GoFundMe, the popular crowdfunding site, has been home to many worthy causes. It’s also been home to some pretty funny, bizarre and off-the-wall ones too, including a New York woman’s plea to raise money to get an ode-to-stoners tattoo removed from her face. We’ve rounded up the silliest and most shocking ones to ever grace the site.
1. Removing a very ill-conceived tattoo
Let’s start with the most recent GoFundMe campaign to capture national attention: The story of Tabitha West and her “420” tattoo. New Yorker West thoroughly regrets her youthful decision to have the “stoner’s holiday” tattooed right in the middle of her forehead and is now turning to her fellow man for help removing it. According to West’s campaign page:
“I am [wanting] $ to get that tattoo off my for head I want to have a better start out in life and have a second chance at life please help me I was young n dumb when I got that I’m older one looking for a job can’t get out and people call me a druggie every day of my life… ”
Would you help West? Something about her story must resonate, because lots of people have so far.
Fundraising goal: $800
Funds actually raised: $1,084
2. Purchasing an engagement ring for a very lucky lady
GoFundMe has fielded lots of criticism — namely, that people “abuse” the site to gather funds for things that people should, by all rights, budget and pay for themselves. That criticism was particularly acute in the case of Ken Mack, who hoped to purchase an engagement ring to pop the question. Either Mack or GoFundMe ultimately took down the page, but not before lots of people recorded Mack’s plaintive cry for help:
Fundraising goal: $5,000
Funds actually raised: $20
3. Lottery ticket reimbursement fund
And who could forget the case of Cinnamon Nicole, a woman in Tennessee who allegedly spent her life savings on Powerball tickets during the great jackpot craze of ’16? She was hoping to replace her misplaced funds, but that page was also taken down amidst cries of “hoax!”
Fundraising goal: $100,000
Funds actually raised: $810
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4. Purchasing One Direction to bring Zayn Malik back
Remember when Zayn Malik left One Direction and a million little tween hearts broke? Well, at least one teen wasn’t content to simply wallow in misery and instead began a campaign to buy the boy band, hoping that a fresh coat of paint and an “Under New Management” sign might bring him back. The campaign grew, and now it’s being managed by a group called “The Sixth Alliance.” Here’s its logic:
“We are The Sixth Alliance and we are trying to buy One Direction after Zayn Malik left the band on March 25th 2015.We would like to buy One Direction from Modest Management so the boys Harry, Liam, Louis, Niall and Zayn have freedom to chose and have possibilities to decide on their own careers.”
Fundraising goal: $500 million
Funds actually raised: $1,562
5. Rescuing Matt Damon
Damon, the little scamp, is constantly requiring government retrieval from war fronts and planets alike, so some enterprising individual or individuals started a campaign to relieve the financial burden.
Fundraising goal: $99 million
Funds actually raised: $65
6. Purchasing a “divorce hedgehog”
Divorce stings, and it especially stung in the case of a Colorado woman who ended up with custody of exactly zero of the cats she once shared with her husband. The solution? A hedgehog to ease the pain and a GoFundMe to offset the cost.
Fundraising goal: $500
Funds actually raised: $265
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7. Satisfying a serious McNugget craving
A college student in Alabama decided to go meta and criticize the frivolity of GoFundMe — by making a frivolous GoFundMe campaign for himself. He needed $10 for a 20-piece chicken nugget meal from McDonald’s and bravely recounted his struggle toward this lofty goal.
“Ever since I was a child, I’ve wanted to do something truly great in life. Each human on this earth has potential for greatness; to achieve their goals. I am no different.My name is Michael Panik, and I WILL devour a 20pc Chicken McNugget Meal from McDonald’s restaurant.”
Fundraising goal: $10
Funds actually raised: $15
8. Landscaping the “relentlessly gay” way
This one tugged a lot of heartstrings: A Baltimore widow claimed she received a nasty note from a homophobic neighbor demanding she take down her rainbow decorations because they were making her yard look “relentlessly gay.“
So she took to the Internet to raise money for even more gay yard decor, and was very, very successful. Unfortunately the whole thing might have just been a hoax, and though the campaign’s instigator claims it wasn’t, she’s still said she’ll return all of the donations. No word on when, though.
Fundraising goal: $5,000
Funds actually raised: $43,000
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9. Living a life of luxury, no work required
Then there’s Jordan, a Los Angeles fellow who needed some money because, in his own words:
“I realized though having a job has really hindered me from doing a lot of things, which is why I’m here. I want to get paid so I can afford the lifestyle I deserve without having to work for it.”
That he promised to buy things like Jet Skis and Guy Fieri cooking accessories with the donated money point to this almost certainly being a very involved joke. Even so, he probably never got the chance, seeing as the page is now removed.
Fundraising goal: $100,000
Funds actually raised: $15
10. Putting on a dream birthday party
What do you do when your parents are being the worst and offering to pay only for a cake on what is arguably the most important day of your life ever — the day you turn 21?
You could choose option A, which is to celebrate the day you can legally drink by hitting the bar with some friends. Or you could choose option B: have other people cough up the dough so you can do totally normal things like rent a venue and buy tons of alcohol.
Sydney youth Celestina Ramljak chose option B, of course.
Fundraising goal: $1,000
Funds actually raised: $700
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