$30 Billion Raised on GoFundMe’s Crowdfunding and Nonprofit Giving Platforms

GoFundMe, the crowdfunding platform, has announced that it has generated $30 billion in crowdfunding campaigns since its establishment in 2010. The platform has seen significant growth, with 150 million people sending or receiving money through it. A report by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy found that younger generations, unmarried individuals, and those who are less religious are more likely to donate through crowdfunding rather than traditional nonprofits. GoFundMe’s CEO, Tim Cadogan, expressed excitement about the platform’s ability to bring people together to help each other on a large scale. The company has not released a breakdown of funds raised in individual years but has shown substantial growth since 2019 when it reported $9 billion in cumulative gifts. GoFundMe’s acquisition of Classy in 2022, an online platform for giving to nonprofit organizations, is part of this growth. The $30 billion raised through GoFundMe includes donations given through Classy. In comparison, charitable giving to nonprofit organizations in the US reached $499.3 billion in 2022. The most common donation on GoFundMe is $50, and fundraising campaigns typically reach the personal networks of the campaign creators. However, some campaigns capture a broader audience, especially during high-profile events like disasters. GoFundMe monitors and verifies these campaigns and collects authenticated fundraisers on its website. The platform also works with payment processors and banks to detect fraud and ensure transparency. While crowdfunding has become popular, it is unclear how much it has supplanted giving to nonprofit organizations. GoFundMe shares anonymized data with GivingTuesday to track giving trends, but more transparency is needed to integrate crowdfunding into the analysis of charitable giving trends. Other platforms like DonorsChoose and Facebook’s fundraisers also facilitate online crowdfunding. GoFundMe’s CEO believes there is further potential for growth in online donations and hopes to normalize asking for help in the coming years.