Choosing a fundraiser type

If you are creating a fundraiser in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia or Canada, GoFundMe has two different fundraiser types to choose from: personal or charity.

For a personal fundraiser, you’ll either transfer funds to a personal bank account or to the bank account of an organisation you’re associated with. Funds from a charity fundraiser are transferred directly to the charity via PayPal Giving Fund. 

We cover the following in this article:

• Differences between personal and charity fundraisers
• How to create a fundraiser for an individual or organisation
• How to create a fundraiser for a charity 

• Raising money for multiple charities at once 

• Raising money for a charity that isn't eligible for a charity fundraiser 
• Additional resources for raising funds for a charity

Compare the differences between personal and charity fundraisers

How to create a fundraiser for an individual or organisation 

On the first fundraiser creation page, you will need to select 'Myself or Someone else' when asked who the funds are for. After you've finished creating your fundraiser you will be able to set up bank transfers for yourself, for another person or for an organisation.

When setting up the bank transfers, follow the steps to set up the appropriate individual. Make sure that you choose who receives the money wisely, since you can't change who handles the funds after they have already been sent to their bank account.

If you represent an organisation setting up a fundraiser, the beneficial owner at the organisation must receive the funds. If you don't know the beneficial owner, you must receive the funds in your personal bank account and then send them to the organisation outside of GoFundMe.

A beneficial owner is someone with significant responsibility to control, manage or direct the organisation (e.g. a Chief Executive Officer, Vice President, Treasurer or a controller).

How to create a fundraiser for a charity 

To set up a charity fundraiser, you will need to choose "Charity" and enter the charity's information on the fundraiser creation page. Make sure that you select the correct organisation since we cannot direct the funds to another organisation once they have been raised.

If you don’t see the organisation listed, you will need to ask the person in charge of the finances at the organisation to enrol with PayPal Giving Fund.

To create a charity fundraiser for a charity you work for, sign up for a GoFundMe charity account.

Raising money for multiple charities at once 

GoFundMe charity fundraisers can only connect to one benefitting charity per fundraiser. If you would like to raise money for multiple organisations, you can do one of the following:

• Create a different charity fundraiser for each organisation that you want to fundraise for. Since the fundraisers will be separate, you can choose a different charity for each one.
• Create one personal fundraiser and transfer funds to your own bank account. Once you have received the funds, you can split the money between the organisations. Bear in mind that you must state in your story how the funds will be shared between the organisations. 

Raising money for a charity that isn't eligible for a charity fundraiser 

If you want to use GoFundMe to fundraise for your charity, but your organisation is not a United States 501(c)3 public charity, registered charity with the UK Charity Commission, Canada Revenue Agency or Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, one option available to you is fiscal sponsorship.

Fiscal sponsorship means that you set up a charity fundraiser for an eligible charity. This charity (known as your fiscal sponsor) will collect funds raised on your behalf, then honour a predetermined agreement to give those funds to you at the end of the fundraising period. Use the steps in the section above to create a charity fundraiser using the fiscal sponsor's tax ID. You will be the fundraiser organiser, so you will be responsible for sharing the fundraiser and appealing for donations. Make sure that you understand how your fiscal sponsor receives funds and the scheduled frequency to plan how funds will be transferred to your intended organisation in the end and within what time frame. 

All language on GoFundMe (including confirmation emails and donation receipts) will indicate that the fiscal sponsor is the benefitting charity. It is the recipient organisation's responsibility to work with the fiscal sponsor to communicate to donors how their funds will be used. We recommend explaining what the fiscal sponsorship relationship means in the story section of your fundraiser. 

Additional resources for raising funds for a charity

• Check to see if your charity is already on our list
• Learn more about how to get on the GoFundMe charity list if you can't see your organisation in our system
• Learn more about bank transfers for a charity fundraiser