Medical transports can be expensive – but that doesn’t mean they should be beyond the reach of ordinary people. Thanks to crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe and PayPal's Fundraiser, it’s now possible to seek financial support for your transport very quickly. And if you do decide to start a fundraiser, EMS can offer a price reduction to help you towards the target.

How does it work?

Crowdfunding simply means telling as many people as possible about your cause, so they can donate to you. Crowdfunding platforms make it easy by putting everything in one place. You can set up a donations page within minutes and start fundraising immediately. Here's a quick example of how it works with GoFundMe.

Starting a GoFundMe

Create your fundraiser

Spread the word

Need help?

How do I receive donations?

When you set up a GoFundMe page, you can link it to your own (or the patient’s) bank account. Supporters can then donate securely towards your total. Donations are sent to your account daily, and usually arrive within a few days. GoFundMe can send funds to 19 countries (view the full list here), but you must ensure you meet the withdrawal requirements for that country. Though there’s usually no fee to start or manage a fundraiser, GoFundMe applies a transaction fee to donations.

If it's available in your country, PayPal's Fundraiser allows you to raise up to £20,000 for a person or business (within a maximum period of 30 days), once you've set up an account. A transaction fee applies if you would like your fundraiser to be promoted and searchable on PayPal. For unlisted fundraisers (which are only accessible via a link), there's no transaction fee. As part of the signup process, you need to confirm that no-one has instructed you to raise money for them.

* Crowdfunding platforms' Terms and Conditions are subject to change. Please check their respective websites for the most up-to-date information and criteria for managing a fundraiser and receiving donations.

How can EMS help?

If funding is an issue for you and you’d like to start a fundraiser to meet the costs, we can offer a reduced price to help you reach the target a little sooner. Just drop us a line and one of our specialists will be happy to talk you through the details.

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What is GoFundMe?

GoFundMe is the world’s largest social fundraising platform. It’s also a leader in medical fundraising, with 250,000+ healthcare-related fundraisers every year. GoFundMe provides customer care specialists to answer questions about your account and a money-back guarantee to protect donors. Although EMS isn’t affiliated with GoFundMe, a number of our customers have used it to raise funds and awareness for their repatriations, and we’re happy to help you understand how it works.

Learn more about medical fundraising on GoFundMe