GoFundMe Organizers Share Their Most Surprising Moments

Fundraising inspiration from successful organizers

Published in

GoFundMe Stories

3 min readJul 10, 2017

Need some motivation to start that GoFundMe you’ve been thinking about? Look no further—some of our top organizers share what surprised them the most about their fundraisers.

Diane Oliver Dodd

Raised $19k to buy sleeping bags for the homeless

“What surprised me was all the amazing people who donated! I was so afraid to click that button to start that campaign but I am so glad I did.”

Toni Richardson

Raised $19k to send girls to Hidden Figures

“How quickly people actually responded. And how easy it is to start a campaign. GoFundMe makes it very simple to use.”

Bryan Solomon-Puertas

Raised $5k for his wife’s maternity leave

“How people I haven’t talked to in years remembered me and supported us.”

Katie Blomquist

Raised $80k to buy a bike for every child at her school

“How strangers were so willing and happy to be part of something. Even if it was only a $5 donation, they would donate with a comment saying it was all they had but wanted so badly to be part of it. That touched me as much as the $500 donations.”

Rev. Jeff Obafemi Carr

Raised $67k to build tiny homes for the homeless

“What surprised me is the diversity of the people donating, and how once things caught on, how generous they were. My first campaign got a $5 donation from a homeless person in Mexico! I was floored with joy and humility.”

Art Zuke

Raised $8k for his community club

“I was surprised and impressed by the quick, thorough, and personal response from GoFundMe support people. The GoFundMe interface works really well, but it’s still valuable to know that help is there if needed.”