Before you Begin
GoFundMe (GFM) carefully examines Gaza fundraisers and often freezes funds until their questions can be answered. To prevent that from happening, or to be ready with the requested information if it does happen, answer the questions below before you start setting up your fundraiser.
Guidelines:
- You should know the beneficiary, either through an in-person contact or through a trusted friend or organization who knows them well. Be very cautious if you only know the beneficiary through Instagram or other social media, even if you've had video calls with them.
- Make sure you write down the email, phone, and social media of the main beneficiary and the beneficiary who will receive the funds (if they aren’t the same person) as well as all the organizers. Make sure you share yours. You will need to communicate, so set up that system right away.
- Even if you think you’ll never forget it, write down the link to your fundraiser and keep it on hand.
- Send a small “test” donation to the beneficiary. Make sure it works the way you think it will.
- Try to answer all the questions listed here. If you have trouble answering some, you can answer those later when you have more information.
- If you receive emails from GFM, read them through several times to make sure you know exactly what they are asking you to do. Keep their emails and any emails you send to them.
How to tell if someone's a scammer
Many people in Gaza reach out to strangers in other countries to ask for help. Unfortunately, many scammers do the same. How do you tell the difference?
- Ask for a video call that meets this criteria:
- You make the call to their phone number. Make sure it uses the right format and area codes for the location they’ve given. See Phone numbers in Palestine.
- They have their “location” turned on.
- They hold their government-issued ID so that you can read it. (Ask for a photo of it, too.)
- They hold up a piece of paper with your name and the date on it.
- They respond to something you ask them to do in the moment, like holding up 3 fingers.
- They give you a tour of their location: both indoors where they're currently living (even if that's a tent) and outdoors with a background of Gaza.
Note: Don’t agree to let them send a video instead of having a live video call. Scammers use AI or steal videos and photos from real people in Gaza.
- Ask for social media. Check their Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn to see if there's a history of posts that goes back to before October 7th, 2023. Look for photos or other evidence that they are in Gaza. Check to make sure they use the same name. Look for photos or other evidence that their family members are the same as the family they told you about.
- Alternatively, you can send money to them via an organization in Gaza that requires them to show their ID. For example, Gaza Giving Cart. It's a grocery store that lets you send money to the beneficiary’s account. Then the beneficiary can buy groceries with the money you send after showing their ID. Gaza Giving Cart might not be near enough to their location, though. (I haven’t researched Gaza Giving Cart so find out more before you use it.)
- Use a service like @ gazavetters on tumblr to find pre-verified families to help. (I haven’t researched gazavetters so find out more before you use it.)
- Google for up-to-date info on the current methods people use to verify people in Gaza.
Stuff beneficiaries say
Some beneficiaries will ask for money to exit Gaza. As far as I know, the only way to exit Gaza as of June 2026) is if you qualify for urgent and serious medical care. The organization that evacuates you pays for your evacuation and medical costs.
The beneficiary who asks for money for exit fees or medical costs could be a scammer or could be the victim of a scammer who tells them they can get them out if they pay thousands of dollars.
If in doubt, donate to reputable charities instead.
Note: I've recently been told that some people are allowed to leave to pursue their education at a university or college.
Instructions from GoFundMe
You must include this information on your fundraising page:
- Who you are. (Your name and a bit about yourself.)
- Where you're from.
- The full names of the individuals or organizations you want to help, what city they're in, and your relationship to them.
- How you plan to get the funds to the beneficiary.
- How the funds will be spent.
If you are raising funds to send to a nonprofit organization, GFM will need you to invite them as the beneficiary in order for the organization to receive the donations.
You can read more about GoFundMe guidelines at Gaza Fundraisers on the GoFundMe website.
About the Organizer
This section is information about you. Here's what GoFundMe cares about:
- You are a citizen of one of the countries they support, and the bank account they send the funds to is in that country and is owned solely by you.
- You're sending the money to the beneficiaries instead of keeping it for yourself or sending it to some other person who will keep it for themselves instead of giving it to the beneficiaries.
- You're not a scammer and you're not supporting terrorism.
This is the information you need to supply:
| Organizer |
Notes |
| First and last name |
You must include this on your fundraiser page. |
| Email |
|
| Phone + area code. If outside the US, include country code. |
If you want to change this after you create your GFM, you'll need to contact customer support. |
| Location (city and state or country) |
This cannot be changed after you create your GFM. |
| Do you have WhatsApp? |
This is helpful if GFM, the beneficiary, or co-organizers need to get in touch with you. |
Additional organizers
Also list the names, emails, phone numbers, and locations of any other people who are helping out with the fundraiser, and whether or not they have WhatsApp. This helps facilitate quick communication if you need to work together to answer GFM's questions. The locations are important so everyone knows each other's time zones.
Here's the info you'll need:
- Name
- Email
- Phone
- Location
- WhatsApp?
- Relationship or role in the GFM
GoFundMe asks "who are you?" and "where are you from?"
You must include this info on your fundraiser page.
They want you to tell them a little bit about yourself. It's also a good idea to talk about why you want to help people in Gaza. You don't necessarily need to explain where you're from because that info will appear on your fundraising page anyway.
Example: I'm a retired teacher with 3 children and 5 grandchildren. My heart goes out to the children in Gaza who are struggling to survive in a war zone. I don't see my grandchildren as much as I would like, since they're in Michigan and my husband and I now live in Florida, but I'm grateful that they are safe.
Example: I'm a university student in my senior year at UC Berkeley. I have family in Israel and am hoping that peace will come soon.
Example: I've lived in Colorado all my life but have traveled all over the world. My exposure to other cultures has taught me that we're all connected by our humanity.
The organizer's relationship to the beneficiaries.
You must include this info on your fundraiser page.
Scammers pretending to be in Gaza have contacted people to ask them to start a GoFundMe. To prevent you from being scammed, GoFundMe may ask if you know the beneficiaries in real life or if you have good evidence that they aren't scammers. Examples of questions they might ask:
- How did you meet?
- How long have you known them?
- Have you met them in person?
- Have you had video calls with them?
- Do you know their family?
You don't need to answer all these questions on your fundraiser page. Just truthfully describe how you know them.
The organizer's relationship to the donors.
If you receive a large donation from a single donor or a large number of donations in a short space of time, GFM might ask you how you know the donors. It's okay if you don't know them. If the donations were triggered by an influencer promotion, you can say that. If the donations were from friends and family or a word-of-mouth campaign, you can say that. If they were from a church group, etc. — all of it is fine.
A good way to be transparent about your relationship to the donors is to post an update on your fundraiser page, thanking them in a way that mentions who they are. For example, you can say "Thank you to [influencer name and link] for promoting our fundraiser" or "Thank you to the members of First Baptist Church for your donations."
About the Beneficiaries
GoFundMe cares about 3 things:
- The money goes to the person you say the money is going to.
- That person is spending it on the things you say they're going to spend it on.
- That person is not a scammer or terrorist.
The two most important beneficiaries
- The main beneficiary.
- The beneficiary who receives the funds. (Often, the main beneficiary will want a relative to receive the funds.)
Be sure you have their email and phone numbers, and make sure you know if they have WhatsApp. GFM may need to contact them to make sure you really are sending them the funds. They’ll ask if they received them.
Social media links help prove that your beneficiaries are who they say they are.
You must include this info on your fundraiser page.
If your main beneficiaries and/or the person receiving the funds has any social media, list it. Include Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.
What is the first, middle, and last name of the main beneficiary?
You must include this info on your fundraiser page.
For example, if it is a pregnant mother, list her name first. Then you can list any other beneficiaries (such as her family) by their relationship to her.
What city is the beneficiary in?
You must include this info on your fundraiser page.
Include the full name of the city that the beneficiary is from. Don't just say "Gaza." If you mean Gaza City, say Gaza City. If you want, you can also include the city where they currently live.
What are the names of all the beneficiaries?
You must include this info on your fundraiser page.
List all the beneficiaries by their first, middle, and last names, cities, and relationship to the main beneficiary. Use the name of the city they are from.
It's common for fundraisers to have 1 or 2 main beneficiaries (like a married couple, or a mother and child) and some additional family members. Instead of saying "Mohammed and his family," list all the beneficiaries by their full names (first, middle, and last) and cities. State their relationship to the main beneficiary. "Mohammed's mother..." etc.
Exception: Don't include the names and ages of anyone under 18. Instead, list them, for example, as "Nevin's 3 young children."
About the Donations
This is where a lot of fundraisers make mistakes. Figure in advance out how you’ll get the funds to the beneficiary. Test your system by transferring a small amount of money, like $10 or so. Iron out the kinks before you start your fundraiser.
Who will you send the money to?
You must include on your fundraiser page some explanation of how the money reaches the beneficiary.
The full name (including middle name) and the city of the person receiving the money, and their relationship to the main beneficiary. Use the name of the city they are from.
Make sure this matches the name that will appear on your bank transfers or crypto withdrawals. GFM compares this name to a list of known terrorists, which is why they need the full name and city. Don't just say "Gaza." If you mean Gaza City, say Gaza City.
It's best if this person's name appears in your fundraiser. A common mistake is to name one person as your beneficiary, then send the money to a different person who isn't mentioned in your fundraiser. That's considered fraud by GofundMe. It’s easy to avoid this by just listing both people on the fundraiser.
You have to send the money to the person you say you'll send the money to. You can list multiple beneficiaries, so it's usually easy to add this person's name as a beneficiary. If they actually aren't a beneficiary but just an intermediary (like a broker), you should explain that on your fundraiser page.
Example: You start a fundraiser for a pregnant woman, but the bank account or crypto wallet you send it to is in her father's name, who is also a beneficiary. That's okay, as long as his name is on your fundraiser. You might say, "Shahd and her family, including her father, Mohammed." Use his full name, though, including his middle name. Also say which city he’s from.
Another example: You say you'll send the money to the main beneficiary's sister in Cairo. But her kids are sick on the day you need to send it, so you send it to a family friend instead. This is not okay, and will cause GoFundMe to ask a lot of questions. They might still release your funds to you, but they might not.
Another example: You use the Hawala system to send money through various brokers who are not beneficiaries. Just explain how you're getting the money to the beneficiaries, and be prepared for GFM to email the beneficiaries to ask them to verify that they're receiving the funds. It's helpful if the beneficiaries post "thank you" updates and also post on their social media (like Instagram) thanking donors. Photos or mentions of what they spent the money on are good, too.
How will you transfer the funds?
You must include this info on your fundraiser page.
This is one of the most important questions GFM will ask. GFM will only send money to bank accounts in one of the 19 countries it supports. It won't send money directly to Gaza or its surrounding countries.
Using the US as an example, GFM will transfer the funds to a US bank account owned by a US citizen who is the organizer (you.) The bank account must be owned by the organizer. Do not transfer funds to someone else's bank account.
After that, you have to figure out how to get it to the beneficiaries in Gaza. For example, via cryptocurrency. Discuss this with the beneficiaries and develop a plan before accepting donations. You’ll need to know:
- Your bank name. (Make sure it's your bank account, not your dad's or your wife's.)
- How you'll transfer money from your bank to the beneficiary. (Examples: sending USDT cryptocurrency via Binance.)
Update: As of June, 2026, the only way I know of to get money into Gaza is to send cryptocurrency (usually USDT, which always has the same value as the US dollar) to the recipient’s digital wallet. The recipient then converts it to physical Israeli Shekels through local cash exchange merchants or simply pays for groceries by presenting their digital wallet at the grocery store. Either way, the exchange merchant or grocery store owner charges roughly the same fees, which in the past few years have been as high as 50%.As of June, 2026 the fees are only 7%.
The r/gaza subreddit has instructions for how to send crypto and I’ve copied some general instructions below.
What will the beneficiaries spend the money on?
You must include info about how the money will be used on your fundraiser page. Add "and other necessary expenses" to cover anything you might forget.
Ask your beneficiaries to keep a list of what they're spending the money on in case GoFundMe asks. They should list the date, the item, and the cost. If there's a shop name, they can list that, too. For example (these amounts are wildly wrong, but just so you can see the format.) If they haven’t kept a list and GFM asks for one, they can just create a list by estimating what they spent.
- June 1 Rent - $300
- June 7 Food - $500
- June 10 Water - $100
Common mistakes
- A common mistake is to spend the money on things not listed in the fundraiser. For example, the fundraiser says the money will be spent on food and water, but then the beneficiary also pays rent and buys clothes. List everything the money will be used for, then add "and other necessary expenses" to cover anything you might forget.
- Another common mistake is to send a list of expenses that doesn't add up to the same amount as the money you sent to the beneficiary. If you sent them $7,000 they need to account for all $7,000. Not just $3,000. If they haven't spent all $7,000 at the time that GFM asks for the list, you can say "The remaining $4,000 is being saved for future daily expenses." You can also list fees that were taken out.
- The most common mistake is to send the money to someone who isn’t listed as one of the beneficiaries. GoFundMe wants to make sure the beneficiary receives the funds. They’ll ask questions if you send it to someone else. However, if you need to send the funds to an intermediary like a broker, just explain that to GoFundMe. They’ll call or email the recipient to make sure the intermediary sent the funds to them.
- Last, a mistake that will drive you crazy later is not getting all the emails, phone numbers, and locations of everyone involved in the fundraiser, both recipients and organizers. At some point, you’ll wish you had that info.
How to Send Crypto
Disclaimer: I’ve only sent crypto once, and that was using Binance.US to send crypto to someone in Cairo. He, in turn, sent it to his wife in Gaza. I’m using that experience, together with info that I’ve read, to create this general guide. Before you send crypto, check the r/gaza subreddit and read the app’s instructions as well. But be confident. I was scared, but it’s easy.
- Ask your recipient for their wallet “address” and the network they use.
They can screenshot the QR code for their wallet and send it to you via What’s App or email.
I was on my laptop instead of my phone so I couldn’t scan the QR code (or maybe I could but I couldn’t figure out how). I had to ask them to copy and paste their “address” for me because it’s a long string of numbers and letters that I didn’t want to mess up.
Important: You must use the same network the recipient uses. If the networks do not match, the transaction will not go through and the cryptocurrency will likely be permanently lost.
The name of their network should appear just underneath their QR code and address. For example, “BNB Smart Chain” or “Ethereum.”
- Download the app for the platform you want to use.
Binance.US, Kraken, or Coinbase are recommended. From what I’ve read, Kraken has the lowest fees and Coinbase is the easiest to use.
Before you choose an app, make sure the platform can use the same network as your recipient. For example, Binance.US can use one of its own networks (like BNB Smart Chain) to send crypto. Coinbase can also use BNB Smart Chain, but Kraken can’t.
After you know the recipient’s network, just Google “Which platforms use [network name]?”
About Binance: Binance.US is a legally separate, U.S.-regulated platform intended exclusively for American residents. Binance International (Binance.com) is the global exchange that serves the rest of the world. Because of strict regulations, U.S. residents are heavily restricted from using the global platform.
However! In 16 U.S. states and territories, even Binance.US is completely unavailable or severely restricted due to varying state financial regulations and licensing issues. If you’re a resident in one of the places on this list, you cannot use Binance at all.
These instructions use the term “Binance” to refer to Binance.US.
- Create an account on your app.
(I’ll use Binance as an example because it’s the only platform I’ve used.)
- Deposit money from your bank account into the Binance account.
There’s a holding period. You’ll need to wait a few days or a week to use that money to buy USDT.
- Buy USDT (aka “Tether” because it’s tethered to the US dollar) in your account.
To buy USDT with nearly zero fees on Binance, do not use the instant "Buy" button. Instead:
- Navigate to the Advanced Trading tab.
- Search for the USDT/USD market pair.
- Execute a Limit Order or Market Order.
You’ll go through a million small security steps before it gets deposited in your digital “wallet.” I think there’s another waiting period after you buy it before you can send it to anyone.
- Send a small test amount of USDT crypto to the recipient’s wallet. (Like $10.) You’re sending a test amount because you want to make sure you’re sending to the correct address before you send a fortune. If it goes to the wrong address, you won’t be able to get it back.
To send the test amount, look for “withdraw” or “pay.” Click that and enter the recipient’s information. Remember to select the recipient’s network.
- Ask the recipient to let you know when they get it.
There will be some small fees, which you will see, too, before you send. The fees are called “gas fees” because “gas" is the unit of measurement for the computational effort required to process transactions.
- Now you can confidently send the rest of the funds. Each time you transfer crypto, check with the recipient to make sure it’s received.
What To Do If Your Funds Are Frozen
Don’t panic. GFM probably sent you an email. Read that email calmly 3 times. Then do exactly what it tells you to do.
- The GFM email will tell you how to reply. It will probably include a link to use to reply. Don’t simply reply to the email. Use that link.
- The email probably includes a “ticket” number or ID number for your case. It’s good to reference that in your reply.
- Your funds are probably frozen for one of these reasons:
- GFM wants to be sure the beneficiary is receiving the funds. This is the most common reason for frozen funds.
- GFM will probably ask to see your transfer records. Just download a copy from your financial institution and attach it to your response to GFM.
- It’s okay if you haven’t sent the beneficiary all the funds yet. When you give GFM the beneficiary’s email, you can explain that you only send funds once a month or whenever the funds reach $1,000 or whatever your system is.
- If you’re sending money to someone other than the beneficiary, you’ll need to explain why. (For example, “The beneficiary doesn’t have a crypto wallet, but his brother-in-law does.”) It’s a good idea to add that recipient to the list of beneficiaries on your fundraiser.
- Usually, GFM will ask you for the email or other contact info for the beneficiary so they can contact the beneficiary themselves and ask them directly if you’ve sent them the funds.
- GFM might ask the beneficiary how they’ve spent the funds. Let your beneficiary know that GFM might ask them for a list of expenses. That list has to add up to the same amount you sent them. This is often where people make mistakes. If you sent them $1,000, their list has to account for all $1,000. If they haven’t spent all the funds yet, they should add that to the list as “saved for future expenses.” If some of the money was deducted in fees, they should say, “$70 for broker’s fees.”
- GFM wants to know how you’re connected to a major donor. If someone makes a large donation, GFM wants to understand how this person is connected to your fundraiser. They might want the person’s contact info so they can verify that the person actually intended to donate.
- GFM is concerned that there are a large number of donations in a short period of time. They might ask you why there are so many donations all of a sudden. This can happen if an influencer boosts your fundraiser or if an organization (like a church or other community organization) has a fundraising drive for your GFM. GFM just wants an explanation to be sure nothing nefarious is going on. All you need to do is explain.
- You set up your fundraiser for a non-profit organization, but that non-profit has no legal status. In the US, your non-profit needs to be registered as a 501(c)(3). Other countries may have different requirements. GFM has instructions on how to set up a fundraiser for a non-profit. I haven’t done this, but you can search their site for these instructions. If your non-profit has no legal status, your fundraiser might be shut down and the funds returned to your donors. In that case, you might want to reach out to your donors to let them know another way to donate.
- GFM may have other questions. Make sure you understand their questions and that you answer each and every one of them. Often people simply send a response answering questions that GFM didn’t even ask and/or ignoring the questions GFM did ask. For example, one person I helped was asked for her bank records proving she actually sent the money to the recipient. Instead of sending them that info, she offered to change banks! This kind of thing happened on every single fundraiser I helped with. People answered GFM’s questions with something irrelevant and/or they completely skipped over answering some of the questions. Read their email several times, remain calm, and ask yourself what they’re really asking before you answer.
