we anticipate to grow as the fires are contained and communities are able to truly assess damages.”
How are GoFundMe campaigns vetted?
While many want to help, there is no shortage of scammers trying to take advantage. Erin Berkowitz, an artist living in Altadena who lost her home in the Eaton Fire, shared with the Los Angeles Times that a close friend started a GoFundMe campaign on Jan. 8 to replace art supplies Berkowitz had lost. The next morning, she found out that someone pretending to be her had created a fake Instagram account and was contacting friends and followers with a fake GoFundMe fundraiser. (The false fundraiser and Instagram account were reported and removed within 24 hours.)
If you’re donating your hard-earned cash, you want to make sure it’s going to real people and legitimate organizations. GoFundMe says it has a team of experts “working around the clock” to review fundraisers and prevent misuse. “During humanitarian disasters and other crises, our team proactively monitors and verifies fundraisers so the communities impacted can receive the quick and trusted support they need,” the spokesperson says.
Fundraisers go through a review process before getting verified, which includes “a robust human review from our world-class trust and safety experts, as well as technical tools designed to catch misuse,” the spokesperson explains. Once fundraisers are verified, they’re included in GoFundMe’s wildfire relief hub.
The platform also guarantees donors a full refund in the rare case that a fundraiser turns out not to be legitimate. “GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform and cooperates with law enforcement investigations of those accused of wrongdoing,” the spokesperson says.
Are there fees when you donate?
GoFundMe does charge a transaction fee of 2.9% as well as $0.30 per donation, which helps pay its payment processors and deliver funds. “GoFundMe is primarily powered by voluntary tips and relies on these completely optional contributions from donors to maintain our quality customer service, trust and safety protections and world-class fundraising technology,” the spokesperson explains.
