Yes, GoFundMe keeps a percentage of donations, but that’s not uncommon

GoFundMe is a popular crowdfunding website that allows people to raise money for various causes, including disaster relief, medical expenses and funerals.

These fundraising campaigns often circulate widely online after a major tragedy, such as the deadly wildfires in Maui. 

That led several VERIFY readers who were concerned about donations going to the right place to ask if GoFundMe takes a cut of the donations to fundraisers on the platform.

THE QUESTION

Does GoFundMe keep a percentage of fundraiser donations?

THE SOURCES

• GoFundMe
• Kickstarter
• Indiegogo
• Facebook
• Laurie Styron, executive director of the charity watchdog CharityWatch

THE ANSWER

Yes, GoFundMe keeps a percentage of fundraiser donations, but that’s not uncommon for crowdfunding platforms.

WHAT WE FOUND

Though it’s free to create a fundraiser through GoFundMe, the platform does keep a percentage of the donations.

The crowdfunding platform says on its website that a transaction fee of 2.9% plus another 30 cents is automatically deducted from every donation. 

For example, if you raised $1,500 from 15 donations of $100 each, you would receive $1,452 of that money. The remaining $48 would go toward GoFundMe’s fees. 

The transaction fee covers the “costs of credit and debit charges” and “safely delivering donations,” as well as helping the platform “offer more ways to donate,” according to GoFundMe.

Donors also have the option to leave a tip for GoFundMe, though it isn’t required. 

It’s not uncommon for crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe to charge fees. That’s because “there are always processing costs related to making a donation,” Laurie Styron, executive director of CharityWatch, told VERIFY. 

“Maintaining the programming and security necessary to process transactions safely and to protect a donor's data is expensive, so charging reasonable fees to provide such services is justified,” Styron said. 

Another popular crowdfunding website called Kickstarter charges a fee of 5% on the total funds raised, plus payment processing fees between 3 and 5% for successful fundraisers.  

The crowdfunding website Indiegogo also charges a 5% fee on all funds raised, as well as transaction fees. 

Facebook deducts payment processing fees for personal fundraisers, though the social media platform says it covers all fees for donations made to charitable organizations. 

Styron said people should ask themselves the following questions when donating to a crowdfunding campaign:

• What are the transaction fees and are they reasonable based on what other platforms are charging as well as my own comfort level?

• If the fundraiser is a registered public charity, can I avoid donating through the crowdfunder and donate directly to the charity instead?

• Does the end recipient of my donation have control over when they receive the funds, or does the platform control this? How long will my donation be held before the intended recipient receives my donation?

• Am I sure this is a legitimate fundraising campaign? Do I know the victim or other intended recipient personally, and do I trust them and their story? Did I do a reverse image search to see if the images or language being used for the crowdfunding campaign have been lifted from a legitimate campaign by a scammer?

VERIFY has a list of four ways to spot charity donations scams here.