Go Fund Me for College Fund?

[mom2rtk]

They can ask for money for anything they want.

And I can have an opinion about it.

 

[AustinTink]

A friend of mine has been asking people to support her in different ways since her divorce a few years ago. She has teenagers and we all chipped in at first in little ways while she got on her feet. Fast forward to now and she still doesn't have a full-time job and doesn't want to upgrade her skill set to get one. She told me the other day about this great service she learned about through her kid's high school where you can "set up a account for people to donate money for the student to go to college." "Like a go fund me account?" I asked and she said, "Yeah, I guess."

Her ex-husband has a good paying job and my friend is fully capable of working full-time. No, I will not give to this go fund me account. I am in a better place than her financially right now? Yes. But, I should not be made to feel guilty for this. I put myself through school working 3 part-time jobs while taking classes. I finished 2 years behind my friends with some loan debt. I would never have asked for a handout.

When did people stop taking responsibility for their own lives?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I'm going to set one up & be honest:

I don't need your help.
We're all healthy
College will be expensive, but we'll manage
I'm not behind on bills
I'd just like a lot more cash
Don't know what I'll do with it
Maybe take a trip
Maybe build an outbuilding
Maybe bet it all on a horse
You don't owe it to me & I don't deserve it
But, you're welcome to donate anyway
If it amounts to anything, my only promise is to let you know how I soent it. It probably won't be on anything responsible.

 

[mousehockey37]

When did people stop taking responsibility for their own lives?

Since the internet made it so readily available to do so.

It's like looking on all the different Disney boards and seeing people post about "choose my resort" "help plan my vacation" "pick my adr's", etc. What did these people do back before message boards and the internet existed? Yes, Disney was around before the good ole internet, and people had to plan back then just like they do now! You either asked someone you knew that went, you called, or you read travel brochures. On those threads, if I choose to answer, I'll say something like "well, this is a loaded question that's just going to end in the thread being locked or shutdown".

 

[Laura66]

If this is the only way she has a chance to go to school. I don't see any harm. There is no way she will get enough to pay for a 4 year education.

Too bad! Take out loans, work part time . . .
Be responsible for your own future.

 

[Laura66]

No one is being forced to donate. If she is able to pay for part of her education this way, great for her.

Not forced - but it puts some people on the spot. And there are many on fixed incomes that may not make good financial choices or feel pressured to donate when they don't have the funds!

 

[LisaR]

A girl we know set up a Go Fund Me for college. The family really doesn't have a whole lot, but the girl had many options. She dual enrolled and could have gotten the first two years paid for free, but she decided to stop doing that because she didn't want to miss the other "fun" high school events. She got a scholarship to a very good public university that would have covered almost all of her tuition and was within easy commuting distance, but that wasn't good enough. She wanted to go to a private school out of state. She set the Go Fund Me up for $80,000 and got around $4500. She still went to the private school and has loans up the wazoo now. She is pretty sure she is going to have to drop out before getting her degree. The best part was right after the girl posted her very first request, mom posted something like, "Sending my first born off to college is so stressful. Just got a massage and I'm feeling much more grounded now" Yeah, let me help put your kid through school while you get massages!

 

[Colleen27]

IMO, this is pathetic by the student.

If you're looking for sponsorship to march drum corps, go to a certain camp, etc, that's one thing... But to put one out there to pay for your college education? Get a work study position, stop taking the easy way out.

I don't think that's any better and it drives me crazy to see those requests... middle class families with all they need and some of what they want, begging others to fund pricey extras for their kids because their special little snowflakes just HAVE to attend the $2500 science camp and play on the $1000 travel baseball team and they sure as heck don't want to give up their second car payment or family vacation to pay for it. Tacky as hell and unbelievably self-centered IMO.

I didn't mind Go Fund Me when it was newer and people seemed to use it for real hardships. Now, though, not a day goes by that I don't see at least one request on my FB feed for things like college expenses, sports tournament costs, weddings/honeymoons, or other nonsense. I just roll my eyes and scroll on by, but I totally understand how it is getting to be a pet peeve for some people.

 

[barkley]

IMO, this is pathetic by the student.

If you're looking for sponsorship to march drum corps, go to a certain camp, etc, that's one thing... But to put one out there to pay for your college education? Get a work study position, stop taking the easy way out.

The only good that might come out of this is that the kid will learn real quick that the only person that you can 100% rely on is yourself.

The kid is trying to do college debt free, and while a noble concept, it's not very attainable in today's education world. Student loans and scholarships are available for just about anything, get in line with the rest of the world and get ready to start in debt...

I agree with others that it does put extended family in an awkward spot, and with all the scams and everything else out there today, people are cautious with what they sign up for.

by and large I agree with you, BUT based on the experiences of our dd and her fellow students-your can't just go out and "get" work study.

back in the late 70's and 80's when I went to college all you had to do to get work study was find a work study designated position announcement on campus and get hired for it. now (at least in our region) students get their initial financial aid (and scholarship) award letters (continuing-not new freshman) in early june, then around the beginning of august they get a letter letting them know if they have been awarded work study hours (which if they find a work study job doesn't mean additional funds-it replaces dollar for dollar another funding source w/loans being the first). you cant even find out about available work study jobs on dd's campus unless your student record is coded as having been granted work study b/c they are only posted on-line. I know students who would kill to get work study awarded but while our university departments have numerous positions designated for work study-only a fraction go filled b/c of the funding that's allocated to each school.

I'm not a fan of go fund me-I don't believe in it for camps, corps or pretty much all of what I see posted. in the case of a person seeking funds for college from friends and family I would honestly question if they are really college material......................b/c if they take funds from the site they will be counted against them for financial aide the same as any other income, asset or scholarship-whereas if they had family and friends who truly wanted to help them-they could have them directly self pay portions of their college attendance/expenses in a manner much less financially detrimental. my kids and we as parents were educated about this in our kid's jr. year in high school.

 

[Ceila]

My issue with begging for college funds like that isn't that it's bad manners (although it is), but the motivation behind it. Or, well, the lack of motivation, really. Too many people look to others to bail them out before taking personal responsibility to fix the problem themselves.

 

[HeatherC]

Not a fan of a GoFundMe page. I think it is great for certain things like helping people who are fighting cancer and are hit with outrageous medical bills, or helping a family who lost their home in a fire, etc.

But when I see middle class people asking for a free handout to finance things they "want" and certainly don't need it makes me so annoyed.. My thinking is "get off your butt, find a job and save for it" like I would do.

The parents of one of my sons friends recently set one up and began soliciting heavily for it both in person and on Facebook. They set it up so their little boy (17) would have the opportunity to visit Europe for Spring Break. Guess what...we would all love to visit Europe for Spring Break. How would we do that? Well we would tell our kids to get a part time job and start saving.

When it is used for things like that, I think it is just another example of an "entitlement" mentality. You want something...WORK FOR IT!

 

[NewRVLady]

Nope nope nope!!
If you know her well and wanna give her a gift - fine.
But it's not other peoples job to find things - college, trips, vacations, etc.

I find go fund me pages for anything other than extreme situations - like terminal diseases- absolutely vulgar.

AMEN!!!!!!

The loony girl my 40-something nephew got pregnant and now shares a child has started 2 different GO FUnd Me accts to help pay their bills.
When he heard of them-they got deleted. He owns a home, has 3 vehicles , is head IT Computer guy and they cant live in their means.....they begged for money from his aunt...3 weeks later HE got an elaborate tatoo

 

[ronandannette]

Some acquaintance of DW sent a gofundme request for her daughter's college tuition. We just went, "yeah, sure" and deleted it.

Point #1 - this is exactly how to handle this, or any other thing of a similar nature. Simply being asked to do something doesn't obligate you and I personally wouldn't be any more offended by this than I am when Girl Guides come to my door with cookies or I see a Salvation Army kettle at Christmas.

it all started when people who hand you your pizza in the shop wanted a tip

Point #2 - funny, sure but also very astute in a way. This "donate to me on the internet" business is a fairly new trend but seems to be taking root. In a generation it may be as ubiquitous as everybody under the sun being tipped is now. Personally, I remember a time when people in certain service positions would look at you weird and say "no thanks" if you said "keep the change"...

A Go Fund Me page should be about anything at all. Nobody is being forced to look at it and make a donation.

Point #3 - you are correct, now that this whole Go-fund-me thing actually is a "thing". And let's not forget that before and after it's a fund-raising opportunity for those that may or may not justifiably need help, it is foremost a practically BRILLIANT for-profit endeavour for it's creators, who take 5% off the top whether it's for helping a family who have been devastated by a house fire or to pay for someone to send their cat to obedience school. Talk about wanting something for nothing...

 

[chiefmickeymouse]

I would not donate, I have two of my own kids to pay college tuition for. I have seen go fund me accounts for dumber things, though. The last one was for wedding expenses. Go to the Justice of the Peace. I did, still married 23 years later.

 

[Dawnlight]

I would not encourage my kids to go that route.

The only funds that I consider donating to are tragic, unforeseeable events such as house fires and illness.

This may come off as unsympathetic, but I also have an issue with funds established, usually for large families, that have lost on uninsured parent. I find it very irresponsible to have children yet not have the income-earner insured. There was a tragic case recently of a family with 8 children, the youngest born on the day of the father's death, and the father was uninsured. The gofundme is now up to $400,000+. If you can afford another child, you can afford life insurance. Plain and simple! Yes, death is uncontrollable, but it's a choice to not be insured.

 

[sk!mom]

I wouldn't donate. I've donated to Go Fund Me in a few instances- serious illness or terrible tragedy in all cases. I've been asked often for everything from kids trips to expensive out of the country dance training to vacations to Mission trips. All of those have been passed up. For me, all that I've declined have been things that I believe should be saved and paid for yourself. It's the new, easier for the askee, version of the fundraising letters of a few years ago. Those too were mostly tossed without a donation.

My personal pet peeve are the Mission Trip ones as those seem to usually be more of a vacation in disguise. If you truly want to help then raise the money and send it all to the orphanage/poor/hungry in the foreign country so that they can hire local help to do repairs/build a water well rather than spending a large amount to go their yourself to work a few days doing something that no one here would pay you to do because you lack any qualifications and then spend the rest of the time site seeing/on safari/at the beach.

 

[disneyfantotheend]

I have seen Go Fund Me for much more selfish things than money for college. Fact is you can set one up for ANYTHING. Would I donate? No, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't set it up.

 

[Mokat76]

The thing I don't like about the on-line money grabs is I fear they're diverting people's limited charitable funds from legitimate charities that do legitimate good. If I give money to little Sally who might or might not use it for college, I won't have it to give to a college's legitimate scholarship fund or whatever.
Most of us have finite resources. This nonsense drains them and makes us cynical of the constant begging. Is that plea legit or not? Does he need help or is he scamming? There's no way to tell in most cases so I put my money where I know what happens with it. Someone's soccer camp won't make the cut.

 

[ronandannette]

The thing I don't like about the on-line money grabs is I fear they're diverting people's limited charitable funds from legitimate charities that do legitimate good. If I give money to little Sally who might or might not use it for college, I won't have it to give to a college's legitimate scholarship fund or whatever.
Most of us have finite resources. This nonsense drains them and makes us cynical of the constant begging. Is that plea legit or not? Does he need help or is he scamming? There's no way to tell in most cases so I put my money where I know what happens with it. Someone's soccer camp won't make the cut.

Let's assume that everybody that gives to anything regardless of the method, has thought through whether or not they want to give and to what causes. I know the difference between say, Unicef providing vaccination programs to children in 3rd world countries and a gofundme request by a college student to pay for Dukoral before spring break in Cancun. I can choose to contribute to either, both or neither as I see fit.

 

[bdcp]

Some people are just takers. I paid for my kids college (and my own) and I'm not about to pay for anyone elses directly. From what the OP wrote, this girl is not a charity case. We do our giving through our church and to the local fire dept and a couple of random other charities, but never to one individual unless it was for a real need and not just a "want". I think too many people think that the world owes them something. I would never let my child set up an account like that. Isn't anyone embarassed anymore? Or have any pride? Hey, my DS and DDIL would love to buy a house but don't have the downpayment, but they're not about to ask ANYONE to give them money, sheesh.