GoFundMe

American crowdfunding platform

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December 2024 Multiple GoFundMe campaigns for the legal defense fund of the alleged shooter in Brian Thompson's killing were removed from the platform.
October 16 2024 The Family of Arlene Connolly O'Neill fundraiser initiated
July 13 2024 Support For Butler PA Victims fundraiser launched, raising $5,399,200 by July 19, 2024
August 2023 GoFundMe froze over $90,000 donated by 1,100 contributors to The Grayzone, a pro-Kremlin far-left news website, citing unspecified 'external concerns'. Grayzone founder Max Blumenthal claimed the freeze was politically motivated due to the website's coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
June 27 2023 Jean Messiha initiated a controversial GoFundMe campaign raising €1.6 million for the family of a police officer who killed 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk during a traffic stop in France, sparking widespread protests and riots.
January 2023 The British disinformation analysis organization Logically reported that GoFundMe had funneled over $330,000 in donations to fundraisers for injuries supposedly caused by the COVID-19 vaccine.
May 2022 GoFundMe acquired Classy, a non-profit donation site, which will continue to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of GoFundMe.
February 4 2022 Following widespread criticism, GoFundMe reversed its initial decision and announced that all donations for the Freedom Convoy fundraiser would be refunded within 10 business days.
February 4 2022 GoFundMe removed the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser from their platform, citing violations of terms of service related to 'violence and other unlawful activity'. Initially, the company planned to redistribute the $9 million in donations to charities and only offer refunds upon application.
January 2022 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a vaccine mandate for truck drivers crossing into Canada, which prompted the formation of the Freedom Convoy 2022 protest movement.
December 2021 The Sunday Times reported that GoFundMe had enabled donations of over €300,000 to anti-vaccine campaigns and challenges to vaccine certificates.
May 2021 Brian Kolfage was separately indicted on federal charges of defrauding the IRS and filing false tax returns.
March 24 2021 The 'Help the Anwars Find Peace' fundraiser began, raising $1,051,250 by April 1, 2021
February 13 2021 Voddie Baucham's Medical Expense Fund campaign started, raising $1,073,180 by February 16, 2021
2020 By the beginning of 2020, GoFundMe had facilitated over $9 billion in fundraising, with contributions from more than 120 million donors.
October 2020 By mid-October, The $1K Project had successfully fully funded more than 800 families through individual GoFundMe pages with donors contributing $1,000 per month for three months.
August 2020 Brian Kolfage was indicted on federal charges of defrauding 'We Build the Wall' donors by diverting raised money to personal use, alongside Steve Bannon and two other co-defendants.
August 2020 Andrew Yang's Humanity Forward Foundation committed to matching donations dollar-for-dollar up to $1 million for The $1K Project, supporting families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 9 2020 The $1K Project launched, ultimately raising $2,500,000 by October 14, 2020
June 2019 GoFundMe terminated a $3 million fundraising campaign for Israel Folau, an Australian rugby player, who was seeking to finance a court case appealing his dismissal after posting social media content deemed homophobic.
March 2019 GoFundMe banned fundraisers from anti-vaccine activists, including Stop Mandatory Vaccination founder Larry Cook, citing violations of their terms of service.
February 14 2018 GoFundMe hosted fundraisers for victims of the Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting in Parkland, Florida, supporting survivors' recovery and memorial causes for deceased victims' families.
November 2017 GoFundMe announced a change in fee structure, eliminating the 5% fee per donation for individual campaigns in the US, Canada, and UK, and instead relying on donor tips to support the website.
March 2017 GoFundMe became the largest crowdfunding platform, having raised over $3 billion since its debut in 2010, with monthly donations exceeding $140 million.
January 2017 GoFundMe acquired CrowdRise, expanding its crowdfunding platform capabilities.
2015 GoFundMe suspended and subsequently banned legal defense funds for the Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery case, which involved a bakery fined for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding. This led to a policy change where the platform announced it would no longer support legal defense funds on their platform.
2015 GoFundMe announced that the site would no longer support legal defense funds on their platform, specifically after suspending funding for the Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery defense.
June 2015 Damphousse and Ballester sold a majority stake in GoFundMe to Accel Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures, with the company valued at around $600 million. They stepped down from day-to-day company oversight.
May 31 2015 The MMS Defense Fund was removed from GoFundMe after Smith's conviction.
May 27 2015 Louis Daniel Smith was found guilty of fraud and other charges related to selling 'MMS' (Miracle Mineral Supplement).
2010 GoFundMe was founded, initially not purposefully designed as a medical fundraising platform, but eventually becoming a significant resource for individuals seeking financial help for medical expenses.
2010 GoFundMe was founded as a crowdfunding platform, enabling individuals to raise money for various personal events and challenges.
May 2010 GoFundMe was officially founded by Brad Damphousse and Andrew Ballester in San Diego, California, after renaming and upgrading their original platform.

This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia article GoFundMe, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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