Craig’s List: Pay It Forward

After reading the blog post about Craig’s List, I thought I should offer my two cents as well. I agree that the site does seem a little strange. The idea of donating money to a random person seems a little stupid on my part. I think the “Pay It Forward” idea is great, but there should definitely be more information about who this person is. Do they work for a non-profit group? Is it just an average person trying to make a difference? Either way, this individual needs to put a little more information out about himself, in order to make this seem like a credible way to donate.

Pay it Forward?

All the talk in class about Oprah’s Big Give and the concept of changing lives, I couldn’t resist making a post about something interesting I saw on Craig’s List today.

If you’ll take a look at post ID# 611591357 , you will find a good Samaritan wanting to pay forward generous donations from strangers.  To save you the time of visiting the site I will quote:

“I am wanting to try an experiment, I am asking anyone wishing to make donations to me, I will pay it forward to those in need. I don’t know how many will respond, but I think a lot of money could be raised. Thanks for your support.”

This sounds like a good idea, but doesn’t it sound a little fish-y?  I don’t mean to be a pessimist, but I’m not going to send money to a random person on Craig’s List and hope for the best.  It does bring up another issue: do non-profits have a place on social networking sites?  I love when I see non-profits on Facebook, but where is the line?  Is Craig’s List appropriate?  Or does it only seem inappropriate because this specific link seems so… untrustworthy?