GoFundMe Aid for La Wildfire Relief: Is This the Best Option for Donors and Victims?

When Ethan Wilder ventured to Los Angeles, Nick Carranza, a 45-year-old content executive and producer, rushed to his longtime friend’s house, which was battling 15-foot flames with no firefighters in sight. Together, they were able to extinguish the explosion using water from a neighbor’s pool.

Carranza, a former Altadena resident, couldn’t sit on the sidelines during the crisis. He and a few of his friends created “One Love Altadena GoFundme Campaign to help vulnerable Altadena residents displaced by the fires.

“Altadena is such a diverse community with people from all socioeconomic backgrounds,” Carranza said. “I knew there would be people in trouble.”

After reaching an initial target goal of $10,000, their GoFundMe continues to raise moneywith proceeds going to help Black and Latino families with their own fundraising campaigns.

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The site California Fire Center compiles tables of individual fundraisers and total Wildfire Relief Fund sends “Disaster relief provides $1,000 each to individuals who lost homes, loved ones and property due to the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires. ”

If you are interested in initiating or Donate to a GoFundMe campaign To help the thousands of people affected by the ongoing wildfires in Southern California, it’s important to know where to start, how to screen beneficiaries, and what pitfalls you may encounter.

How does GoFundMe work?

GoFundMe is a crowdfunding platform where people create fundraising pages for themselves or loved ones facing financial hardship, whether due to expensive medical treatment, an expensive accident, or a natural disaster.

The platform is easy to use. With a series of prompts, you can quickly create a campaign and fundraising goal for your cause. Once your fundraiser is live, you can add more information or change your fundraising goal. You can request a withdrawal once your campaign has started, with transfers usually taking two to five business days.

Anyone can be a donor and contribute as little as $5 to a fundraising campaign. The person organizing the campaign pays a transaction fee (currently 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction), but donors can also choose to cover the fee.

Why do people use GoFundMe for disaster relief?

Main reason people use GoFundMe for disaster relief is how easily they can spread the word through personal networks. You can share the link to your fundraiser via email, text, or social media.

For example, after donating to several campaigns of acquaintances who lost their homes in the fires, I shared the links on my social media, which helped drive more donations.

GoFundMe also has an advantage over other official sources of help in that it is more immediately accessible. Individuals waiting for grants, loans or other forms of assistance often turn to GoFundMe to get relief faster or to raise awareness for their cause.

How do you know if a GoFundMe page is legit or a scam?

GoFundMe has discovery measures potential scams and prevent abuse of the platform. According to its website, GoFundMe makes a guarantee Provides donors with a full refund if there is any indication of abuse or fraud.

A GoFundMe spokesperson told CNET in an email that the fundraiser is undergoing an enhanced verification review process that includes oversight by trust and safety experts and technical tools to help catch any abuse.

That said, scams can still happen. It is best to donate to campaign organizers and recipients you know personally or through a family member or mutual friend. Look for inconsistencies and flag anything that looks fishy—for example, if the story doesn’t add up, or if the names on the fundraising page don’t match the recipients.

“Always do your research before donating,” said Ty Stewart, founder of Help with financial decisions. “There are vetting processes, but you have to do your own due diligence.”

You can also do a Google reverse image search to check any source or location information. My friend tried this for a particular LA Fire fundraiser after noticing something was off. The photo location was in Ohio, not Altadena.

In Carranza’s case, he and his fellow campaigners make sure donations are consistently distributed by personally contacting households in need and learning about their circumstances. For example, they confirmed that an elderly couple who run a foster home and daycare center lost both their home and a source of income in the fires.

Do GoFundMe Funds Limit Federal Aid Options?

As the fires broke out in LA, some experts warned Federal aid you receive.

Brandi Richard Thompson, FEMA’s public affairs officer, said the agency cannot duplicate assistance that people receive from another source, whether it’s an insurance payout or a donation.

To be clear, those who receive outside donations are not automatically disqualified from federal aid. But if someone has a GoFundMe campaign to rebuild their home because their house burned down, it could be interpreted as getting funds elsewhere for the same loss.

“(The case) needs to be reviewed to make sure they’re not duplicating the benefit they’re getting from the federal government,” Richard Thompson said.

However, if someone makes it clear that they are only collecting money for temporary needs (food, shelter, or clothing), that should not affect how much they can get from the federal government.

FEMA The California wildfire page Provides information on programs, funding and resources available to residents affected by the fires. The Application deadline For FEMA rental assistance for displaced residents, it is March 10, 2025.

If you raise money from GoFundMe, do you have to pay taxes on it?

Personal gifts are generally tax-free, so you don’t have to worry too much about paying taxes on the fundraising money you receive. “You can think of it as if a friend gave you $10,” Stewart said. “You wouldn’t report that as income on your taxes.”

However, depending on how payments are processed for your campaign, income from Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, or via credit card could possibly fall under 1099-K categoryStewart said.

If payments exceed $5,000, a 1099k tax form will be sent to the person receiving the campaign funds, but this does not automatically mean it is taxable income. It is best to consult with a tax professional to get past the specifics and understand your tax responsibilities.

If you donate to GoFundMe, is it tax deductible?

You should do your research before donating to see if the crowdfunding page contains any tax information.

Some GoFundMe campaigns are posted by nonprofits, which are usually disclosed on the campaign page, or you can search for tax-deductible nonprofits with IRS Search Tool. If you donate to an organization that is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, you can receive a A tax write-off for your charitable contributions.

Otherwise, if you’re offering a donation to an individual or household, the way you would give money to a friend or family member, it’s considered a personal gift, Stewart said.

How is GoFundMe helping La Wildfire victims?

Carranza is just one of many people using the crowdfunding platform to help those displaced by the fires. Reaching out to Altadena residents, he and his fellow organizers learned of other people in need. Many of the displaced, without technical access or English-language capacity, did not have GoFundMe campaigns of their own.

For example, Carranza came across a woman living in a loaner car with three cats. The fires destroyed her home, workplace and car.

“Sometimes people need the help, but they’re not always ready to ask,” Carranza said. “Just show off as much as you can.”

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