Go Fund Me - Do you participate ? Do you agree/disagree

I’ve participated a couple times. I have to really know the person and feel passionate about the cause/reason.

I've only contributed once, it was for a close friend who had a sudden illness. No one else we know personally has ever set up a GoFundMe. I don't contribute to people I don't know. The "Good Cause" one, it would depend on lots of things. I haven't found one yet that made me contribute to it.

I don't think it should be limited to certain triggering events. Let people decide if they want to contribute to whatever the reason for the GoFundMe is for. The tax one, I am undecided. I probably lean towards no, no taxes. Usually a gift tax is the burden of the giver, not the receiver. And it is not "Earned Income." I guess it could be classified as "Passive Income", which is taxed.

Well, unfortunately I need at least 4 choices. So I just chose the 3 more specific ones.

Yes, I have contributed to several. No, I have never set one up myself, nor has anyone ever set one up for me. (I will go knock wood that no one has a need to now that I've said that.  )

I've contributed for all manner of reasons, including 3 of the ones you specified--medical & death related expenses for friends/family, as well as donations for people I didn't know. Plus some that were other reasons, which I guess would fall under things I felt were a good cause.

I do think it's perfectly fine to ask people if they would be willing to give a small amount in hopes that many small amounts will add up to create the help someone needs. And it's equally perfectly fine to opt not to ever give money to those requests. Or to give when you can, and skip some if it's a time that's more difficult for you to be handing out funds.

To me, it's a form of community coming together to help someone, much like you might do with a rummage sale or bake sale, where the profits help someone in need.

But in my humble opinion, you can hold a raffle, or host a spaghetti dinner to raise funds, and there's whole lot of work and effort and guests trying to fit things into their schedule that they don't particularly even want to do; OR, they can just give people some money. And to me the latter seems a lot simpler, with less general waste. (Meaning all of the waste generated by hosting & advertising an event to raise funds.)

Plus, people facing unexpected medical or death expenses probably don't have the ability to come up with special events to try to raise funds, either.

Before GoFundMe existed I used to see/hear people joke about "If everyone I knew just gave me $1.00, I'd be able to do XYZ", and I'd think "That's so true, yet no one ever asks, despite the fact that many people would be very willing to fork over a dollar for a friend/neighbor/coworker, or even a stranger. GoFundMe just gave people a platform to ask for that dollar. And I'm often willing to give the proverbial dollar.

As for your other questions, I see no reason to limit the reasons for asking. No one is forced to give anything. If someone only wishes to give for certain reasons, then they should go with that. And let others give for repainting Fido's doghouse if they wish.

As for taxing it as earned income...I view it as a gift, personally.  Sometimes the recipient isn't even aware that the money is being collected, so they certainly aren't earning it in any way.

I have contributed... for people i know n people i don't... medical expenses or death or what moves me...

I am not as free with my donation as i used to be... but im not gonna say never ever again

I actually contributed today for the first time ever. My friend's grandson had a near drowning yesterday and is on a ventilator. They are raising money for medical expenses.  I also as a general rule don't care for them. 

I contributed to one when a former student was killed in an accident. It was to help the family with funeral expenses and help cover extra expenses while they weren’t working.
As a general rule I dislike GFM.

I've contributed several times but there has been so much fraud and fluff that I'm really soured on it. A well-liked guy in our community died recently and someone set up a GFM for his parents. Why do the parents of a 50-year-old guy need money? It's awful that the guy died, but will money make it better? I see kids setting up GFMs to travel or take a gap year. WTH?

See, I'd love to give a kid a few bucks to put towards travel. I doubt they'd fund their whole trip via GFM, but it could be a nice little boost for them, both financially and just in the way of thinking "Wow, people were willing to help me out just to be helpful. That's pretty cool." To me, it's just a big kid version of over-paying the kids down the block for lemonade I'm not going to even drink.  Only, you know, without having to go throw out the cup of lemonade.   

As for setting up a GFM for the parents of the 50 year old--I suppose there's the possibility they didn't have funds for funeral expenses, or, and this is the reason I think is most likely--it's something to do.  When someone loses a loved one, so often we want to do something to help, but don't know what. My guess is that the GFM was someone's well-meant idea of a way to help.

This is how I feel about most fundraisers that involve you buying a product. Half the time or more I don't even want the product, and so I buy something I don't want and the organization only gets a small percentage, because they still have to cover the cost of the product(s). 

I feel like at least with GFM it's the opposite--GFM takes a small fee, and more of the money goes to the person/group. 

For the stuff kids are selling for fundraisers, etc. you can also usually just make a direct donation to the organization instead of buying products you don’t want. That way the school or group will get 100% of the money.

Yes, I have done that a few times, although sometimes those fundraisers come with prizes attached, and then the kids are hoping you will buy the item they are selling instead.

I have donated to a couple of them. Both didn't know personally, but had a connection somehow.. The last one was a few weeks ago. If you remember Ginga and Grandma (sisters over 100 that became 'famous'), I started following grandma's grandson on FB. He is an amazing person. Very successful and is very giving. He has personally helped at least two or three people (without asking for donations). I won't go into the story because it is long. He did recently post a GFM link to a kid with cancer. I can't remember his connection. But I donated to that. Just like $10. To me it's like giving a few bucks to a homeless person on the street. I give it. I don't expect anything. I just move on.

I have never signed up for one or do I know anyone personally that has set up one. OH except for one 'friend' YEARS ago. She set up a fund for a Disney trip. I thought it was the sickest thing I ever saw. She was a scrapbook friend. Her sob story is they wanted one last trip with the whole family before the oldest went into the military. From what I gathered, is that they went to Disney every year and always lived way above their means. I disassociated from her immediately after that.

I dislike go fund me’s and will give money directly to the person so they get the full amount of my donation.

Go Fund Me do operate in the UK but I've not seen one/been asked to contribute, as far as I recall. Obviously we don't have the basic need for medical expenses so maybe that's why they're rarer here.

I'm not keen on the idea because of the way it can be abused but I guess that's on the contributors to decide if the request is reasonable or not.