GoFundMe won’t release funds to Freedom Convoy “occupation”
The well funded ‘Freedom Convoy’ has had more than $9 million in donations through a GoFundMe campaign denied as it prepares to enter its second week occupying Ottawa.
“GoFundMe supports peaceful protests and we believe that was the intention of the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser when it was first created,” GoFundMe said in a statement Friday night.
“We now have evidence from law enforcement that the previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation, with police reports of violence and other unlawful activity.”
The fundraising platform says the fundraiser is in violation of its Terms of Service, specifically: Term 8, which prohibits the promotion of violence and harassment – and has been removed from the platform.
It had earlier disbursed $1 million in funds to protest organizers, who said it would be used to reimburse fuel costs to truckers who took part in the convoy. Donors can request a refund and remaining funds will be given to “credible and established charities verified by GoFundMe,” the organization said.
Have your say
This is a moderated forum. Comments will no longer be published unless they are accompanied by a first and last name and a verifiable email address. (Today's Trucking will not publish or share the email address.) Profane language and content deemed to be libelous, racist, or threatening in nature will not be published under any circumstances.
Sounds like theft to me, who gives go fund me the right to decides where the contributors money goes? This just more censorship no doubt brought on by the liberal hacks of Ottawa (Watson).
I donated to the Trucker’s Freedom Convoy through GoFundMe. I want the money to get to the truckers. I submitted a refund form to GoFundMe and told them i’d never do business with them again. Where do I send my money so it gets to the truckers and their families to cover their expenses and out of pocket wages?
Please help us help the truckers who have done such a great job in getting the Freedom message out there.
Sincerely
I hope go fund me is sued and put out of business, as you say other groups were violent and racist, have yet to see anyone from the truckers group do any harm. A bit noisy maybe. These people are the least liking of any group to be protesting but here we go the most singled out of any other. Reports of them stealing homeless peoples food?, really, people need to think about that, was never any proof of that! Our useless PM knows they are right but to stupid to figure out what to do.
I don’t think it’s right to use the trucks for demonstrations, it’s far too easy to tie up traffic and cause inconvenience and can be financially damaging to others. Carry your sign, walk the streets, there are civilized, law abiding people in this country that need to be protected from these suburban terrorists.
Seems obvious people did not read the fine print. Read the money is to be donated. Too many fake names attached to the donations. That is where Go Fund Me failed. They accepted donations that should have been rejected.
The Toronto one had about 100,000 people today but less trucks because of the police road blocks. Many former truck drivers and. Owner ops. Not happy
So am I getting this right that they won’t release the funds to the group they were donated too, but will reappropriate those funds to a charity they decided is ok? Seriously?
-
A legal team is working on this and being blocked by the gov.
You, as an association for the Truckers need to get your facts straight on who is pulling the string. Our lustrous Prime Minister is the one who is dividing this country, turning this whole situation into a fight on racism rather than its true meaning of FREEDOM. He is the one who is putting the clamps on the Go Fund Me organization. He is the one pushing to give tickets to everyday people who are trying to get fuel to the Truckers downtown. He is a disgrace to our country.
I guess not burning shops, looting, killing and causing general mayhem isn’t a good thing because GoFundMe won’t release the donated funds unless you do like some other protests did.
I think the money raised should go towards the cost of the extra security and law inforcement
And not take it out of our taxes!
No more funds thru Go Fund Me! We’re done!!! Truckers have been peaceful, Ottawa belongs to all citizens of Canada, this is our place to address the gov’t. I have written letters to my MP to parliament hill with no action. What is left for Canadians to do, but to show up and make noise. Nothing else has worked!
Let me ask you, go back 3 years ago, how would you have responded if someone told you, that your right to be gainfully employed would be stripped away from you, what would you have said to that? That 2 weeks to flatten the curve meant big box stores stay open but small business was forcibly shuttered. Years of long hours and life savings evaporated. Its 2 years and they will never say we flattened the curve, because they flatlined our healthcare system long before covid. Now they hide behind covid as their excuse for a broken health system that was broken long before covid and is still broken. The taxpayers, small business and our children are the sacrificial lambs. Let the politicians and bureaucrats, who put on These mandates and who took bread out of the mouths of Canadians, forfeit their salaries for as long as the mandates and lockdowns are in force. Maybe the mandates and lockdowns won’t be so necessary then,?
They should release funds back to owners and just let it go back. It’s reason why a good chunk Canadians are upse so is world it lacks leadership
this was nothing other than a hostile demonstration, at what point is it ok to block city streets that tax paying citizens use for travel to and from work every day, and emergency vehicles use to transport sick and maybe injured, or respond to calls. now that being said you have evolved from a “peaceful protest” to radicalism’s and and terrorist’s groups, at home in your own country,, you might be the problem with this.. i agree with Gofundme here.. do not support terrorism!!! if they spent that time trucking they would be further ahead in my mind!! what did it really accomplish, at the end if the protest!? nothing! they drove the cost of diesel up, that is all they seemed to do from what i seen.. all the government did was keep raising the fuel price to make it unsustainable to continue this demonstration..
have a better day!
This is a disgrace. BLM and ANTIFA rioted and burned cities and was able to use Go Fund Me to raise funds. I will never use this platform or donate through this platform again. LARGE mistake Go Fund Me.