The more than 430 fundraisers posted on the GoFundMe website after the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando expose weaknesses inherent in popular do-it-yourself charity campaigns. Those include waste, questionable intentions and little oversight.
The fundraisers include travelers asking for cash, a practitioner of ancient healing, a personal safety instructor who sells quick loaders for assault rifles, and even convicted identity impostors.
Holly Salmons, president of the Better Business Bureau for Central Florida, says there were so many campaigns it was impossible to vet them all.
The crowdfunding sites operate outside traditional charitable circles and often beyond the reach of government regulation. Appeals can be created in minutes by almost anyone and shared around the world.
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