🙁 Help!
My sister is in the middle of a GoFundMe campaign for a food truck concept. She has a cute name and a few good designs and menu items picked out. So far, she has been pretty successful raising money, including from some of our relatives.
Here’s the problem: I don’t believe that she actually intends to use the money for the food truck. In the past, she has borrowed money from me for educational or entrepreneurial purposes – including this same food truck idea – and failed to even direct the money toward her stated goal, let alone pay me back. She’s just really untrustworthy with money. Any time she gets her hands on some, she can’t resist spending it on dumb shit.
Now she claims that what I gave her was not enough, and if she can raise just a little more, she’ll be able to get her small business going and never ask for anything again. I’d love to see her become self-sufficient, but I’m concerned I’m standing by while she bilks more friends and relatives out of cash. Would it be wrong of me to warn them?
– Tracking Artisanal Taco Truck
Lies and Evasions
It’s hard to apply business ethics to the brave new world of crowdfunding, TATTLE. On websites like GoFundMe (or the more famous Kickstarter), people often send money to strangers they’ll never meet, no strings attached. Often these strangers are developing products they’ll someday profit from, but the funders get no piece of the action. What’s a little extra shadiness – say, lying about how you’ll use the money – on top of that?
Legally, nothing. Though a consumer-protection lawsuit in Washington state is currently testing the waters for holding crowdfunding con artists accountable, for now these campaigns are more like panhandling than investment-seeking. If you want to believe that the guy on the street you just handed $5 to is going to spend it on dinner, that’s up to you. We advise, however, that readers follow GoFundMe’s official dictum: “Only donate to people you personally know and trust.”
Which brings us to your sister, TATTLE. Trust is all any potential crowdfunder has to go on. Insofar as many of your sister’s funders are friends and family you share, we heartily encourage you to warn them of your sister’s sketchy past behavior. Spread the word widely – but discreetly.
Once they know the facts, be careful to let others make up their own minds about how much they want to trust your sister. We all know people with big dreams who just can’t seem to get them off the ground, for whatever reason. Success requires at least a few people believing in you. We can see why you no longer trust your sister, but some relatives may choose to continue to take her at her word even after learning that she hasn’t come through in the past. Take that for what it is, an expression of love and care for her, and don’t get in its way. 🙂 HD
This article appears in November 28 • 2014.
