Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis wants GoFundMe, the online site allowing people to fundraise for various causes, to promote the Florida Disaster Fund and its website in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
“It would be beneficial to folks across the United States if you would lever the resources of your organization to assist in pushing the Florida Disaster Fund website far and wide. Therefore, I am requesting that you put information regarding the Florida Disaster Fund front and center on your website,” Patronis wrote in a letter to GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan on Tuesday.
“In doing so, those who are looking to assist can easily identify a legitimate site to donate to.”
Patronis also referred to GoFundMe’s “checkered past” of allowing fraudulent campaigns posing as charities to seek funds, and cited the 21 sites that were pulled down after the collapse of an apartment building in Surfside last year.
“While there are certainly many good instances where GoFundMe can benefit families, there have also been many people that have been a victim of fraud,” Patronis stated.
“I would like to know how many fraudulent sites you have identified following Hurricane Ian. What do you do when you find a fraudulent site? How are those consumers made whole? Do you refund their donation to them? It is critical that the dollars being donated by good-hearted people actually get to those that truly need it.”
During a press conference with Gov. Ron DeSantis in Fort Myers on Tuesday, Patronis was even more blunt. Those wishing to help should give to the Florida Disaster Fund, whose payments can be checked online, he said.
“You know exactly where the money is going, unlike GoFundMe. Don’t touch GoFundMe,” Patronis said.
Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, who is overseeing the Disaster Fund, said it has raised $35 million so far. Gov. DeSantis has said the state’s private fund is more flexible in distributing needed items to survivors of Hurricane Ian than the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which must abide by federal laws and guidelines.
The post Jimmy Patronis to GoFundMe: Support state charity fund for Ian appeared first on Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..
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source https://floridapolitics.com/?p=561520
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