QC pleas on GoFundMe cover range of asks

Jan. 8—The holidays are over but the pleas for help and assistance on crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe certainly are not, with new posts every day from Queen Creek and beyond seeking help everything from the serious to the trivial.

For platforms like GoFundMe, raising money for pretty much any cause is a year-round activity.

Since its launch in 2010, the California-based GoFundMe has become the go-to online fundraising tool for charities and just about anybody who wants the public to help bankroll their expenses.

Within minutes someone can set up a money request on the global site, which to date has helped individuals and charities raise over $25 billion, according to GoFundMe, which did not respond to questions for the story.

The donation requests in 2022 varied widely from classroom supplies and Girl Scout projects to relief efforts for crisis events such as Hurricane Ian in Florida and the war in Ukraine.

The "Stand with Ukraine" fundraiser launched by actors Mila and Ashton Kutcher in partnership with GoFundMe is the platform's second-largest campaign of all time, raising $37 million from over 75,000 donors.

For 2022, there was a 110% increase in money raised for baby formula, a 60% increase for gasoline and a 10% increase for groceries, GoFundMe reported.

The global crowdfunding market is projected to almost triple by 2025, according to Fundly, another crowdfunding site. Other crowdfunding sites include Donorbox, Kickstarter, Crowdfunder, Indiegogo and a host of others.

Globally, $34 billion has been raised through these platforms, according to Fundly, another crowdfunding platform. With a donation made every second, 28 million people last year sent or received funding on GoFundMe, the public nonprofit said.

Of the nearly 100 active GoFundMe accounts in Queen Creek, donation requests range from the miniscule to the massive.

Many of them are related to medical bills, funeral related expenses, or families needing financial support in one way or another. The success of those requests varies.

In one instance, supporters trying to raise $50,000 for family expenses for a journeyman electrician widely loved by co-workers and died in a work-related accident just before Christmas have raised more than $38,000 so far.

"The fundraiser is so I can travel to California to bring (his) remains home, funeral and celebration of life," the post said. "I must get his trailer, truck, and personal belongings back to our home here in Arizona from California. The funds will be directly paid to all companies assisting with these costs coming my way."

But at the other end of the spectrum, a woman who said she and her husband have been through severe medical challenges in a post called "A Wish: A celebration of life after cancer," has a goal of $20,000 and to date has raised $100.

Still, Queen Creek appears to be relatively generous in this area.

In one of the bigger success stories in the medical bills category, a family with 13 kids had a goal of $75,000 to buy a special lift for one of their children who is disabled. Through 627 donations, they have raised $75,965.

Another involves the teenage son of Queen Creek residents who died, although the post does not say how, and the family is seeking to recoup medical and funeral expenses.

The fund surpassed its $8,000 goal by $255. The boy "always had a smile for anyone who needed it and a random fact or bad dad joke that had you laughing," the post said.

The funds over the goal will be used to start a scholarship fund in the boy's name, the post said.

One post with a lofty goal of $35,000 has received more than $19,000 so far, more than half the way there, for a wife and mom suffering from breast cancer which the post said has debilitated the family and its local business.

According to GoFundMe, one in three fundraisers is started for someone else and that is more than true in Queen Creek. Nearly all the medical expense campaigns were started by others — and most of those in other categories, too.

There is a $10,000 request for funds to help a young Queen Creek man disabled in an ATV accident. So far, $4,945 has been raised on behalf of the victim and the family.

And there is a family who lost a baby and needs medical support for another one of their children. With 78 contributions, they have raised more than $7,200, over their goal of $5,000.

Support for a family man hospitalized with an unknown illness surpassed a goal of $20,000 with a total of more than $22,000 even though there was no description of what was wrong or what the money was needed for.

And donors surpassed a $10,000 goal for Hollie's Chronic Lyme Disease Fund with a total of $10,680.

A "dedicated mom on her journey to Law School" is within reach of its goal of $3,000 with more than $2,500.

The "Jillian's Healthy Future" post describes a wife and mom who "has struggled for so many years to get answers, to have someone, anyone tell her how she can be healthy, without pain, and back to who she honestly used to be." That post garnered 75 donations for a total of $6,050 — $50 over the goal.

A post by family members on behalf of a young baseball pitcher who has had two reconstructive elbow surgeries and is trying to make his way back to affiliated ball has raised $1,675, over the $1,500 goal.

Of course, there is no way to check the accuracy of these requests and in large part the posts are counting on, or preying on, the generosity or naiveté, of people scrolling through the GoFundMe accounts.

Other stories haven't inspired opened wallets.

A girls club softball team has not received a dime in its $2,000 campaign to pay for practice fields and tournament fees, and a non-profit that says it studies dementia and its causes set a goal of $5,000 and likewise has, so far, not received a penny.

The Wranglers Equestrian Drill Team has a goal of $5,000 to help get some of their out-of-town members to Queen Creek for an event, and so far, their effort has netted $0.

There is the request from a Queen Creek couple trying to raise about $1,800 to buy a new air conditioner for their family, posted with a picture of a cute puppy, that has netted $150.

Then, there are those who appear to just be down on their luck, in life and on GoFundMe.

In a post titled "We are getting evicted and losing everything," the $6,000 goal has generated $0 so far. The same is true for a post that reads "Help Me Get Back on My Feet," in which the author says his job was cut to part time and that fact combined with car problems is not allowing him to make ends meet. Goal: $800. Total raised: $0.

There is a $5,000 request created to help Stephanie get a car, which also had failed to catch on. Nada.

And posts that, for whatever reason, just don't seem to resonate. One group is trying to raise $100,000 to establish a Queen Creek Veteran's memorial and so far, has raised a grand total of $70.

There is the "student midwife in transition" who has a goal of $15,000 and has garnered a total of $100 from one donation.

Education is another popular ask, and in Queen Creek the results are not great.

The American Leadership Academy is trying to raise $800 for its Ironwood Theatre Company.

The post says, "Our theatre company handles the auditorium management and filming of all events in our space. That includes theatre productions as well as music and dance concerts." So far, the group has not gotten any takers. It is still sitting on $0.

And there is the recent University of Arizona graduate who is asking people to help him retire $40,000 in student debt and still looking for his first donation.

A sister posting on behalf of helping her brother who wants to become a pilot has a $60,000 donation goal and has done slightly better than nothing, but is still a long way from the goal with just $2,810 from 38 donors.

The post says, "I am normally one to refuse assistance always being able to take care of things, but right now I'm at a major loss and I need help. I am asking for help because I cannot afford to put Dave through college as well as take care of our other 13-year-old brother and handicapped grandmother all by myself."

And, with perhaps the loftiest goal, there is the group trying to raise $1-million dollars to help "those acclimate to life outside prison," which has raised a total of ... nothing.

"Life is so hard when you get out of prison," the post, which says it is written by an ex-con, states. "Now that I have everything, I want to help others to change their life as well when they get out of prison.

"With donations I'll get registered to start a halfway house that's actually catered to people who have actually been in prison. The world needs better people and if we can rehabilitate those with good hearts, why not. Nobody is perfect, but everyone has the ability to strive for perfection."

Tribune Staff Writer Cecilia Chan contributed to this report.