To think that people using GoFundMe for personal life choices, like weddings or holidays, is tacky?

[ThatPoisedNewt]

Everyone seems to be crowdfunding everything these days. AIBU to think it’s inappropriate to ask people to fund personal indulgences?

Honestly, I think the people donating to frivolous gofundme's are somehow worse.

The ones who set it up are cheeky fuckers, but the ones who donate are just dumb (naive, if I'm feeling generous).

That's way different to someone putting out the begging bowl for a wedding they can't afford.
A charitable collection for an ill child to get a once in a lifetime experience is different.

My mate did a gofundme got her to take her teenage daughter to an African country to build a school. They have an income of over £120k a year, no mortgage and the daughter has a huge trust fund for things like this.

I ignored all the messages and reports from the trip - especially the "weslthy white women with starving orphans smiling at them gratefully" type photos.

Not only did my mate have more than enough cash to pay for this herself, I don't believe in poverty porn holidays. I'm very disappointed in her.

Ok yep, those are actually the worst @JurassicPark4Eva . But I'm sure that they were very grateful that the skill of a British teenager saved them from a completely uneducated life and for the opportunity to gaze upon her for a bit. Ugh.

Shameless entitlement

Back in the days of yore, when print was alive and well, Private Eye and other magazines used to carry classified ads; many of these were along the lines of
'Desperate to fund doctorate, willing to do anything'
'Needs funds for travel, who will help'
So this begging is not new. Just in a modern format

It's very entitled but no one is forcing anyone to donate so I'm not sure why people are getting worked up about it

Totally agree that it is tacky one family in a town near us set one up after the father passed away suddenly saying that as a family with six children they were facing a bleak Christmas after he had died, Now I realise this is a tragedy but its stretching the truth somewhat when yes there are 6 children but apart from the youngest they are all adults some with families of their own!

A family at my dcs school lost a parent...a page was set up immediately for donations. Yes it's sad but I don't understand it. My mother died when I was a child...my father would have been so ashamed to do anything like this.

Boob job ones are dreadful.

Truly dreadful

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13647647/amp/jay-slater-mother-gofundme-donations-son.html

This one I can understand -

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13661011/amp/gofundme-orphan-girl-fireball-crash-west-yorkshire-donations.html

Just seen on our village FB group "I've been selected to represent [group] in [foreign holiday destination country] and I need to raise £2,500..."

Yeah, I went there last year. I paid for it myself. I'm not going to fund your jollies.

Wow! So much over the original budget. Hopefully whoever is in care of the girl puts this into a trust fund so its accessible to her aged 18.

Its now over £400k

The child who has been orphaned is a devastating story and far from someone's life choices to have an expensive holiday or car paid for by someone else. I hope the money provides stability and support for her later in life - we all know it won't do anything to make up for the loss of her family.

Saying this,just after Sarah Everard was murdered,a young woman was murdered in the homeless hostel down the road to me

It seems her (ex?) boyfriend murdered her and ran away,leaving her body in the room

I know her family-without putting them down (as they are lovely people),they are all on one benefit or another,so not a lot of cash set aside to pay for a loved ones funeral unexpectedly

They set up a gofundme (I didn't see it until it closed) and raised just enough to give her a basic send off

That,I would donate to,it was genuine and it really hurt them not being able to pay for her funeral at the time but had to mess about raising the funds first

Absolutely entitled. I know of a couple who had a hobby business. Husband gave up a well paid job to pursue it full time alongside wife. A few years later they set up a fund asking for around £15k to “save” the business. They also own a rental property. Someone made the minimum contribution purely to take the chance to tell them in the comments how entitled and tone deaf they were. Of course this brought out the “what happened to be kind” whinge from the wife. The target pot was reduced to about £2k and I think they called it quits when the fund reached about £500, saying they’d been overwhelmed with everyone’s generosity. If you’re reading this, you’ll know who you are!

There was something similar at my work. Fairly senior colleague’s spouse, also in professional job, died suddenly, very sad, young children left, page set up. Didn’t understand it.

Someone in my area set up a go fund me for £2000 so she could buy tickets to Taylor Swift. WTH? Thought this was an absolute piss take.

Because people keep pestering people for money when they have these gofundme accounts, (or have them for someone else, like my example of a child going to Africa to 'help' the people over there,) and there's a couple of others on this thread who have experienced something similar. Someone begging for money to send their rich, privileged, middle-class, British child on a jolly to Africa, under the guise of 'helping the locals' there...

And they also have them because they're desperate for something they may need (or just want!) And they beg and mither and fuss and whine, and peck at your head asking/begging/sometimes demanding you donate.

It's not just a case of people 'not forcing you to donate.' Many people feel badgered, mithered, and sometimes bullied into 'giving.' I have experienced it myself, and so have many others if you read through the replies on this thread.

.

I understand setting up pages in these circumstances. A colleagues fiancé died suddenly. She was entitled to 5 days paid bereavement leave. She didn’t have a well paid role and so the fund set up allowed her to take time off work to grieve but still keep a roof over her head.

Meh.
It's not something I'd do, but each to their own.
Nobody's forcing you to donate, after all.
Roll your eyes and move on.

I would have thought that before but look at the really well off people of the world, I mean properly rich, looking for something to invest in and if it works it works and if it doesn’t eh who misses it, something else will work. Now think of someone desperate for something they’ve been non stop dreaming of or hoping for- if the two collide on go fund me, why not?!

As I just said...

It's not just a case of people 'not forcing you to donate.' Many people feel badgered, mithered, and sometimes bullied into 'giving.' I have experienced it myself, and so have many others if you read through the replies on this thread.