Would you crowdfund a vacation?
Roquebrune, France. Photo by Daniel Zedda.
Raising money online for a project has become a hugely popular concept. Families that wouldn’t be able to bury a loved one after an unexpected tragedy are one example of how crowdfunding can help others. Teachers are another group, thanks to budget cuts, which have turned to the web for additional funding for projects.
But what about a leisure activity? And what do you say to the person who wants help from friends, family and strangers to pay for their vacation?
The Wall Street Journal interviewed Gerald and Rachel Monaco, a San Francisco couple, who asked their wedding guests for $9,000 for a honeymoon to Finland.
“Everybody thought it was a little unconventional,” Monaco, a 23-year-old software engineer, told the WSJ. The couple raised $1,900 of the needed $9,000 online.
In an opinion piece published last October, Mashable took a stance against asking people to crowdfund your vacation, unless it was also tied to some charitable giving.
“Funding a vacation for a friend or family member who has been through some hard times shows good intentions,” the article says. “While asking 800 Facebook friends to contribute to a birthday weekend in Vegas … doesn’t.”
So, what do you think? Would you help crowdfund a friend’s vacation? What about a stranger’s trip? Have you asked others to contribute to your vacation? Tell us in the comments below.
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