Before asking other people for money, confirm the situation well enough to understand the real need, who should receive the help, what the money is intended to do, and what should stay private. Verification should reduce mistakes without turning someone who is already struggling into a suspect.
A good process is respectful, specific, and proportionate. You do not need every private document someone owns. You need enough reliable information to avoid raising money around the wrong problem or making promises you cannot support.
1. Start by hearing the need in the person’s own words
If possible, speak directly with the person the fundraiser is meant to help.
Ask simple questions:
- What is happening right now?
- What is the most urgent need?
- What would make the biggest practical difference?
- Is the problem one-time, ongoing, or likely to change?
- Is there a deadline?
- Who else is already helping?
- Are they comfortable with a public fundraiser?
Do not begin with a camera or a list of documents. Begin by listening.
How to Help People in Your Community explains the broader process of matching the response to the real need.
2. Separate what you know from what you have been told
Not every detail needs independent proof. But important claims that shape the fundraiser should be clear.
Create a simple internal list:
- Confirmed directly: facts you personally observed or verified.
- Reported by the person: details they told you that may not need further documentation.
- Estimated: costs or timelines that are still approximate.
- Unknown: things you should not state as fact yet.
That distinction prevents uncertainty from quietly turning into certainty when a fundraiser is written.
3. Verify the practical part of the problem
Verification should fit the situation.
Examples:
- If transportation is the barrier, confirm what kind of transportation would actually solve it.
- If housing is the issue, understand whether the immediate need is a deposit, temporary shelter, rent, repairs, or something else.
- If a family is dealing with a major bill, understand whether the amount is known, estimated, or still changing.
- If the need involves a service, ask whether an estimate or provider exists.
Katie’s public Impact story is a useful example of why details matter. The page separates the quoted $7,200 car-repair need from a later $10,000 presentation and a separately dated fundraiser total. The numbers are related, but they are not interchangeable. See Katie’s burial and car-repair support story.
4. Confirm who should receive or control the funds
Before launch, know the basic money path.
Ask:
- Is the fundraiser beneficiary the person being helped?
- Is a family member or organizer managing it?
- Is money being paid directly to a provider?
- Will the need involve several different expenses?
- If circumstances change, who decides how the money is redirected?
Explain that structure plainly in the fundraiser when it matters.
Do not imply that money is restricted by law, tax rules, or a formal trust unless that is actually true and documented.
5. Check for duplicate or overlapping help
Sometimes a fundraiser is only one part of the support already happening.
Ask whether there is:
- another active fundraiser;
- nonprofit assistance;
- insurance;
- government or emergency support;
- a church or community fund;
- employer assistance;
- family support;
- an existing donation drive.
This does not mean the person should not receive more help. It helps you understand what gap remains.
6. Decide what does not need to be public
Verification and publication are different decisions.
You may need to privately understand something that should never appear on the public fundraiser.
Avoid publishing unnecessary:
- home addresses;
- identity documents;
- account numbers;
- medical records;
- children’s schools or routines;
- private phone numbers or email addresses;
- login information;
- exact daily locations;
- documents containing sensitive identifiers.
The public version should explain the need without turning private proof into public content.
For the site’s broader approach, see Trust & Care and How to Help Without Exploiting Someone’s Story.
7. Confirm consent for fundraising and storytelling separately
A person can be comfortable receiving help and uncomfortable being filmed.
Those are different permissions.
Before launch, discuss:
- whether their name can be used;
- whether their face can appear;
- whether their children or family should appear;
- what details are off limits;
- whether the fundraiser can be shared publicly;
- whether follow-up updates are welcome.
If the person wants help but does not want a public story, the right answer may be a more private form of support.
8. Write the fundraiser around the verified need, not the most dramatic version
The fundraiser should make the situation understandable, not theatrical.
A useful summary usually covers:
- who is being helped;
- what happened;
- what the current practical need is;
- what the money is intended to help with;
- who is organizing or receiving the funds;
- what is still uncertain;
- how updates will be handled.
Do not strengthen a weak fact just because it makes the story more emotional.
9. Record the launch-day facts
Before the fundraiser goes public, keep a simple internal record of:
- date launched;
- initial goal;
- beneficiary/organizer;
- verified purpose;
- source notes;
- public wording;
- privacy boundaries;
- relevant estimates;
- links to supporting public pages when appropriate.
This makes later corrections and donor updates much easier.
The James Cowan Jr. Impact page uses this kind of dated separation: an earlier presentation-check milestone is kept distinct from the later live fundraiser total and the home-closing follow-up. See James Cowan Jr.’s stable housing story.
Common mistakes
Treating verification like an investigation
You are trying to understand the need well enough to help responsibly, not force someone to prove their worthiness.
Publishing the proof
Private paperwork may help you verify a fact without belonging on the internet.
Verifying the story but not the solution
A need can be real while the proposed use of money is still unclear.
Assuming the first number is final
Repair quotes, housing costs, medical expenses, and fundraiser totals can change.
Launching before the person understands the reach
A public fundraiser can spread far beyond friends and family.
Quick verification checklist
Before asking the public to donate, can you answer:
- Who is being helped?
- What is the current need?
- Did the person confirm the need directly when possible?
- What facts are confirmed, reported, estimated, or unknown?
- What will the money help with?
- Who receives or controls the funds?
- Is there another fundraiser or major source of support?
- What details must stay private?
- Is public fundraising consent clear?
- Is filming/storytelling consent clear if content is involved?
- Can you explain uncertainty honestly?
- Do you have a plan for updates and corrections?
The goal is clarity, not perfect certainty
You will not know everything before every act of help. The goal is to know enough to make a responsible promise to the person being helped and to anyone you ask to support them.
Verify what matters. Protect what does not belong online. Then build the fundraiser around the practical need you can actually explain.