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[Tiruin]

Short time writing but I'll add my first impressions--nenjin got the grasp of most of it, but I'd like to add that if you've to make a thread like this online, it should match the same amount of quality of detail along with addressing misunderstandings, backed up by thorough knowledge of how to handle it as well as already having a system behind you that is able to proceed with it; posting these things online as a forum thread is more of a 'final step' after all the stuff others in this thread have mentioned [eg Addressing wording; thoroughly and deeply thinking this over with perspectives from close friends/family who give insight to it, etc...].

If you deal with money matters--you're not only forwarding it to a single person, but to those around their sphere of influence and how it'll be used, along with government or otherwise factors, as a really blunt outline. I'd like to help discuss the psychological aspects of this but it's a completely broad context here, along with a possible lack of context because all we're given is a very...general overview of what's happening that it's a very delicate situation to go into.

E: As for being a poor place to start, you might be right. Try asking your immediate friends in your social media for help.

This is also pretty much a thing here. We're not doubting your legitimacy as a primary reason--there are many other things that dissuade or make this a poor place to start.

[Trapezohedron]

I had detailed everything in the gofundme but they shut it down and banned me from the site and removed the project so I cant copy paste everything...its taken me a while to get it back up on generosity because I am busy. Apparently debts can not be repaid on gofundme.

Hate to say this, but considering the risk of what you're doing, don't you have like any backups in order to elaborate further your campaign? Furthermore, you are also going to post this on indiegogo/whatever "charity" equivalent of it right? So I suppose you could exercise due diligence in making the situation as clear as possible. That includes copying almost verbatim the important points of your indiegogo over here, if you wanted people to immediately see what you wanted them to see.

One of the main points that everyone has ignored is the fact that I mentioned I saw the actual loan paperwork and bank statements for payments and I would deal directly with the creditors myself to eliminate any chance of a "valentine operation". I am going to China this year and would literally be able to hand the money over physically myself. I have (and will continue)  to do my part to ensure there is no act of fraud. I am not stupid.

I also outlined how the money would go to a charity if there was more than needed (or if some other scenario warranted it). Or I would make my own if there was enough donated.

Well, that's good and all, but "mentioning" that you saw it while other people have doesn't exactly lead to credence of proof. After all, you are the party interested in asking for donations for this person.

On the psychology point of people losing out...if people are looking to donate to a cause for the sake of gain then those are the people I would never expect to donate as they are clearly not in a position of giving. If people want something in return I am not exactly sure what to offer since most things would only increase the needed money. Contacting friends and family is not an issue at the moment except for the part where the campaign isn't up (again) yet. Not all crowdfunding is a Kickstarter with expected returns.

Thing is, what exactly defines gain as gain? I adamantly refuse to believe that people don't have any single selfish reason as to why they want to do things. These can extend to making people know that the person is a generous guy, to fulfilling a personal desire, to quelling that itch in which someone is a horrible person/will feel better after giving something to someone in need. You can always to offer intangible benefits, like as you said, the charity thing, or the fact that it could very well save a life of someone from a debt they might have incurred. These benefits do not have to be tangible, solid returns to your people; that's why you were on GoFundMe in the first place and not on Kickstarter.

I also never stated anything about "best friend"...this thread seems to be full of people putting words in my mouth...

Yeah I apologize, but I don't exactly understand what's your stake here, considering 1. they did not ask for your help 2. you've only known them for a short amount of time, 3. they might have taught you Mandarin and such, but what does it exactly mean to you to help these guys, and what exactly does it mean to us if we choose to help you?

So naturally, everyone is going to be by default assuming you're trying to get on their good side.

Good pointers have been raised by Nenjin. Make sure to pattern your next crowdfunding platform around those questions; those red flags over there are not what you want people to see, as it makes you seem sketchy/wanting to woo someone. And what is exactly the basis of the loan, so as to make you say they're loansharks, and not, as Nenjin said, a problem the parents of your recipient's problem?

As it is, people can give free thanks and such, but remember when talking about money, money has a really different weight if you're trying to ask people for it.

[dennislp3]

I will bullet point all this...

1. Loansharks is the ACTUAL term because it is not a legitimate loan...I detailed that in the gofundme with proper links and everything...that's literally what a large portion of loans like this are in China...its a major problem there. For example money in the hands of loansharks makes up 8 percent of China's $9.4 trillion economy. By using a different term it is not exactly accurate and I really don't need people to think I am lying.

2. On the point of seeing the papers. I am working on getting pictures of that, more pictures, and video, of the family as a whole. Getting accurate terms of the loan will help I am sure.

3. When talking about detail I have mentioned the page I had was much more detailed and I was going to copy that over to here...but that is impossible now and I am starting from scratch (hence wiping the OP)

4.On Nenjin's points
A. The relationship was further detailed in the post like everything else and will be redone once more
B. People can assume whatever they wish and that is fine. There is little I can do about how people perceive our relationship due to being of the opposite sex. I have focused on her more because I know about her and what she does more than I know about her family (which I am slowly getting more information on)
C. I am aware that debt recovery is a harder thing to fund than an act of god. But once again when it is a major problem in the country it is easier to see how it is not that simple.
D. I already touched on the loanshark bit above.

5. on Trapezohedron's post
A. I can't copy the stuff I made before (though I emailed gofundme to see if there is still a way to access the page to take the text from it) and it took a few hours to detail out and it sill had more work to be done to it. So once again I can not copy it over to here (as was intended)
B. Already touched the point of the paperwork above
C. I detailed those same intangible points on the gofundme page. Being on generosity will help more I think given that it is specifically for charitable donations. Physical goods and the like could easily be part of starting a non profit campaign of course.
D. My stake is simply compassion...not something many people seem to have these days. I am the kind of person that hands a guy a homeless guy a sandwich, shakes his hand, and talks to him on my own time for no reason. I give my money freely to others in need when possible and it is just in my nature. I have dealt with a great deal of shitty life experiences and they have been great learning experiences that make me far more compassionate than most people. It is faulty to assume everything has some nefarious or selfish angle to it.

As such how well I know this person or not has little to do with anything as long as proper due diligence is performed to ensure the legitimacy of the situation. The cornerstone of charitable giving is helping random people you don't know. Though this is a point that people who are not generally charitable would not necessarily understand.


Further more a few changes I will be making immediately are as follows:
I will not post the page until I have more pictures, at least one video (preferably from or including the family in questions).

I am lowering the asking amount down to $5k. This will serve as a trust building campaign while offering some incremental relief. After $5k is raised I would either start a new campaign or continue the original one in a tiered manner to build more trust over time until the final goal is reached.
Let me know if I missed anyone's comments or questions.

[nenjin]

Fair enough. (TBH I didn't read the entire GFM page.) Just trying to give you some PR tips so you get less impressions of scammitude.