This fundraising of a thing has now become so rampant that no one really knows which one is true again. But anytime I see this fundraising post appear on my timeline on any of my social media, the first thing I check for is the comments section and not the total amount that has been raised. In the past, people always asked for an account number, but to answer, who is collecting the money always turns hostile, and these days they have started creating separate accounts that have an organization name behind it.
On my WhatsApp page and in some WhatsApp groups, I have seen different appeals and money solicitation with pictures of someone on the sick bed, some notes, and a bank account with the amount needed and the amount gotten so far. Someone else has sent it before someone else also forwarded it to them. Another person offers what they can. And before nighttime, the story is all over, and we cannot be highly sure who is actually behind it and if the money gets to the person in the picture.
I cannot say and conclude that uncertainties like that have made crowdfunding bad. When a family member is terribly in a bad situation and the money required to be raised is beyond the capacity of the family, waiting for help from one person may be impossible. Taking it online allows a lot of people to give what they can afford quickly. I might consider using it if I needed help, too. But what I cannot blindly trust are all appeals that come in every now and then because a picture of someone is attached to it with a sad story. Though the picture can show the person suffering, what it cannot show or prove is where the donations are going to or who is behind the account.
A lot of people who are honest can be punished by suspicion. A family might not be too interested to continue to post a medical update always, while a fraudulent person can polish it up with new messages. And I'll say that transparency should not depend on how convincing someone or something looks online.
If possible, each platform should verify the identity of the person organizing the crowdfunding, give a detailed explanation of their relationship with the person especially receiving the help, and make their targets know LN, fees, total amount received, and the total amount paid out in a single place. And if it is a campaign related to medical, the bills can be confirmed with the hospital, and they should be done with the consent of the patients. When funds are being transferred, people donating should receive dated updates and records. And midway, if anything changes about the campaign or it stops, the reasons should be communicated across visibly. Fraud reports should trigger a review, not disappear into an inbox.
If I have the capacity, it will not stop me from donating online, but not blindly. Trust should not mean switching off the questions we are asking; it should give the willingness for the platform to answer them. If someone comes online to ask for help, it means what is in front of them is way beyond them. And they should not always prove their honesty to all donors from scratch. The platform must carry some of that burden.
Thank you for reading.
