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Kathryn Barger is the Supervisor of Los Angeles County's 5th District. For the past few days, Southern California has been ablaze with wildfire, which has spread across tens of thousands of acres. Moreover, over 12,000 structures have been damaged in the fire. To address the situation, Barger recently held a press conference and has been making headlines for the same.
Barger became the chief deputy of the former Supervisor in 2001 and served the office until her 2016 election to the Board of Supervisors. She now serves as the Chair of the Board as she was reelected for her second term in 2020.
With her experience of public service, Barger advocates for programs that are designed to improve the life quality of seniors, veterans, foster children, and people with disability and mental illnesses. According to her website, she also advocates for the environment and works toward preserving open spaces and enhancing parks.
However, she is now in the news for none of these reasons. Instead, she recently criticized the CEO of the fundraising platform GoFundMe for charging an additional fee.
Why did Kathryn Barger criticize GoFundMe CEO?
Kathryn Barger, during a recent press conference, went off script and talked about a donation she allegedly made via GoFundMe. The supervisor mentioned that she was making a $500 donation to a family that lost everything in the fire. However, she claimed that she was charged an extra $95 as a fee.
"I was shocked to find out that to give $500, they were going to charge me $95."
She further called out the fundraising platform's CEO and said,
"So, I'm going to be reaching out to the CEO of GoFundMe to find out if, at the very least, they can cut the cost in order to ensure that the money goes directly to the family."
Barger further argued that she understands the company also needs money, "but at the same time, we are in a crisis."
"These families are suffering," she added.
Amid the controversy, a spokesperson for GoFundMe issued a statement to Business Insider. The spokesperson claimed that the company charges 2.9% of the donation along with a fixed charge of $0.30. In response to Kathryn Barger's statement, the spokesperson said,
"The comments made at the press conference were inaccurate."
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"GoFundMe is primarily powered by voluntary tips and relies on these completely optional contributions from donors to maintain our quality customer service, trust and safety protections, and world-class fundraising technology."
Barger has not addressed the company's response yet. However, GoFundMe has now become a default platform for those raising funds for people in need. Amid the LA wildfire, several celebrities are also raising funds for people who have lost everything.
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