How to Get People to Send You Money: A Guide to Crowdfunding

Life can throw some mean curveballs at you. Sky-rocketing medical bills and unexpected job losses can make it impossible to have enough money in your bank account to survive. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic! Luckily, you can get people to send you money online. With the help of donations from charitable folk, you can get back on your feet.

Why Do People Give Away Money?

Research shows that giving away “free money” can make us all feel happier. That’s why non-profits get so many donations from wealthy people who want to bring good into the world. Their investments could help struggling mothers on food stamps pay for their children’s education, for example.

If you have more than enough for yourself, why not share some of it?

How Can I Get People to Give Me Money?

There are no secrets to getting people to send you money. But there are ways of ensuring your fundraiser is successful!

Give Donors a Good Reason

Why should they invest in your fundraiser? Why should they send you money? Explaining what you’ll use the funds for and why you need them is crucial. After all, people feel most comfortable giving away free money when there’s transparency.

Show Them You’re a Good Person

Most people don’t want to give money to someone ungrateful, spoiled, and entitled. Would you? Let your wonderful personality shine through when you write a description on your fundraising page. Charm can go a long way.

Share, Share, Share

The best way to get donations rolling in quickly is to share it on social media. Use all the relevant hashtags and tag online philanthropists (such as Bill Pulte) to get maximum exposure.

9 Sites Where You Can Get Strangers to Give You Money

It’s not just non-profits who can use crowdfunding to hit their goals. There are dozens of online platforms you can use to get people to send you money. They each have their upsides and downsides, but they’re all worth checking out, especially at a time of great need.

1. GoFundMe

You’ve probably heard of GoFundMe before. It’s the number one fundraising platform for normal people like you and me. You can create a page for just about any cause, set a funding goal, and explain to your potential donors why you’re asking them for money. If they want to donate, they can easily make payments through the platform.

The best thing about GoFundMe is how easy it is to set up and use. Even if you don’t hit the money goal you set, you can still cash out. Plus, since there are no deadlines, you can keep your campaign running for as long as you want.

GoFundMe takes a small commission fee of 30 cents per donation. Additionally, you will also have to pay the platform a flat rate of 2.9% when you want to cash out.

Lastly, since GoFundMe is a well-established platform, people feel comfortable donating to it.

2. Begging Money

If you’re going through some financial hard times, Begging Money is a good platform to turn to. To get started, all you need to do is write at least 400 words (it’s not that hard!) explaining why you’re asking for donations. Then, once you select the category for your fundraiser (e.g. “Dental” to pay a bill to your dentist), you’re all set.

Creating a PayPal.me account will keep you safe from scammers. Plus, it will ensure the money gets to you as quickly as possible. Moreover, once you cover the standard PayPal account fees, you’ll get to keep most of your donation money. That’s because, unlike other platforms, Begging Money doesn’t charge any commission fees.

3. CyberBeg

When you land on CyberBeg’s website, you might feel as if you’ve been transported to the early 2000s. While the design and layout of their page aren’t the best, their service is trustworthy and proven to work. As of September 2020, CyberBeg has raised nearly $140.000 for its users.

Setting up your “begging” account is incredibly simple. Come up with an eye-catching title for your ad, tell people why you need their financial help, and link your PayPal. When potential donors scroll through the CyberBeg page, they’ll come across your ad and hopefully donate directly to you.

Fortunately, there are no commission fees besides the small cut that PayPal takes. From there, you can easily transfer the money to your bank account.

4. Ko-Fi

If you have a creative side hustle, such as writing, you can ask people to send you money. Create a page, showcase your work, and wait for someone to send you a donation—or, as Ko-Fi calls it, “buy you coffee.” You can also set up regular monthly payments so that you can get a more stable income supplement.

Since there are no transaction fees, Ko-Fi is an incredible option for small creators to pay bills through their talents!

5. Patreon

Patreon is similar to Ko-Fi, but it’s even more popular. Thousands of creators use Patreon every month to support themselves through their art. You’ll find all sorts of creators with Patreon accounts, from writers to podcasters and YouTubers. Who said your side hustle can’t help you make it in life?

Using Patreon isn’t without its fees. The cheapest plan will cost you 5% of your monthly donations, while the most expensive will take away 12%. However, since this is a paid service, you’ll get excellent customer support if you run into any problems.

6. Crowdfunder

If you have a great business idea, crowdfunding is the way to go. With donations to your Crowdfunder page, you can get your business plans off the ground.

Setting it up is more complicated than if you were using GoFundMe. You’ll need to show a term sheet and a pitch deck. Think of it as an online Shark Tank, where wealthy people are looking to invest in the next big thing.

If you manage to cover the $299 monthly fee, your small business runs a good chance of making it big.

7. Indiegogo

You’ll find a lot of new business ideas based around tech and design, but you don’t have to be limited to those areas. Just like Crowdfunder, Indiegogo is designed for small businesses, startups, and even non-profits. As long as your campaign is completely legal, you’ll be able to advertise on there.

Indiegogo charges 5% of the investments you get in exchange for their services. Since it’s a reputable platform, you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding donors.

8. Fundly

With Fundly, you can raise money for just about any project. From non-profit organizations to startup tech companies looking for a boost to their finances, Fundly is full of great investment opportunities.

You can set personal finance goals and a customized page to tell donors what their money will be spent on. And even if you don’t hit that goal, you can still cash out.

Fundly does take a 4.9% fee from each donation and your credit card company will take a 3% processing fee. A small price to pay for potentially big returns, we think.

9. Kickstarter

Of course, we couldn’t leave out the biggest website for business donations. Kickstarter connects investors and inventors. You present your idea and the crowd can pitch in money to make it come true. It’s as close as you’ll get to investment banking—but without all the hassle that comes with it.

Dozens of Kickstarters raised millions, and you could too. Make your idea stand out by incorporating videos and text into your campaign page, promote it on social media, and sit back while the dollars rush in.

You’ll pay a 5% fee on every donation, a 5% processing fee when you want to cash out, and 20 cents for each pledge your project gets.

10. Random Acts of Amazon

If you’re active on Reddit, you should look into Random Acts of Amazon. This subreddit is here to connect people feeling charitable to those who want to get free stuff.

If there’s something you want to buy but can’t afford to, you can let other people do it for you. Create a post, link your Amazon wishlist, and hope that someone gets you a little gift. Keep in mind that you can’t ask for money—only gifts.

Bonus: Swagbucks

If you’re still needing to make money and fundraising hasn’t worked, you should check out Swagbucks. By completing small tasks—answering surveys and playing games—you can get paid.

Whether you want to collect your earnings in cash or in the form of gift cards, that’s up to you. Swagbucks won’t eat up too much of your time, but it will compensate you for the (little) work you put in.

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Stay Safe and Avoid Scams

Scammers are all over the internet, waiting to make money from unsuspecting people. If an offer sounds too good to be true and there are no credible reviews online, it’s probably a scam.

Here are a few ways of avoiding scams and ensuring you’re only spending time on legit opportunities:

  • Do your research. Look into the opportunity you’ve found to see if it’s legit.
  • Don’t give away too much personal information. Your phone number, email address, credit card number, and social security number can be used for nefarious uses if they fall in the wrong hands. Make sure you don’t have this information linked to your PayPal account.
  • Stay on top of your payments. Some “get free money” websites will not pay you what you’re due, so it’s important to keep a record of when you cashed out last.
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