CEO admits 'things sometimes get complicated' with GoFundMe campaigns 

GoFundMe CEO, Tim Cadogan, with Mabel and Aldo from Dogs Aid in Finglas in Dublin at the announcement of GoFundMe celebrating five million donations in Ireland. Photo: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

The chief executive of GoFundMe has said Irish people have raised millions for good causes, but admits things can sometimes go wrong.

Tim Cadogan was speaking in Dublin after visiting the European head office of the crowd-funding platform. GoFundMe was launched in the US in 2010 and allows people all over the world to raise money for various events in challenging circumstances.

Mr Cadogan said Ireland has made five million donations in six years and has raised a quarter of a billion euro, while Galway, Cork and Limerick have emerged as the top three “most giving” counties here. However, he said fundraising is based on “trust” and “honesty” and said the organisation’s security department investigates every complaint made and in extreme cases, has closed fundraising pages down.

He told the Irish Examiner: “It actually doesn’t happen very much, the vast majority of the time, everything is super clear, it works well. But every now and then, things can get complicated. So, what we encourage the organiser to do is, be very clear with their updates as to what is going on.

"Communication is key. Let people know what is going on all the way through. Sometimes people’s situations are complex. It is all emotional, none of us give for any reason other than for something emotional."

Avery Larkin Hore, who raised funds for Fight for Right - a charity for Ukrainians with disabilities -  holds 10 months old Mabel from Dogs Aid - a charity on Finglas - woth GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan. Picture: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Mr Cadogan said when the company receives a complaint, it “always investigates” it.

“We will get a report, if someone has a concern, then it gets routed to our trust and safety team and they’ll follow up to see what is going on, is there a pattern and any cause for concern?” he said.

In the most extreme case if we find that a campaign is not within terms, we will take it down. 

"We have terms of service that are very clear, they lay out a bunch of things that are not acceptable and if it turns out we have had one of those, we will wind the campaign down.

“Otherwise, it may be a communication thing, if a campaign has to be taken down, we will refund the money."

However, he said GoFundMe doesn’t always hold it against the organiser who has breached its terms and conditions, saying “usually you’d have to do something pretty extreme, but we’ll take a look again”.

Community

Further research shows that the main reason for raising money here is “community”.

Charges for the use of the platform are 2.9% plus 25c per transaction and the system gives donors the option to tip the firm.

The top five charities to benefit from GoFundMe campaigns here are Irish Cancer Society, Pieta, Irish Red Cross, Women's Aid, and The Alzheimer Society of Ireland.

Dr. Gemma Donnelly-Cox, Co-Director of the Centre for Social Innovation at Trinity College Business School said: “We have been tracking voluntary sector development in our centre for two decades. 

"In Ireland we are really good at spontaneous giving, it taps on our desire to support the community. 

"It can be any community; it can be people coming into the country or people in the community.

“Over time the way in which people give and how they support things changes. What is interesting, GoFundMe bridges between people who are wanting to do something and trying to be more organised about it.

“The Irish Red Cross is an example. In 2022 it was the most heavily funded organisation, it was in response to Ukraine because the Irish Red Cross played a pivotal role.

“Then other times it can be really difficult, so organisations seek to find people to give on a regular basis. But platforms for GoFundMe bridges between spontaneous and more regular donations for causes that don’t go away.”

Tim Cadogan (centre) holds Mabel as she gives Vivienne Sheridan (left) from Dogs Aid in Finglas a kiss, while Aldo the Jack Russell and Evelyn Darcy (right) look on. Photo: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

A volunteer with Dogs Aid in Finglas in Dublin said that without GoFundMe, “hundreds of dogs would be without homes”.

Vivienne Sheridan said: “We are raising money for a project called rebuilding Dogs Aid sanctuary. We are trying to rebuild a space there for abandoned and surrendered dogs and the running costs.

“We can have up to 70 dogs at a time and are getting calls about abandoned dogs all the time. People don’t realise the fallout of covid and going back to work and not thinking ahead when they got a dog. We are overwhelmed."