![Migrant families continue to spill over Tijuana border fence, head to U.S. [Image source/Global News YouTube video]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2019/1/13/660x290/b_502x220x82/migrant-families-continue-to-spill-over-tijuana-border-fence-head-to-us-image-sourceglobal-news-youtube-video_2181329.jpg "Migrant families continue to spill over Tijuana border fence, head to U.S. [Image source/Global News YouTube video]")
The intention of the GoFundMe campaign was to generate funds for constructing a wall along the southern US border. Congress was not approving the funds as requested by the Trump administration. Therefore, the campaign began with the objective of collecting funds necessary to build the wall. Until now, it has raised more than $20.3m from nearly 340,000 donors but it is far short of expectations. The organizers have modified their plans and they will not hand over the money to the federal government, which is on shutdown. Instead, they will utilize it to build the wall privately if the donors agree.
The donors can either claim a refund or be a party to the private funding.
The Guardian reports the government shutdown arose from Donald Trump’s demand for funds to build the wall. It is now the longest such closure in the history of the United States. The organizers feel they are in a better position to use the funds from the GoFundMe campaign to build an actual wall on the southern border.
The project seems to be wavering
The original goal of GoFundMe was $1bn, which accounted for about 20 percent of the estimate of the government for the border wall. The ground reality is that the funds raised is a small percentage of the original target. The organizers had promised that the complete amount collected would be for the Trump Wall.
It had also promised to refund the donation in case the goal did not materialize. Obviously, a full refund is on the cards.
After a crowdfunding effort to raise $1 billion for a border wall fell short, online fundraising platform GoFundMe says more than $20 million in donations will be refunded https://t.co/RV3YKgEUqH
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 12, 2019
However, the organizers of GoFundMe have proposed an alternative.
The want to see the border wall in place and will utilize the donations to build it through the participation of private agencies. Those who have donated can opt for this or claim full refund.
It was a novel strategy
According to CNN, the GoFundMe campaign was the brainchild of Brian Kolfage who was an Air force veteran and a motivational speaker.
He wanted to arrange funds of $1 billion for the border wall envisaged by President Donald Trump. Brian’s logic was that the target could materialize if all those who voted for Trump chipped in with $80 each. However, the collection was just over $20 million and the plan misfired.
To add to his woes, the government shutdown is still on and there is no indication of when the situation will return to normalcy. He is worried about the inability of the US government to secure the southern border and could use the funds raised through crowdfunding to undertake the work privately. That is if the donors agree. Otherwise, he will refund their contributions. Incidentally, GoFundMe campaigns have helped many people reach their objectives in the past.
