[nationalvelvet]

Do you think it is ok to use Facebook to help raise money for yourself requesting donations to help fund a dream that you have?

I have connected with this person who is using FB as a way of fund raising for himself...
He then continues to ask if we could let others know that he is needing funds by either Facebook or Twitter or via email.
He says something like "Share this with your friends to help make my dream come true"
He sent me a PM outlining that he is available to speak at various conferences. His charges are $100 per hour and all accomodation.food and transport must be paid for.

Do you think it is ok to ask someone fund your dream?

I have not met this person IRL but I heard him speak on radio about some struggles he had in his life.

[CallMeProtart]

I don't think there's anything wrong with someone asking, if they want to use their facebook that way. It's easy to ignore, and possibly he will find some people who care, so it's no different to sending around an email.

But I also don't think there is anything wrong with their 'friends' blocking their posts or unfriending them if it happens repeatedly...

[Soccer Mum]

I have commented on a friend's post about her thermomix cooking... something like 'great cake, wish I could cook that well" and had one of her friends who doesnt know me post about how shes a thermomix consultant and how great they are I should get one, I said thanks cant afford it but she persisted, everyone can afford it, payment plan yaadaa yaadaa. I think thats pushing it. I think posting about what you do is ok but you should leave it at that and not force it on people

[saxa]

I don't see anything wrong with it.

If you don't like it don't pass it on or de-friend him.

[nationalvelvet]

I think posting about what you do is ok but you should leave it at that and not force it on people

I agree. I have felt compelled to donate.
I recently sent shopping vouchers to a friend who was strugglnig. Now I don't hear from her much - only when she is struggling.

I am in two minds about it.

I give to various charities on a regular basis and I don't mind helping others out but I feel a little pressured.

[HurryUpAlready]

Why can't he get a job and fund his own dream???

[FiveAus]

Job? Save? Pay your own way?

I don't donate to internet causes, it's a blanket rule I've had for the 15 years or so that I've been using the internet. Too many times I've seen what looked to be a genuine cause turn out to be nothing but a scam.

Then there's ones like the young lady I had as a FB friend who has a chronic illness and was fundraising to get to the US to access some alternative treatment. It was a genuine cause, she was genuinely ill with a condition for which there's no cure. It impacts on her daily life to the point where she's never been able to hold a job as most days she struggles to get out of bed. And yes, I felt genuinely sorry for her.

However, while she was fundraising, and the funds were piling up and the target was getting closer and closer, she kept posting about tattoos she was getting, upgrading her MacBook Pro to the latest model, getting a new iPhone, and having a holiday in Fiji.

She lives on a disability pension, and while I don't begrudge anyone some luxuries in their life, I feel that if you're asking other people for money to fund an overseas trip, then should be putting your own towards your cause as well. She justified her spending by saying she deserved these things as she has so little in her life.......the computer is her link with the world and she needed a new one (the old one was barely a year old), the holiday had been booked and paid for before they started the fundraising (and yet she could have sold it to add to the fundraising), the tattoo made her feel better and no one understood her....blah, blah, blah. When she posted about getting an iPhone 5, someone asked her if it was so she could use it to buy more things.

In the end I figured she didn't need anyones money all THAT much, and if I could have a 6 week holiday in Hawaii at other peoples expense it would probably go a long way towards curing whatever illness stopped me from getting out of bed, too.

[LynnyP]

Depends on the dream. If his dream is to reduce the incidence of glue ear in the Indigenous population of Australia, sure. If his dream is to spend a week in the penthouse suite at the New York Plaza, then no.

Any fund raising for a non altruistic dream or a dream that doesn't advance human knowledge or isn't health related is crass and vulgar but he isn't holding a gun to your head. Don't be a push over and say what you think.

[tothebeach]

People who have wanted to do daring physcial pursuits, have always needed to be sponsored. Think explorers, mountain climbers etc. I think that it is fine to ask and promote your dream through social media. You never know whether someone might know someone who can help.

However, I would feel no compulsion to donate myself.

[casime]

I don't support fundraising that is not organised through a registered charity. I've been burnt before. If someone is raising funds and it is backed up by a group like the Variety Club, etc, then I have no problems supporting it as it would have been vetted and there is someone taking responsibility to ensure that the money is spent on the actual cause.

It does always amaze me that as soon as anything happens these days, the first thing people do is set up a bank account to accept donations.