FYI

The U.S. happens to be where I live, so it is what I choose to speak about. Thank you.

I applaud the fact that we have a way to do it now. Why should I care if the fans are raising money for the Patriots or a business? It really isn't my business what people do with their money. I don't want to be criticized for who I donate too and won't criticize others. I do find it funny that the fans think the Patriots need the money but whatever. The only thing I would say is at least wait until after the appeal where most likely the punishment will be reduced.

That's what we do here. Thanks for your input.

That's how discussion boards work. Still doesn't change the fact that I haven't asked you to do anything.

"I don't want to be criticized for who I donate too and won't criticize others. "

"I do find it funny that the fans think the Patriots need the money but whatever"

For the record, I'm fine with people doing gofundme on DU. However, one must be aware of the fact that people want to make sure their donation is going to a truly needy person. That sociopathic 1 or 2% ruins it for everyone. Way too easy to lie on the internet.

again, good op.

That is why I chose to use the accounts that were closed already and one that is well covered in the news (so that the inevitable alert would not claim I was using DU to fundraise--and that's sad).

The second was also in the news: http://www.11alive.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/01/09/father-to-be-killed-in-crash/21531711/ If you look at the story, I imagine you'll be able to guess why a whole lot of money wasn't raised here in TX.

The third is a personal family friend.

The fact that these "big-name grab-the-media-attention raise-money-in-protest" accounts can and have shed such a bad light on such a great idea is depressing.

If a fundraiser gets lots of social media traffic, the amounts go up quickly. Virtually nobody goes to the site to search for someone to donate to. People go there in response to links posted on other sites. No social media, no donations.

Facebook is a big source of donors. People post something about a GoFundMe campaign. It gets shared. If it is seen by enough people and the cause is good, donations come in. Without that, or other social media exposure, the campaign goes stagnant quickly.

The second account I posted was shared on Facebook and covered in local ( and a few national) media outlets.

Not every campaign works, though. Even publicized campaigns can flop. A lot depends on what people write on GoFundMe. A lot depends on the nature of the request. Still, the ones that generate a lot of donations get good social media exposure. That's how people find out about them.

Those right wing ones get picked up and posted on countless right-wing sites and blogs, too. They get a huge number of views and often appeal to prejudices and other knee-jerk issues.

I rarely donate to any online fundraising campaigns. There are so many excellent causes right where I live that I can check out. I make donations to them.

We'll have to disagree. It has to do with a person's gut feelings on a political/social happening of the moment. So many "non excitable" causes are not "attended to" because they don't, to put it bluntly, piss someone off.