GoFundMe to Award £5,000 in ‘Go Fund My Education’ Contest.
GoFundMe, the world’s largest social fundraising platform, today announced the ‘Go Fund My Education’ contest, the first ever GoFundMe contest to run in the UK. The contest will launch on 4 October 2016 and run through to 18 October 2016, giving participants the chance to win thousands of pounds toward their education-related cause.
Along with the launch of the contest, GoFundMe recently released statistics showing that students, teachers, and parents in the UK are increasingly turning to the site to raise money for education expenses, making it one of the fastest growing categories on the platform in the past year.
New GoFundMe campaigns created for education-related causes in the UK have increased by 223 percent between 2015 and 2016 (YTD). With a staggering £1.5M raised, from over 30,000 individual donations, for a range of appeals including classroom supplies, school sports and tuition fees. (*See infographic for full breakdown). One GoFundMe fundraiser even graduated on a stretcher!
The competition is open to anyone who has a strong education-related cause. Examples include, but are not limited to: a parent or group of parents fundraising for a primary school excursion; a secondary school teacher who is in need of extra funds for classroom supplies or a student who can’t cover their university costs or tuition fees.
“Students and teachers in the UK are doing incredible things, and we want to celebrate that,” said GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon.
“At GoFundMe, we see amazing stories every single day of communities coming together to make sure students get the education they deserve. With the ‘Go Fund My Education’ contest, we hope to see friends and family come together to support their loved ones raising funds for an education-related cause, and we’ll give some lucky winners a boost along the way as well!”
Examples of some existing education-related campaigns that have already been trending on the GoFundMe site include:
Help us build a Playground
The Royal Mile Primary School in Edinburgh set up a GoFundMe page to raise monies to help build a playground to assist in key areas of child development including skills like problem solving, risk assessment, socialising and generally contributing to good health and wellbeing.
English Language Assistance Fund
A community project to help raise funds for education materials and transportation costs for asylum seekers in Manchester.
Help Abi become a doctor!
A personal appeal by, 25-year-old, Abi Foreshew from Buckinghamshire to raise the funds to cover the costs of her placement at medical school. Abi has already volunteered with the elderly and worked full time in the NHS as a healthcare assistant but is now struggling to cover the fees to pay for her degree and fulfil her lifelong ambition of becoming a doctor.
Keoni’s Fight to stay in School
A family’s heart-felt appeal to keep their seventeen-year-old son who has complex needs and autism in the education system.
Support me to Sign
A personal appeal by Gemma King who suffers from sensorineural hearing loss. The hair cells in her cochlea are gradually deteriorating, which causes difficulty receiving sound and so now Gemma is fundraising so she can learn BSL (British Sign Language).
Dreaming of Graduation
A heart-felt appeal by musician Alison Ewan to complete a degree in the study of classical music, playing violin. ‘My dream of doing this degree, has now evolved into not just doing my dream, but helping others reach theirs. People should not dream their lives, but live their dreams’.
(Please ask if you require any further GoFundMe campaign examples)
The ‘Go Fund My Education’ contest is open to anyone, as long as they are from the UK and are raising money for a cause related to education (e.g. classroom needs, field trips, school sports, alternative learning, tuition fees, etc.).
Whoever raises the most within the timeline of the contest will win the grand prize of £3,000, with prizes of £1,500 and £500 up for grabs for second and third place.
To qualify for the chance to win a prize, the entrant must create a new GoFundMe campaign using a sign-up button on the Contest Homepage, located at this link: https://pages.gofundme.com/uk-education/.
Eligible campaigns can be created by students, family members, friends, teachers, or anyone who knows a student in need.
How Do I get Involved?
Step 1: Click on the following link https://pages.gofundme.com/uk-education/ and create a new GoFundMe campaign using a sign-up button on that page for a cause related to education between 4 October 2016 at 08:00AM GMT and 18 October 2016 at 08:00AM GMT.
Step 2: Explain what the educational appeal is for and why you need to raise the money, and include photos and a video (if possible) to bring your appeal to life.
Step 3: Share the campaign on social media and with family, friends and acquaintances. Do everything you can to spread the word throughout the timeline of the contest, to raise as much money as possible from your personal network.
The winners of the competition will be announced by 24 October 2016. The winners will be notified directly within five days of the contest end.
To see the full Official Rules please click: https://pages.gofundme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GoFundMyEducationOfficialContestRules.pdf
Launched in 2010, GoFundMe is the world’s largest social fundraising platform, with over £1 billion raised so far. With a giving community of more than 25 million, GoFundMe is changing the way the world gives.
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For further press information or more campaign examples, please contact:
Jane Eggleton/Natalie Garland
Rooster PR
T: +44 (0)20 3440 8925 / 8924
E: [email protected]
Links to the contest landing page & official rules:
Landing Page Link: https://pages.gofundme.com/uk-education/
Official Rules Link: https://pages.gofundme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GoFundMyEducationOfficialContestRules.pdf
About GoFundMe
GoFundMe provides an ideal platform for people to organise their own campaign to raise money and invite those in their community to support their fundraising. People can use GoFundMe to raise money for themselves, a friend or loved one during life’s important moments. They can also share their campaign via Facebook, Twitter or email.
People can use GoFundMe for things like medical expenses, education costs, volunteer programmes, youth sports, funerals & memorials or even animals and pets.
For more information, or to set up a fundraising page, visit www.gofundme.com or follow GoFundMe on Twitter or Facebook.
