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Taking donations for a private individual

by waterburn
5 replies
Not sure if this is the right forum for this, but here goes:

A close friend has been in a very serious car accident, and I came up with the idea to help the family out with the costs by setting up a website that takes donations (via paypal).

I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for how to best do this?

The family does not use paypal and I don't want to bother them with technicalities, since the person is still in very serious condition.

My idea is to have donations go to my paypal account, and now then, I would transfer the funds to my bank account, and I write them a cheque. However, I am not 100% comfortable with this idea either. Could lead to the tax man auditing me perhaps.

Is there a better way to do what I'm trying to do?

We are all still in chock over this sudden accident. If the person survives, there will likely be life long rehab awaiting.
#donations #individual #private #taking
  • Profile picture of the author Suthan M
    while this may be a difficult time for you and the family, its best that formalities (one that is important as money) is correctly handled.

    If you want to help him, its best that you get the details and open the paypal fund under the person or the next of kin name, and redirect any donations to it.

    I strongly discourage you from using yours. trust me when i say u will thank me for the future problems that i saved you with this advice.
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    I'm thinking paypal might not be the way to go at all - they seem to frown on "donations" because there are so many fraudulent claims and campaigns. (Not saying yours isn't valid). Before you start taking donations via paypal, you might want to check with them. If they don't like the idea find a different processor and have the family sign up for an account. Make it clear to them that there are people who will donate on the spot that won't take time to put a check in the mail - and make it clear that you do not feel comfortable collecting the funds. They should understand that.

    You might want to check facebook and see if there are any local sites. My home town has one. You can set up a mailbox and have people send payments there. There are a LOT of people that are hurting severely right now and people are getting hit up for funding left and right - your best bet for getting support is from your friend's own community and the family's workplaces and clubs where the family is known and the effort will be more personal.
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    Sal
    When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
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  • Profile picture of the author webapex
    You may have greater success getting the local community involved, consider if some sort of fund raiser event was setup and you used your internet skills to promote it with press releases, perhaps spending $19.95 at webWire, if this were picked up by the local news they would get huge exposure.
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  • Profile picture of the author waterburn
    Well I was thinking I could send a note to my list of subscribers, with a link to the website. I have many rich people on my list and I'm sure a few would be willing to give donations if the website is set up for it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Caleb Spilchen
    A while back we were raising money for a member of this forum... His username is KimW, and he set something up on the website "gofundme.com"..

    Raise Money for YOU! How to raise money on your donation website!

    I hope that helps you out, and that your friend experiences a fast recovery.

    Cheers,

    Caleb
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    Canadian Expat Living in Medellin, Colombia

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