When a person is on disability, money often becomes tight. A lost productive income turns into a token pay to keep one from starving. There is little room for additional costs for sick pets, needed equipment, an unexpected bill, etc. There are crowdfunding sites out there to help. These sites typically charge a percentage fee and then the payment transaction fee.

Sites (a few sites that have crossed my desk in the past month)

1. www.YouCaring.com – no fee for site, 2.9% plus $0.30 per donation fees
2. www.KickStart.com – project oriented only, all-or-nothing funding, 8-10% fees
3. www.GoFundMe.com – 7.9% plus $0.30 per donation fees
4. www.GiveForward.com – 7.9% plus $0.50 per donation fees, donors are able to pay the fees for the project
5. www.Crowdrise.com – 7.9% plus $0.30 per donation fees

Things to Keep in Mind

1. Set your goal to include the fees.
2. Determine which crowd fundraising site works best for your goal.
3. Brainstorm the goal using SMART = S = specific; M = measurable; A = achievable; R = realistic; and include a T= timeline prompts.
4. Provide details: Why do you needed it? How will it be used? Who will benefit? Include a picture of the product and/or yourself. State your cause using the information generated from the SMART brainstorm.
5. Most individual funding is raised through personal networking. Many of these donors know the person raising the money so pass the word. Create social media posts to send out.

Image from: fundstlouis.org.