GoFundMe's new team fundraising feature lays the foundation for bigger groups to use the platform for collecting payments — nudging it closer to the tools merchants use to manage business expenses.
GoFundMe is typically used to set up fundraisers controlled by an individual, both for personal expenses such as a vacation or for charitable causes. The addition of Team Fundraising adds features and controls that resemble those used in business accounts.
Via the platform, organizers can add individuals or create a team to collaborate on fundraising efforts. They will have access to a dashboard where they can monitor activity like donations or track the contributions of each team member.
Live leaderboards can motivate and incentivize cordial competition among team members by presenting who is raising the most. Individuals will have their own URL, which allows donors to contribute and receive updates on the campaign's progress. GoFundMe tested the feature with school groups and sports teams raising funds to go to an event.
GoFundMe is following a similar path as offerings like Venmo, which were developed with individuals in mind but branched out into
As seen with Venmo, payments are increasingly becoming social interactions, and digital fundraising is not exempt from this. GoFundMe is a global crowdfunding platform that has seen the likes of social fundraising on a large scale.
Matched with the rise of Facebook’s donate button, the new team fundraising initiative is a step further in the social direction for GoFundMe. By expanding the options for participation, GoFundMe has multiplied a project's potential reach.
In the wake of the current immigration crisis, members of the Facebook team-fundraising community have raised about $20 million in a viral campaign to help support the
