- Set up a fundraiser
- Set up a withdrawal plan
- Respond promptly with any required verification
- Important timelines to keep in mind
- Tips and important notes for fundraising success
Set up a fundraiser
If you're one of the countless individuals, businesses, or organizations that has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, crowdfunding can help. If you haven’t already signed up, the process is free and quick, allowing you to get your fundraiser up and running in a matter of minutes. If you’re raising funds to help small businesses affected by the coronavirus in the US, you may be eligible for a grant from our team. Check out our Small Business Relief Initiative FAQs for details on eligibility and what to expect. Once you’ve created your fundraiser, follow the below guidelines to ensure you receive your funds as quickly as possible.
Set up a withdrawal plan
You can start the withdrawal process even before your first donation, or while your fundraiser continues to accept donations. Our payment processor is unable to act as a bank by holding onto your funds for longer periods of time, so you will need to set up withdrawals as soon as you can. If you do not set up withdrawals and complete any required verification within 30 days, new donations to your fundraiser may be paused. Be sure to review other important withdrawal and verification deadlines, including avoiding refunds. To start the withdrawal process:
- Simply sign in, and click “Withdraw” on your dashboard.
- Follow the prompts to designate who will manage withdrawals, and what type of bank account will be used, such as personal or organization. During this step, you will also determine if funds are for you, your business, or for a beneficiary. A beneficiary would be someone else or someone else’s business or organization.
- If you are withdrawing the funds yourself, you will need to enter personal information such as birthdate, mailing address, and social security number, as well as your bank account and routing numbers. If withdrawing to your business or organization account, you’ll need to enter information such as your EIN. For a full list and more details, see our article on requirements to withdraw from GoFundMe.
- If you add a beneficiary, an email will be sent to have them set up their own GoFundMe beneficiary account, where they will enter all of their own personal and banking information to receive the funds directly. Learn more in our article about inviting someone else to withdraw.
- If funds are going to a business or organization bank account, please make sure you add the organization’s beneficial owner as your beneficiary,such as their chief executive officer, vice president, treasurer, or controller. Learn more about business or organization withdrawals and the beneficiary process and requirements in our Help Center article.
- If you create a fundraiser for a nonprofit, funds will be sent directly to the organization. You will not have access to the funds as the organizer, and you will not be able to add another person as the beneficiary. Read our article on charity campaign withdrawals to find out more about the process, including how and when funds will be sent.
Respond promptly with any required verification
Our team reviews all donations and fundraisers to protect you and our community. If we, or our payment processors, have follow-up questions, or there is missing or inconsistent information, we will request additional documentation. This information can include a request for an ID or a bank account statement, or other details that are necessary to verify your account before continuing to withdraw funds.
We will contact you via your email address on file with an urgent email titled “Important Message from GoFundMe,” or you can view and upload the needed documentation by clicking ‘Withdraw’ when signed into your account. If you do not see this email, be sure to check your spam or “all mail” folders. Respond promptly with the required information to avoid withdrawal delays.
Important timelines to keep in mind
- Donation verification: As new donations are made, they will be reviewed and made available for withdrawal within 1-14 business days from the date of each donation. This timeline depends on the donor’s credit card provider.
- Withdrawal information verification: To comply with all legal and needed security policies for processing funds online, the verification of submitted withdrawal information and any required documentation may take up to 2 business days for personal withdrawals. It can take up to 8 business days for organization or business withdrawals. Please keep in that to ensure the safety of your fundraiser, our payment processors might require additional information at any point throughout the process.
- Funds released for withdrawals: Once withdrawal information has been verified and you have addressed any urgent emails from our team, bank transfers will begin automatically the following day. You will receive an email letting you know that your funds are on the way.
- Bank transfer arrival to your bank account: Once a transfer is started, funds will arrive in your bank account within 2-5 business days.
Tips and important notes for fundraising success
- Share your fundraiser far and wide: Sharing the link to your fundraiser with your community is the best way to start gathering support, and you can start raising funds right away. See 25 Fundraiser Sharing Tips to Increase Donations for more help.
- Connect with those involved: If fundraising for someone else, connect with them early in the fundraising process to ensure they’re comfortable with receiving donations. You will also want to establish a plan for getting the funds to them, and clearly include this information in your fundraiser story. If our team has any questions regarding this information, we will reach out to you by email.
- Set up withdrawals as soon as possible: It can take some time to verify your account. Our payment partners are not allowed to hold your funds for long periods of time, so you’ll want to stay ahead of these important deadlines to avoid a pause in donations or refunds.
- Gather required documentation ahead of time: This way it’s readily available if needed. See our article on documents needed for withdrawing.
- Update your fundraiser: Keep your supporters in the loop through fundraiser updates. Use these as an opportunity let them know how things are going, and be sure to say thank you to donors.
- Determine next steps: When you are done fundraising, you can decide to delete your fundraiser, or leave it viewable with donations disabled. Don’t worry—you’ll still be able to accept new donations after reaching your goal amount or setting up withdrawals. Closing your fundraiser will not disrupt the arrival of funds once withdrawals are set up and verified.
- Take a look at our GoFundMe Blog for more fundraising tips, advice, and ideas.
- Reach out if you have questions or need help: Please visit our Help Center for extra support. We offer full customer support via email and live chat, though it may take us a few days to respond due to the heightened volume surrounding this pandemic. We appreciate your understanding.
We’re always here to help
We truly hope this guide helps offer peace of mind throughout your fundraising journey, and our thoughts are with everyone who has been impacted. Please reach out to us at any point if you have any questions.