GoFundMe — what this donation platform is and who can raise money on it

GoFundMe promises to investigate and refund a donation if something goes wrong.
That’s a specific guarantee from the platform, not just words about trust.
Registering your own fundraiser, though, isn’t open to everyone — the list of eligible countries is short and specific.
Donating, on the other hand, works from almost anywhere in the world.

Not every country can register a fundraiser
The list of eligible countries on GoFundMe runs to exactly 20 — not all of Europe, and not the whole world.
The first half of the list — Australia, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada and Luxembourg.
The rest — Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the US, the UK, Finland, France, Switzerland and Sweden.
Belarus, Ukraine, Russia and most of Eastern Europe aren’t on this list at all.
The platform warns outright that a fundraiser started from an unsupported country risks account closure and a refund of all donations.
But donating to an existing fundraiser works from almost anywhere, with a currency conversion fee if needed.

The fee is simply a payment charge
Creating and running a fundraiser on GoFundMe is free — there’s no separate platform fee for that.
The fee is taken from each donation separately and comes to 2.9% plus 30 cents in the US.
In most European countries the rate is much the same — 2.9% plus about 25 euro cents per payment.
But certified nonprofits get a lower rate, around 1.9–2.2% depending on the country.
Formally, it’s a payment-processing charge — the platform doesn’t add anything on top.

Donors decide for themselves whether to tip
When donating, the platform suggests an optional tip that goes to GoFundMe itself.
It can be lowered all the way to zero — the slider moves freely at checkout.
If a tip is added by accident, GoFundMe refunds it on a simple support request.
So the total charged is the donation plus whatever tip the donor chooses.
There’s no mandatory fee charged to donors at all.

The money stays with the organiser even if the goal isn’t met
GoFundMe runs on a “keep what you raise” model, with no link to hitting the target.
Funds are available to the organiser right away, even before the fundraiser ends.
There’s no requirement to reach the full amount before getting anything at all.
Withdrawing to a card usually takes a few business days after the first donation.
That makes it particularly useful for urgent fundraisers, where the money is needed right now.

The platform has been running since 2010
The promise to investigate and refund disputed donations is backed by a dedicated Trust & Safety team and fraud-prevention systems.
Reporting a fundraiser or requesting a refund can be done straight through the support form on the site.
The platform itself has been running since 2010 and calls itself the largest online fundraising service in the world.
By its own figures, users raise around $50 million on it every week.

Who it suits especially
Good fit if: you want a platform with clear donor protection and no requirement to hit the full target.
Also a good fit if you live in one of the 20 eligible countries and want to launch your own fundraiser.
May not suit you if: you want to register a fundraiser from a country outside that list.
In that case, GoFundMe still works for donating to someone else’s cause — launching your own will need to happen elsewhere.