As a follow-up to our webinar with the GoFundMe team early this year, the team wrote up the step-by-step instructions below on how a government entity can create a GoFundMe to support a community in need and have the funds distributed through a trusted local nonprofit or foundation of your choosing. For example, the Mayor of San Mateo raised over $55,000 on GoFundMe in just over a week to help the city’s residents and businesses recover from unprecedented flooding in Northern California earlier this year.
“We could not wait for FEMA or the State, we needed to step up when we saw our neighbors and our local businesses in need,” Mayor Amourence Lee wrote on GoFundMe. Through the power of GoFundMe and a local nonprofit, Mayor Lee launched the San Mateo Winter Storm Damage Relief Fund, where residents and businesses who experienced financial loss or damages during the storm received grants of up to $5,000. To start a fundraiser and get the word out on Nextdoor, follow the steps below:
- Step 2: Secure a local nonprofit to distribute the funds
- Step 3: Get the word out to your community members by posting on your department’s Nextdoor for Public Agencies page
Frequently asked questions:
What are the benefits of raising funds through GoFundMe vs. having an organization host your fundraiser?
- Safe and secure - GoFundMe features the very best in secure payment encryption technology and offers the first and only donor protection guarantee in the crowdfunding industry
- Easy to set up and share, with funds going directly to the nonprofit of your choice
- Support from GoFundMe’s Public Affairs team
What are the best practices for getting the word out on Nextdoor?
- Make a video to accompany the initial post
- The following week, post a poll asking if they plan to donate
- Each week after, post an update on funds raised with the remaining funds needed. Share your fundraiser early and often. A GoFundMe that is shared 6-10 times in the first three days is twice as likely to reach its fundraising goal than one that is shared fewer times or more than three days after creation
- Allocate staff time to respond to comments
- Include a call to action to ask neighbors to share post
Support resources:
