crowdfunded donations alone. In the aftermath of the horrific bombing that killed three and maimed many more, people became aware that many of the victims had suffered life-changing injuries that will require expensive treatment and prosthetics.
The official fundraising foundation announced on Tuesday by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is The One Fund Boston. John Hancock sweetened the pot with a starter donation of $1 million.
One Fund is also the beneficiary of the money raised today by the organizers of the London Marathon, who are chipping in £2 per runner, for an expected total donation of around $100,000.
With more than 170 injured by the two bombs near the finish line of Monday’s 2013 Boston Marathon, One Fund is what Gov. Patrick described as a “central fund to receive much needed financial support.” It will help get money efficiently to the people who need it most.
Crowdsourcing comes in when fundraisers feel a special connection or see a special need. For example, 56-year-old Leslie Kelly told NBC that her daughters grew up with Jessica Kensky Downes.
Jessica and Patrick Downes are the newlywed couple who each lost a leg in the horrific attack.
Kelly was inspired to raise funds for them through a crowdfunding site called GoFundMe, which has a page called, “Believe in Boston” listing the campaigns to raise funds for specific victims.
At the time of writing, almost $1.4 million from over 24,000 donors had been raised on that site alone — including over $12,000 for the Downes.
A similar site, GoForward, also has a Boston Marathon support page. Again, at the time of writing, over $780,000 had been pledged — including over $570,000 for the Downes.
That’s some impressive fundraising. If you total it up, the pledges amount to well over $2 million for the Boston victims.
However, you should be aware that scammers will always be out there to try to take advantage of your kind heart.
If you’re in any doubt about whether a fundraiser is legit, or if you feel overwhelmed at hearing individual Boston victim’s stories, you can always stick with giving to the official One Fund.
But the spontaneous $2 million for victims of the Boston bombing certainly gives us new hope for humanity.
