What Happens When a GoFundMe Goes Viral in Australia
GoFundMe is the internet’s take action button. When someone sees an individual in need, or cause or charity they care about, it is becoming increasingly common to set up a GoFundMe and fundraise for them.
Increasingly, we see a GoFundMe set up in response to a big event in the news, whether locally, nationally or internationally. When big topics are driving lots of attention, we often see viral fundraisers launched in Australia in response to the event.
Australia is one of the most generous nations and when people need help, they like to back a mate and dig deep.
So when a fundraiser becomes really successful, and a GoFundMe goes viral in Australia, our team works across timezones to ensure none of the money raised is released until we are sure it is going to the right place.
To make this happen, GoFundMe operates a seven-day customer support and trust and safety operation. We have experts in Trust, Safety, Risk and Compliance working around the clock to make sure the millions of dollars donated on our platform get safely to the right place via our best in class processes and technology.
Whether you are a potential donor or a potential GoFundMe organiser, you can be safe in the knowledge that money is in safe hands.
What you need to know about viral fundraisers
One example of what happens when a GoFundMe fundraiser goes viral is after the tragic death of much-loved Australian jockey, Dean Holland, during a fatal accident in a horse race in 2023. Victoria’s jockey community rallied around Dean’s wife, Lucy, to raise over $1.9 million AUD to support her and her four children.
The fundraiser was led by Tony Ottobre, who was inspired to set up the fundraiser to capture the the generosity of the horse racing community who were devastated in the wake of the incident. Despite at the time not being close to Lucy, Tony was able to ensure that he could move quickly and launch the GoFundMe page, collect donations whilst the incident was still being dealt with by Racing Victoria, and make sure that Lucy and her family would be financially supported through their grief that would inevitably follow.
The GoFundMe team worked with Dean to make sure that Lucy was added as the beneficiary, and her bank details were logged to send the funds straight to her Lucy’s account. Given the shock and grief, we were able to put a hold on the account to make sure that funds were held safely with GoFundMe until Lucy was ready to provide her details to our Trust and Safety team.
Is it safe to donate to viral fundraisers?
Our beneficiary product was set up because so many kind-hearted people like Dean set up fundraisers for people they aren’t directly connected to.
It means fundraisers can simply put in the email of the beneficiary, as Dean did for Lucy’s family, and the money will go into their bank account – once everything has been vetted and verified by our team.
Our donors’ safety is our top priority. GoFundMe uses the same secure and encrypted payments technology as your bank to ensure your donation is processed safely and we hold funds until their recipient is verified.
The GoFundMe Guarantee
With so many stories and so many people in need, one of GoFundMe’s top priorities is to make sure funds raised on our platform are safely delivered to the intended beneficiary of each fundraiser.
We’re so sure of our ability to protect donors that we have a promise: if funds don’t get where they’re supposed to go, we’ll give you your money back.
GoFundMe is proud to be the only fundraising platform backed by the GoFundMe guarantee.
Fundraiser vetting process
All GoFundMe fundraisers face some form of vetting before withdrawal. This vetting focuses both on the identity of the person and the legitimacy of the cause.
The vast majority of potentially suspicious fundraisers are spotted by our team of Trust and Safety experts, who work across different timezones to make sure GoFundMe in Australia is a safe place to give and get help. However, anyone visiting a GoFundMe and would like our team to give it a sense check has the ability to report it to our team directly.
If you do have any concerns a fundraiser is misleading or fraudulent, you can let our team know by reporting it here.
Donate to a GoFundMe that needs your help
Often in crisis people ask ‘is there anything we can do?’ and sometimes the answer is to help financially. Whatever the reason behind a fundraiser, we’re proud of the generosity and empathy of our community.
If you would like to donate to one of our many deserving fundraisers on GoFundMe you can check out our top fundraisers.