The power of viral crowdfunding campaigns in a year of bad news

When James Shaw Jr. decided to launch a GoFundMe in honor of victims of a deadly shooting at a Waffle House in Nashville earlier this year, he set a modest goal of $15,000.  

Shaw, however, had just become famous as the "Waffle House hero" after tackling and disarming the alleged gunman. The GoFundMe he launched with a few of his friends quickly went viral, and it ultimately raised $241,000.

"I was doing it just to help out, 'cause I know losing a child in that kind of way, and you have to plan that funeral, as young as they were, they probably didn’t have insurance," says Shaw. "It was just my way of trying to ease the pain." Read more...

More about Crowdfunding, Philanthropy, Gofundme, Waffle House Hero, and Social Good

from Mashable http://bit.ly/2PY9zgZ