Where does the money go?

JOHNSTOWN – When tragedy strikes, the call for help isn't far behind, often in the form of online donations.

6 News investigated a charity website and what you need to know before you decide to donate to them.

“Anyone can start a campaign, and GoFundMe is here when people need help,” GoFundMe spokesman Bobby Whithorne said, “and you can create one for anything.”

For example, ‘Norman the Scooter Dog,’ is a famous four-legged pooch known for his tricks on wheels. According to a Facebook page, his owners said he’s on the mend after being diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma.

A GoFundMe campaign has raised $31,000 in six months.

“There are 50 million individual donors that have raised over $5 billion all around the world,” Whithorne said.

Other campaign examples include help after a fire, medical issues, travel expenses or even to pay off a speeding ticket, created by a man in Ohio.

Billions of dollars are raised, but how much does each campaign really receive from donations?

“There is a standard payment processing fee across all funding platforms, it's just a credit card fee,” Whithorne said.

A 6 News reporter started digging for answers and learned that 2.9 percent of the total donated amount is taken for a processing fee, plus 30 cents per donation.

Locally, we’re looking back at a tragic story that happened in 2013.

Police said members of the Litchy family were driving a car on Tire Hill Road when a tree fell on top of it, killing two of their young girls inside.

“I was very close to the girls and I knew they would need help with funeral costs, among other things,” said family friend Katrina Leahey.

“The only thing I could think of was to do a GoFundMe (account).

“It was very easy, especially the fact you could link it to your Facebook. That made it much easier and it got out there much quicker.”

The account has been open for nearly five years, raising $14,213.

“I think it took us 24 hours to reach our goal,” Leahey said, “which was pretty amazing.”

But after processing fees, the family received about $13,700.

A local man set up an account for State College police Officer Bob Bradley in 2015 after he died unexpectedly while on duty.

In three years, $16,216 was raised for his wife and kids.

Mike Gibboney, who set up the account, said the family received around $15,700 after processing fees.

Although some of the donations are taken for fees, GoFundMe officials said the site is the world’s largest social fundraising platform.

“Our platform is backed by the GoFundMe guarantee,” Whithorne said, “which means we guarantee the money goes to the right place, or the donor will get their money back.”

We’ve also compared the site to other crowdfunding websites, such as Fundrazr and Fundly.

According to the Fundly website, 2.9 percent in platform fees and 30 cents per donation is taken, plus 4.9 percent in fees just for using the website.

Since 6 News aired the story, Fundrazr said they had a recent change in their platform fees.

"Fundrazr offers a free plan for people raising money for personal causes," said Daryl Hatton, Fundrazr CEO.

The plan has also been extended to small nonprofits and charities starting mid-February.

“GoFundMe is free,” Whithorne said, “There is a zero percent platform fee for all personal campaigns.”

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said he’s had few complaints about GoFundMe accounts.

But as a reminder, said to do your research before making any charity or donation and to see if it is a legitimate cause.

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