Updated 5 September 2026. Facts checked against the sources listed below.
Pakistanis give generously, but overwhelmingly to people they know or can see. A 2018 article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, citing a Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy study, put annual giving at around Rs 240 billion, and reported that 67% of surveyed Pakistanis said they give to individuals rather than to organisations (SSIR: Philanthropy in Pakistan). That is the reality an online appeal has to work with: your first donors will be people who trust you, and strangers will follow only if the page gives them reasons to.
This guide is written for the organiser. It assumes no budget, no NGO behind you, and a phone.
Use a real name, a city, and dates. Say who the person is, what happened, what the money will do, and what happens if you raise only part of it. Put the cost breakdown in the text, not just the total. Add photos that show the situation, and photos of the documents with personal numbers such as CNIC digits covered.
On GoFundMeNow a title must be at least five characters and a description at least twenty, but a page that short will not be approved and would not persuade anyone. Two or three honest paragraphs beat a long plea. Avoid countdowns, "only hours left", and pressure: our own Trust & Safety page lists pressure to donate immediately as a warning sign, and readers know it.
English: "My mother, Razia (52, Multan), has needed dialysis three times a week since March. The nephrology unit’s estimate for the next three months is Rs 180,000 (attached). My salary covers the medicines; it does not cover the sessions. Every rupee raised here will be paid to the hospital, and I will post the receipts. If we raise more than needed, the extra goes to the next month’s sessions."
Roman Urdu: "Meri walida Razia (52 saal, Multan) ko March se hafte mein teen baar dialysis ki zaroorat hai. Hospital ka agle teen mahine ka estimate Rs 180,000 hai (tasveer lagi hai). Meri tankhwah dawaiyon ka kharcha uthati hai, dialysis ka nahi. Jo raqam yahan jama hogi woh seedhi hospital ko di jayegi aur main rasidein yahan lagaunga. Jitna ho sake madad karein, aur yeh link aage bhejein."
Both versions do the same four things: a name and a place, a number with a document behind it, where the money goes, and what happens next.
Create an account, verify your email, and open Start a fundraiser. Choose the category, set the goal in rupees, write the story and upload the images. The fundraiser is saved as a draft that only you can see. When it is complete, open Edit and press Submit for Review; an administrator then reads it before it can accept any money, and it goes live once approved. That review is a person checking that the story is plausible and complete. It is not an audit, and it does not verify the diagnosis or the costs; the Help page explains what review does and does not mean.
Post an update every time something happens: a payment made, a receipt received, a date confirmed. Updates are what turn a first donation into a second one, and they are the main way donors can follow the money.
To withdraw, request a payout from your dashboard with the bank name, account number and account title. An administrator reviews the request and then processes the transfer. You can name the hospital’s or the institution’s account if you prefer the money to go there directly. The minimum withdrawal and the payout timeline are not yet published; the Help page says so and will be updated when they are.
Not on GoFundMeNow. An individual can raise for themselves or for someone else. You do need a real story, documents, and an account in your own name; a fundraiser is reviewed by an administrator before it can accept donations.
Through JazzCash or EasyPaisa, in rupees. The donor enters the amount and their wallet number and approves the payment in their wallet app. Card payments are not available yet.
We do not yet publish a guaranteed turnaround. Reviews are done by a person. There is no email notification yet: the status of your fundraiser (draft, under review, live) is shown on its page and in your dashboard.
Say in the story what happens in both cases. Withdrawals are requested in the amount you choose, and the rules for withdrawing before the goal is reached are not yet published; check the Help page for the current position.