One of the most dystopian trends in recent years is the crowdsourcing of emergency expenses online. People need surgery, can’t afford it, and are tasked with fundraising their own medical bills. Now you can ask for money directly on Facebook.


A lot of crowdfunding focuses on pie-in-the-sky dreams of developing a new invention, making a movie, producing an album, or other whimsical projects, but there’s been a growing trend to use fundraising platforms like GoFundMe for fundamental expenses, particularly in emergencies. I’ve seen friends whose family members were in car accidents and needed to fundraise to pay for treatment and recovery. Just this morning a friend on Facebook launched a campaign for some kind of reconstructive bone surgery. It’s a brutal illustration of a broken medical system that forces individuals to ask for money just to live.

Anyway, Facebook has new fundraising tools.


If you want to launch a campaign you’re limited to a few categories: education, medical, pets medical, crisis relief, personal emergency, and funerals. It’s nice that communities can come together to help each other in times of need, but I find it sad that we don’t already provide for such basic necessities. Please like and share if you agree.

