mycause vs GoFundMe: Which is the right platform for your needs?

Online crowdfunding has been around for over a decade and has become one of the most powerful ways that you can make a difference for your personal cause.

With the help of the internet and social media, online crowdfunding causes have seen exponential growth and success.

Finding the right platform to share your fundraising story and gather donations safely is important.

That’s why we’re here to help you decide whether GoFundMe or mycause will suit your fundraising needs.

Who is mycause?

mycause are the proud pioneers of crowdfunding in Australia since 2009.

mycause is a fully owned and operated Australian business functioning out of an office in Melbourne, Victoria.

mycause employs Australian staff as developers, admin, marketing and project management.

With mycause, you are one phone call away from receiving expert fundraising advice or assistance on the platform.

There is also an online help desk with an average response time of 2 hours.

GoFundMe is an American company that started in 2010. Their head office is in California.

GoFundMe manages inquiries solely online and does not provide a direct phone number to contact the team.

Is it free?

Yes. All mycause crowdfunding pages are completely free.

GoFundMe is also free however they will ask for a tip of a minimum 12.5%. This was recently reduced from the eye-watering 15%. 

That means a donation of $1,000 on GoFundMe will be increased to $1,125 because of the additional tip.

On mycause, donors are given the option to support the platform without the compulsory tip charge.

Donor Protection

mycause takes donor protection very seriously with a strict vetting process across the platform.

Every fundraiser that’s created on mycause is closely evaluated to ensure the legitimacy and authenticity of the page.

mycause has had to reject pages that were created for unethical reasons, including Israel Folau’s legal defense fundraiser which GoFundMe subsequently approved and helped to raise $760,000 AUD in donations.

Furthermore, any unusual activity on mycause, no matter how small, will trigger a security alert to the team. From there, we will immediately spring into action and investigate the matter.

mycause will even call donors to verify their donation for security purposes.

Although GoFundMe provides a donor protection guarantee, their team does not actively assess the fundraising pages being created on the website, unless its reported.

Some fraudulent GoFundMe pages go unnoticed due to this issue (see below).

Access Funds Safely

Funds are disbursed by mycause at the start of every month giving the team enough time to ensure that the funds are going to the right place.

With GoFundMe, funds raised are accessible within a few days, leaving little room for accidents or mistakes such as a fundraiser entering the wrong bank details or changing their mind on where the funds can be safely allocated.

Easy Charity Fundraising

At mycause you can fundraise for ANY Australian charity in a safe and stress-free way.

The funds raised will be directly transferred to the organisation at the end of every month.

This process makes it easier for charities to allocate the funds immediately to projects that require urgent support.

You can fundraise for more than one charity at one time. You can list multiple charities and you can also split funds.

Say you want to raise funds for two charities with a 50/50 split or 4 charities with a split of 25% each.

With GoFundMe, charities can wait up to 3 months to receive funds through their partner PayPal Giving Fund.

Expert Fundraising Advice

At mycause, effective crowdfunding is our bread and butter.

Once you register your fundraising page with mycause, you will receive exclusive fundraising tips via email on a weekly basis.

Besides our blogs and FAQ site, we also have video tutorials on how to make the most out of your mycause fundraiser.

mycause Key Features

Mobile-first experience

mycause’s website does not require a mobile app because what you see on the computer is what you see on your phone. Perfect for on-the-go access when you're away from the computers!

GoFundMe encourages its users to download their app first to gain the full mobile potential of their platform.

Create your page, your way

mycause provides users with various custom features including custom dollar handles, show/hide messages on the page and increase your fundraising target along the way.

Easily connect with your supporters

All mycause pages are built to help fundraisers easily connect with their supporters! You can send thank you messages to your donors, update your supporters with messages and pictures and respond to messages on the page.

Apple Pay and PayPal

mycause payment pages allow you to pay with your face and your finger by ApplePay and through PayPal. That means your donors can donate to you on the fly.

No deadlines

mycause pages have no deadlines, limits, or penalties for fundraisers staying live. Fundraisers remain online until you turn off donations or remove them.

PR and social media support

mycause provides free PR and social media support for vulnerable causes created on the platform.

With the consent of the page creator, the marketing team helps to raise awareness about the stories and create nationwide media attention which help can help raise more funds than the original target.

So, which is the right platform for you?

Both mycause and GoFundMe have the capabilities to help you reach your goals.

The only difference is which website features suit your fundraising needs the best.

If you’re based in Australia, rest assured that you will be giving back to an Australian-owned and operated company with on-the-ground staff in Melbourne.

The team at mycause is one phone call away from providing you with our expert fundraising advice and assistance throughout the platform.