Ottawa Citizen
Feb 05, 2022
Truckers occupying downtown Ottawa to protest vaccine mandates have moved quickly to secure new funding after the popular GoFundMe platform closed off access to $10 million in donations.
The truckers have adopted GiveSendGo as their new fundraising platform.
The organization bills itself as the leader in Christian fundraising, but it has also hosted fundraising efforts conducted on behalf of the Proud Boys, a [purportedly] neo-fascist group deemed a terrorist organization by the Canadian government [after top U.S. Democrats and other leftists denounced the group for its role in the Jan. 6 protest in Washington, D.C.].
On the new platform, the truckers had already raised $1.3 million towards a $16 million goal by Saturday afternoon.
GiveSendGo was having trouble handling the sudden traffic on its website, which often displayed a server error Saturday. “We know the site is slow,” the company said on social media. “We are working on it! All hands on deck.”
Donations were coming in fast late Saturday morning at more than $70,000 an hour.
In a video on the GiveSendGo website, Tamara Lich, a key organizer of the truckers’ protest, said GoFundMe has frozen the bulk of its funds after releasing $1 million.
Lich said the truckers have decided to team with GiveSendGo “which will enable us to get donations into the hands of the truckers much, much quicker while everyone gets the rest of this stuff sorted out.”
“We plan to be here for the long haul – as long as it takes to ensure that that your rights and freedoms are restored,” Lich said in a statement recorded Friday in downtown Ottawa.
According to the website, the donations will be used to offset the costs of fuel, food and lodging.
The truckers have adopted GiveSendGo as their new fundraising platform.
The organization bills itself as the leader in Christian fundraising, but it has also hosted fundraising efforts conducted on behalf of the Proud Boys, a [purportedly] neo-fascist group deemed a terrorist organization by the Canadian government [after top U.S. Democrats and other leftists denounced the group for its role in the Jan. 6 protest in Washington, D.C.].
On the new platform, the truckers had already raised $1.3 million towards a $16 million goal by Saturday afternoon.
GiveSendGo was having trouble handling the sudden traffic on its website, which often displayed a server error Saturday. “We know the site is slow,” the company said on social media. “We are working on it! All hands on deck.”
Donations were coming in fast late Saturday morning at more than $70,000 an hour.
In a video on the GiveSendGo website, Tamara Lich, a key organizer of the truckers’ protest, said GoFundMe has frozen the bulk of its funds after releasing $1 million.
Lich said the truckers have decided to team with GiveSendGo “which will enable us to get donations into the hands of the truckers much, much quicker while everyone gets the rest of this stuff sorted out.”
“We plan to be here for the long haul – as long as it takes to ensure that that your rights and freedoms are restored,” Lich said in a statement recorded Friday in downtown Ottawa.
According to the website, the donations will be used to offset the costs of fuel, food and lodging.
No comments:
Post a Comment