World

GoFundMe withholds money from Christian group; releases funds after public pressure

By Bridgett Banks

The power of the people has struck yet again as a Christian group has raised concerns about GoFundMe not releasing funds for women in need.

Pro-life group Choice42 used the fundraising platform to raise $2,700 for three mothers, yet has been waiting since mid-April for the funds to be credited to their bank account.

According to Faithwire, the organization’s account was flagged by GoFundMe’s Trust and Security Team on April 17 with the explanation that “the intended recipient for our campaign’s donations was located in a country that is not supported by their payment processors.

Choice42 is based in Canada, but one of the recipients of the funds was based in Zimbabwe.

“We have been waiting since April 17, 2020 to receive the first fundraiser amount and have done everything GoFundMe has asked of us,” the group stated. “They are now not responding to our messages.

“Please share and help us get this money which we fundraised for. Three mothers and their children are depending on it.”

As their supporters to took to social media to demand GoFundMe honor their part of the deal, the same campaign worked, with the group able to announce that the funds had been paid out.

“The GoFundMe money has been released to us!” the shared. “Thank you to everyone who helped us make some noise about this.

“Thank you to Igor from GoFundMe for helping us resolve this. We will be running all future campaigns through our website.”

The group became globally known after they released the ‘magic birth canal’ video below.

The power of the people recently saw the killers of Ahmaud Arbery arrested. The horrific video of Arbery innocently jogging down the street in Georgia when a father and son gunned him down for no apparent reason. Despite clear video of the murder, authorities had not arrested the pair – until a group stood up and launched a petition for their arrest.

Within a day, they were arrested and charged with murder.

GoFundMe was also criticized for not supporting funds being raised for Australian rugby player Israel Folau, who was unfairly dismissed from his job over social media comments.

Folau took to GoFundMe to raise money to fight his legal costs. However, the group would not support him, with the Australian Christian Lobby having to step in to allow him to use their platform to receive donations.

Folau went on to successfully defend his case and received a payout from his employer, Rugby Australia, for what was expected to be close to $10 million.