GoFailMe

"""Cancer, emergency, dreams at risk. Through new technologies of crowdfunding, these crises elicit help from friends, family and strangers. While admirable, this extended altruism often disappoints and fails to meet the gaps in a weakening social safety net. Incisive, rigorously original, and accessible, GoFailMe illuminates how a new industry is reshaping social solidarity.""—Elisabeth S. Clemens, University of Chicago ""Crowdfunding has become an important part of contemporary philanthropy, providing opportunities for ethical expression as well as needed transfers of funds. Like social media, it offers individuals a chance to engage directly in providing help, whether to friends or to strangers, without relying on traditional institutions. In this first major study of digital philanthropy, Schneiderhan and Lukk provide narratives showing what this means for the donors and beneficiaries, and also what reveals about charity in a shifting social context.""—Craig Calhoun, Arizona State University ""In their compelling, well-documented book, [Schneiderhan and Lukk] examine thousands of crowdsourcing cases across Canada and the U.S. on websites like GoFundMe. Their book shows that sites like these often fail users and are rife with inequities that closely parallel the social problems that plague societies today.... For readers who are contemplating either setting up a crowdsourcing site or donating to one.""—Ellen Gilbert, Library Journal"