Indiegogo launches fee-free ‘Life’ platform for funding personal causes

New site will help people raise money for unexpected medical expenses and emergencies, among other things, without paying Indiegogo

Crowdfunding platform Indiegogo has launched a new platform, ‘Indiegogo Life’, which will allow users to fund personal causes like emergencies or medical causes without paying fees.

The company says that ‘personal cause campaigns’ — which could be unexpected medical expenses, or charity funding — have seen ‘triple digit growth’ in the last year.

Indiegogo also said that the funding could be used for ‘celebrations’, highlighting one of the sometimes less urgent things that are funded using the platform.

Fees on the crowdfunding site are between 0% and 12%, depending on the type of funding used and the way that it is paid. Indiegogo usually charges a fee of 4% if a funding goal is reached, plus a PayPal fee of around 3%.

But those funding on Indiegogo Life — in one of categories including Medical Needs, Emergencies, Celebrations, Pets & Animals and Faith — won’t pay any of the fees.

They will also be given access to a new campaign process that makes signing up easier, personalised support from the customer help team, and new tools and resources.

“Over the last six years, we have seen many individuals and families face serious financial implications caused by life events,” said Danae Ringelmann, chief development officer at Indiegogo. “With Indiegogo Life, we’re delivering the necessary tools for families, friends, and even strangers around the world to connect and support one another at the most critical times.”

The company is using the launch of the product to highlight some of the recent campaigns that would have been eligible on the platform. They include supporting the families of the Canadian soldiers killed in October’s terrorist attacks, helping the world’s first crowdfunded baby and buying a holiday for Karen Klein, a bullied bus monitor.

But the site can also be used for more frivolous campaigns, and as with all crowdfunded products and services there is no guarantee with smaller campaigns — which can be set up almost anonymously — that the money will necessarily be taken by the people apparently running the project.