GoFundMe, the world’s largest social fundraising platform, has announced a new feature that makes it easier for Australians to donate to and raise funds for their favourite charities, while also giving Australian charities a new tool to engage prospective donors and unlock the power of social fundraising.

The feature makes charitable giving simpler and more accessible than ever before.

Following successful launches in the US and Britain, GoFundMe’s new charity fundraising feature enables Australians to raise funds on behalf of eligible Australian charities.

Donations are received and granted to eligible charities by PayPal Giving Fund, a public ancillary fund and charities registered with the Australian charities & non-profits commission.

As PayPal Giving Fund is endorsed as a deductible gift recipient, all donations to eligible charity campaigns that are received by the PayPal Giving Fund to benefit a charity may be eligible for a tax deduction.

In line with the rollout of this new feature, GoFundMe’s 0 per cent platform fee has been expanded to include charity campaigns.

While other platforms may charge platform or campaign development fees, the GoFundMe 0 per cent platform fee means that the only costs to users creating charity or other fundraising campaigns are standard transaction or payment processing fees.

GoFundMe CEO, Rob Solomon said: “We are committed to making online fundraising even more seamless and secure for our giving community.

“Having helped thousands of charities fundraise more effortlessly since we introduced the same feature in the US and UK, we are excited to now bring it Down Under, to provide the same level of ease for our Australian users.”

Since its launch into Australia in 2016, more than two million Australians have donated to GoFundMe campaigns and over $200 million has been donated to support inspiring and worthy causes.

Solomon added: “Charitable fundraising has long been associated with throwing spare change into a tin.

“However, with technology now opening up the fundraising industry, more and more people are turning online to donate to and raise funds for their favourite causes and charities.

“We want to work alongside donors and charities to help them welcome the shift in the way people give, and the new GoFundMe features do just that.”

PayPal Giving Fund Australia director, Elaine Herlihy said: “Our research shows that the way Australians are supporting their chosen charities is changing.

“As consumer purchasing and payment behaviours become more digitised, the path to making a donation is becoming more and more seamless.”

Herlihy added: “The PayPal Giving Fund integration into GoFundMe extends the PayPal Giving Fund’s commitment to enable Australians to donate to the causes they care about in a frictionless and secure manner.”