The Trust Gap in Online Fundraising
What 100 BlueSky Campaigns Reveal About Systems, Not People
We analyzed 100 recent fundraising posts on BlueSky to understand how people ask for help online. What we discovered isn't a story about individual failures—it's about systemic barriers that make transparency harder than it needs to be.
What We Found
The data tells a story about platforms, not people.
0%
Include a donation link
0%
Mention their fundraising goal
0%
Share progress updates
0%
Use the word "transparency"
But Here's What This Really Means
People in crisis—fleeing dangerous situations, facing medical emergencies, grieving losses—are often too overwhelmed to think about marketing best practices. They're surviving, not strategizing.
The real issue isn't individual fundraisers. It's systemic.
What People Are Fundraising For
The overwhelming majority of fundraisers are for personal emergencies—people in crisis who need immediate help.
What's Missing From Posts
Nearly all posts lack the basic information donors need to make informed decisions.
The Platform Problem
Current fundraising platforms weren't designed with trust-building in mind. They make it easy to create a campaign but hard to:
- Share automatic progress updates
- Show receipts without technical skills
- Demonstrate impact in real-time
The Opportunity
This isn't about blame—it's about potential. Imagine if platforms made transparency as easy as posting. What if showing accountability was automatic, not an afterthought?
The fundraisers who succeed aren't necessarily more trustworthy. They're often just better resourced, with time and knowledge to build credibility.
That's the gap worth closing.
Moving Forward
Rather than demanding more from people in crisis, we should demand better from the tools they use. Technology should reduce barriers to trust, not create them.
The future of fundraising isn't about perfect people. It's about better systems.
Methodology: Based on keyword analysis of 100 fundraising posts on BlueSky, August 2025. We searched for specific terms including "goal," "raised," "progress," "transparency," and similar keywords. Actual accountability practices may vary beyond the language used in posts.
Ready for Better Systems?
Donation Transparency is building the platform that makes trust automatic—where transparency isn't extra work, it's built in.