Many ways to give: online fundraising on the rise

By Rajpreet Singh

Many people raise funds through social media, but some prefer it to do it in person.

Scott Garbutt’s family raised funds from social media after his death in a snowmobile accident Feb. 18, 2019. His family has raised $146,290 within 10 days — far more than their goal of $30,000.

Balvir Singh, 19, is studying computer networking at St. Clair College. He prefers online fundraising rather than in person.

Nowadays everyone is busy with their hectic schedule,” said Singh. “Whenever anyone wants to donate money, they can go on websites.”

Singh prefers fundraising online because of more safety precautions.

“I can check all the information of the person or the family who I am going to help, and security features can be used to do safe transactions,” said Singh, adding that websites give the option to hide personal information.

On the other hand, students like Sagar, 19, who also studies computer networking at St. Clair College, prefer face-to-face fundraising because they feel it’s more secure.

“I donate to nonprofit organizations which helps the person in need,” said Sagar. “In these days people are getting scammed online because they just get fake news on social media. I can get all the information of the person and also I can see what the problem is.”

In person or online, Canadians are generous. Eighty four percent of Canadians account for $10.6 billion donated every year.