In Under 60 days, Crowdfunding Sites Raise Over $20 Million for Nepal Relief
This post was originally produced for Forbes.
The tragic earthquake in Nepal on April 25, 2015 has spawned an unprecedented amount of charitable crowdfunding across the internet. Reaching out to my network of players in the crowdfunding space, I learned that over $20 million has already been raised on crowdfunding sites for Nepal relief efforts.
CrowdRise reports the most money raised for Nepal with “over $6 million raised”
Robert Wolfe, CEO and co-founder of CrowdRise, said, “The way the CrowdRise community responded to the earthquake in Nepal was amazing and even overwhelming. We built CrowdRise to enable individuals and causes to really easily engage their personal networks to help drive impact. We continue to be in awe of the way that everyone’s passion and energy can turn into such positive outcomes especially in the midst of extraordinarily dire circumstances.”
GoFundMe reported a nearly identical amount (having reported in a few days earlier, GoFundMe’s total may actually top CrowdRise’s reported numbers) with $5,927,022 as of June 5, 2015.
GoFundMe’s Media Director Kelsea Little, said, “GoFundMe is happy to be able to provide a platform that allows those in need to receive help quickly. Our thoughts are with Nepal during this incredibly difficult time.” She adds, “Additionally, GoFundMe donated its 5% fee from a portion of Nepal earthquake campaigns back to relief efforts – over $200K has been donated by GoFundMe to AmeriCares, who have been providing on-the-ground support in Nepal since the first days following the disaster.”
GlobalGiving, a crowdfunding site focused on international nonprofits, reports that it has helped 77 nonprofits raise $4,231,060.72 for Nepal relief.
Britt Lake, Senior Director of Programs, said, “GlobalGiving has been partnering with nonprofits in Nepal for over a decade. Prior to the earthquake on April 25th, GlobalGiving had raised more than $1.3 million for more than 100 vetted projects in Nepal. We have long-term relationships with these Nepali nonprofits and a high degree of confidence in the quality of their work. After the earthquake, we were able to raise funds on behalf of these organizations and disburse much-needed immediate relief funds to the ground in under a week.” She adds, “Since April 25th, individuals and companies from more than 111 countries have given more than $4.2 million to GlobalGiving’s Nepal Fund and to campaigns created by more than 70 organizations on the GlobalGiving site.”
Crowdfunding powerhouse Indiegogo reports that over $3 million has been raised on the platform for Nepal.
Breanna DiGammarino reports, “It was incredibly inspiring to see the way personal fundraising was able to turn the world’s sympathy for Nepal earthquake victims into meaningful contributions to relief efforts. From helping single families rebuild their homes, to supporting established nonprofits working in the affected area, personal fundraising platforms like Indiegogo Life empower passionate individuals to have a major impact in a time of crisis.”
Razoo reports having raised over $802,000 for Nepal earthquake relief.
Tom Matthews, Razoo’s CEO, said, ““Razoo.com is focused on providing effective crowdfunding technology to empower individuals to change the world, one donation at a time. Nepal’s devastating natural disaster inspired hundreds of individuals to take action both on the ground and online to support disaster relief initiatives.”
“Razoo is continually moved by the generosity and impact each individual has made on our platform. We have highlighted Nepal fundraising campaigns in our communications and social media to help inspire others to raise funds and awareness for disaster relief. It is Razoo’s goal to continue providing crowdfunding technology that changes the world and supports philanthropy on a global scale,” Matthews concluded.
Fundly reports having raised $267,000 for Nepal.
Mark Feinberg, President, said, “One of the greatest benefits of crowdfunding is the ability to organize a swift response during the most urgent of times, and that’s exactly what happened after the Nepal earthquake. As images of the devastation were being broadcast around the world, organizations with boots on the ground, along with their supporters, were able to identify the critical needs and quickly create targeted donation pages. It’s remarkable to see a community of fundraisers take shape within a matter of hours. Now, through our social media pages, we’re already seeing some success stories coming out of those fundraising campaigns.”
Teespring reports having raised over $75,000 for Nepal Earthquake relief.
Walker Williams, Co-Founder & CEO, said, “It’s been both inspiring and humbling to watch the community rally to raise money for Nepal through Teespring. Our mission is to remove the barriers to bringing great ideas to life, and its especially rewarding for us to see people use our platform to raise awareness and support charitable causes around the world.”
Brasil-based Kickante report having raised about $58,000 for Nepal relief.
Candice Pascoal, Kickante co-founder, says, “We feel great. We have run a very successful campaign with Unicef Brasil that we are very proud of. Brazil is a country with already so much local need. And yet, people united forces with us to raise funds to support Nepal in a selfless and fast way.”
DepositAGift reports having raised $10,000 to $15,000 for earthquake relief in Nepal.
Dana Ostomel, CEO and founder of DepositAGift, said, “Any time that the Deposit a Gift platform can be used as a ‘rapid relief mechanism,’ we are thrilled. Our hope is that we built something that makes it easy for the average person to have an online fundraising campaign up in minutes. That’s the beauty of crowdfunding — it puts the power in the hands of regular people to respond to a world crisis in minutes. And for countries like Nepal that open their arms to world travelers, you see how many people want to run their own campaigns and not just be beholden to larger organizations. Many people build relationships while visiting and want to be able to support those individuals in times of need.”
Firelily, a startup focused on disaster relief, reports having raised $1,000 for Nepal earthquake relief.
Tamara Habib, CEO and co-founder, said, “It is humbling that our site is being used to help those suffering from the earthquakes in Nepal. The organizations that are fundraising on our site are on the ground throughout Nepal, partnering with local agencies to provide relief supplies and services. One of these organizations is the Field Innovation Team. They’ve partnered with Women LEAD to teach young women disaster recovery principles to help their communities move forward, ensuring the leadership is in place to rebuild. This is just one example of the incredible work being supported on our site and we’re proud to be a part of it.”
Of course, millions more dollars have been raised across platforms that either chose not to respond to my queries or that I neglected to query.
This sampling provides more than adequate evidence that crowdfunding has become a potent player in the nonprofit and disaster relief arena.
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