The Newton City Council has approved a recommendation from the park board to use the on-line site gofundme.com to raise money for the annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration. City staff say it’s one of the leading fundraising websites in the nation and would take less staff and volunteer time to manage. Councilman Jeff Price expects the use of the site to increase the amount of money raised.
Price says has seen families and individuals who have benefited from the site and they should be able to raise more money than they need for the fireworks. Mayor Mike Hansen says a percentage of each donation does go back to the website. “It’s a very small nominal fee for the use of this website, but it far outweighs the access ot and the ability to raise funds and we think it would be a great asset,” Hansen says.
The website collects 30 cents from each donation, plus 7.9-percent of the money given. So with a $25 donation, $22.72 would go to the city and the gofundme website would collect $2.28. The city will still take cash and check donations locally and at businesses.
(Reporting by Randy Van, KCOB, Newton)