First Responders Fundraisers

What people raise for here

The needs here start with an injury or a death in the line of duty, and they run on through the surgery that comes after years of the job wearing a body down, a cancer diagnosis, or a family going through a hard stretch that has nothing to do with the job at all. On the department side they look different: gear, a K-9, a wellness fund, an anniversary, or a legal fund.

The fundraiser doesn't have to be about one bad day. A long, grinding one counts, and so does the ordinary kind of hardship that would be filed under medical or family if the person weren't a paramedic, a deputy, or a firefighter. The category you pick doesn't change how a fundraiser performs, and you can edit it later.

Almost nobody in this category raises for themselves

These fundraisers get started by the person standing next to the responder: a colleague, a spouse, a union rep, someone on the same shift. That's normal here, and it's allowed: anyone can start a fundraiser on behalf of someone else, and you don't need a nonprofit or an EIN to do it.

What you do need is a recipient. The recipient must be 18 or older, live in the fundraiser's country, and have a bank account there. Every recipient completes identity verification before any transfer. The recipient's country can't be changed after the fundraiser is created, so pick it carefully. If the person you're raising for can't be the recipient (a minor, for instance), a parent, guardian, or the organization has to stand in. The writing and the sharing can come from you, but the ID and the bank details have to come from them.

How to raise money for a first responder or a veteran

The mechanics don't change with the story. Raising for a firefighter after a line-of-duty injury, for a retired paramedic facing a diagnosis, or for a combat veteran whose family needs a roof runs through the same short setup.

• Say what happened and what the money covers, because a realistic goal, a specific breakdown, a direct ask, and a good photo or short video are what separate a fundraiser that works from one that stalls.
• Name the recipient and let them finish their half: the photo ID, the bank account, and a valid tax ID in that country.
• Watch the verification clock, since review starts once the ID is uploaded and the first gift has arrived, and it usually finishes 1 to 2 business days after that.
• Then work the network you already have: the shift, the house, the local, or the department's own list. That is where this category's fundraisers get their reach.
• Expect up to 48 hours before it shows up in GiveSendGo's own search, so send the direct link to the shift and the family's own list rather than telling people to search.
• Set it to private if the family would rather it stayed quiet: it stays out of GiveSendGo search results and category listings, so only people you send the link to will find it. Your name still shows to anyone who opens it.

Start a GiveSendGo

What it costs, and when the money reaches the family

GiveSendGo doesn't take a cut. There's no platform fee. What's deducted is the payment processor's fee: 2.7% + 30¢ per gift for US fundraisers, 3.5% + 30¢ outside the US. On a $100 gift to a US fundraiser, $97 reaches you. Outside the US, that $100 gift lands at $96.20.

We can charge nothing because of the optional tip at checkout: every giver sees a suggested tip to GiveSendGo, adjustable to any amount including $0, and that's what funds our operating costs. One separate setting to know about. A percentage to GiveSendGo set when the fundraiser was created is added on top of each gift and shown to the people giving at checkout, and it's editable anytime in fundraiser Settings.

Your first gift becomes available 5 days after it's received. Every gift after that becomes available on a rolling 3-day basis. Once you request a transfer, it typically lands in your bank within 2 to 3 business days. Non-USD transfers can take longer. Transfers can be requested from the Transfers tab whenever funds are available, or set to go out weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. After that, the bank's own posting schedule decides when the money shows up.

If a department or an association is the one raising

Funds can land in an organization's own account. The person completing verification is always an individual, 18 or older, with a government-issued photo ID, acting as the legal representative. They select the Business bank account type with the legal business name and the organization's bank details. And one account can run more than one fundraiser, so the gear fund this year and the K-9 next year live in the same place.

Volunteer companies, county fire chiefs associations, and constables' associations already raise here for anniversaries, wellness programs, gear, and legal funds.

Reach is what this category runs on, and our help desk puts consistent sharing and regular updates ahead of a single announcement.

Start a GiveSendGo

If you came here to give

Plenty of people here are giving rather than raising funds. Every fundraiser listed above has been published at least 5 days and has taken $100 or more in online gifts, which is what it takes to be listed here, and offline gifts don't count toward that. Before any money moves, the recipient completes identity verification and the trust and safety team checks the fundraiser over.

Support a first responder's fundraiser on this page