Since 2014, a crowdfunding platform launched by three siblings exists to share the hope of the Gospel through fundraising. Meet GiveSendGo, the tech platform “created by Christians for everyone” that prays for its users instead of canceling or shadow banning them.
“We really felt like God had us start GiveSendGo eight years ago so that we would be in a position today to give people a voice that might not have one due to the silencing by mainstream media,” said GiveSendGo co-founder Heather Wilson. “That’s why we’re here, and our goal continues to be to share the hope of Jesus through crowdfunding.”
GiveSendGo hosts thousands of unique campaigns, allowing users to fundraise for causes like mission work, adoption, disaster relief, charity, legal fees, medical expenses, and more. In a digital environment where “canceling” controversial users is the norm, GiveSendGo has gone the opposite direction, allowing anyone who is fundraising lawfully to use the platform. Users who have completed an appropriate vetting process will not be refused service on the basis of controversy or unpopularity.
The platform has been assailed with challenges due to GiveSendGo’s willingness to host controversial legal defense fundraisers when other platforms would not. The GiveSendGo team has firmly maintained that legal defense is “a privilege and a right afforded to every American citizen.” According to Wilson, GiveSendGo stands behind the philosophy governing our justice system: Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Wilson added that it is not a crowdfunding site’s responsibility to decide who can or cannot receive funds: “That would be unconstitutional.”
Standing firmly on this common-sense principle has triggered threats to the very survival of the platform, such as credit card companies refusing to process transactions to GiveSendGo campaigns. Wilson concludes that Big Tech, through blatant deplatforming, takes it upon themselves to be the “arbiters of truth and justice.”
“This is scary,” said Wilson. “Because what happens when I want to give to a pro-life campaign, and the government, big tech, or a credit card system says, ‘We don’t want you to give to that’ or ‘We don’t agree with that?’ Several times we’ve been threatened to be shut down.”
Despite the public pressure, the team at GiveSendGo is unrelenting in its mission, going the extra mile beyond hosting fundraising campaigns and seeking to minister spiritually to platform users. GiveSendGo deploys a team of prayer partners who call each campaign creator to pray for them and their situation. Wilson noted that the response to these prayer efforts has been “unbelievable.”
“I could tell you story after story after story where God’s timing of our prayer team calling and praying for these campaigns is impeccable,” said Wilson.
Wilson shared the purpose behind the crowdfunding company’s tagline: Created by Christians for everyone.
“You don’t have to be a Christian to start a campaign,” said Wilson. “You could be on our site raising money because you had a house fire, and you would get a phone call from one of our prayer partners saying, ‘Hey, I just read your campaign. Can I pray with you right now over the phone?’ At GiveSendGo, we’re making a difference by stepping out and actively being the hands and feet of Jesus.”
Speaking to Christian communicators, Heather noted the importance of following the narrow road.“We must choose between the narrow and wide road; it’s not red versus blue or right-leaning versus left-leaning. It’s the narrow versus the wide,” said Wilson. “Don’t be distracted. Don’t get tied up in the things the world tells us are important. Keep your eyes on the people God puts in front of you to share your message with.”
Wilson encouraged those in Christian media to continue to fight for the hearts, souls, and minds of their audiences.
“The fields are ready for harvest, and there are people that need to hear about Jesus,” said Wilson. “That should be our priority no matter what else is going on, keeping our eyes fixed on the real battle in front of us.”
GiveSendGo has been an NRB member since February 2022. Wilson and her brother Jacob Wells, co-founder of GiveSendGo, joined NRB 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee, as expert panelists on the topic of deplatforming.
