đź”»Crowdfunding the Cost of Living - Cypher News
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The algorithm rewards urgency, not accuracy.
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Crowdfunding didn’t replace the system. It exposed its loopholes.
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When survival goes viral, need competes with performance.
Grant here. Crowdfunding used to be one of those things for those in need. Like someone with a mountain of medical bills or a high school raising funds for their annual trip to the Grand Canyon. They ranged from heartwarming stories to ones so tragic they brought a tear to your eye. But now, sites like GoFundMe have become the place where people go to get money for literally everything, including just getting by day-to-day. Let’s break it down.
GoFundMe’s own 2025 “Year in Help” report shows a 20% jump in fundraisers just to cover rent, food, utilities, and groceries, after those same categories already exploded the year before. What used to be emergency fundraising is now monthly maintenance.
The company attributes the surge to inflation, weakened wage growth, higher unemployment, and rising costs of living across the U.S.
Researchers and charity leaders often describe GoFundMe data as sort of a “barometer of desperation,” often used when formal systems fail to catch people in crisis.
SOURCEIn the United States, the self-published report comes at the end of a year that has seen weakened wage growth for lower-income workers, sluggish hiring, a rise in the unemployment rate and low consumer confidence in the economy.
Cadogan said GoFundMe can see that people are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living.
“Someone may be behind on rent or needs a little bit of extra help to get through the next month,” Cadogan said. “That’s a function of what’s going on in these economies. And what is interesting is that people do step up and support folks in those situations.”
Among campaigns aimed at addressing broader community needs, food banks were the most common recipient on GoFundMe this year. The platform experienced a nearly sixfold spike in food-related fundraisers between the end of October and first weeks of November, according to Cadogan, as many Americans’ monthly SNAP benefits got suddenly cut off during the government shutdown.
These uses suggest that online crowdfunding has come a long way from its roots as a way for entrepreneurs to raise money for their artistic or business endeavors, according to University of Toronto postdoctoral researcher Martin Lukk.
Lukk, who studies economic inequality and co-authored a book about the “unfulfilled promise of digital crowdfunding,” said the findings act somewhat as a “barometer of where things are at in terms of desperation.”
“When there’s no other net to catch people, I think GoFundMe is where they often end up,” Lukk said.
Honestly, depending on what algorithm you’re stuck in, social media sites like TikTok are pretty much inundated with stories of eviction threats, medical hardship, and sudden income loss.
@kate_de_rI just need help that’s all #helpme #gofundme #god #rent https://gofund.me/1d267d8af
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Cut through the noise, the spin, and the propaganda.
@makaylabryantjGoFundMe link is bio for anyone who is open to helping. I am actively door dashing through out the day but it’s not enough for me to make my rent especially since I have my kids and I’m doing everything on my own #fy
There are even some videos out there showing how to reach your GoFundMe goals by hitting all the right emotional cues on social media.
@onlinetheatreandvoiceReplying to @Another Person 🍉 Is a part three necessary? Ask me anything! #crowdfunding #nonprofit #gofundme #theatre
@kathleencavalaroDEBRIEFINGSend this to anyone you see fundraising or tagged them in the comments! #fundraising #tipsandtricks #gofundmehelp
Look, there’s no question that real hardship exists. Rent is up, groceries cost more, and wages have lagged. Those are facts not being called into question.
But the question is whether GoFundMe is now measuring need or measuring who knows how to perform “being in need” the best.
Crowdfunding isn’t at all neutral. It rewards compelling narratives, emotional urgency, and visibility. Two families can face the same crisis, and while one goes unnoticed, the other goes completely viral. But the key is that the difference isn’t need but reach.
That then creates a new incentive structure, because when basic survival becomes something you pitch publicly, vulnerability turns into currency. The system quietly teaches people that financial relief comes not from stability or planning, but from storytelling and algorithmic favor.
This isn’t at all to say that people are lying; it’s just to point out that platforms like these have the ability to really reshape behavior. When posting a TikTok can mean rent money, people learn quickly what works.
At the same time, GoFundMe’s growth can mask institutional blind spots like housing policy, wages, healthcare, and social safety nets. They’re all eroding quietly while charity fills the gap. The platform looks like generosity, but it functions like privatized welfare, filtered through popularity.
And here’s the uncomfortable part: once a system proves it will pay out for crisis, some will lean into crisis harder. Not because they are evil, but because systems like these trained them to.
NOW YOU KNOWGoFundMe isn’t just catching people who fall. It’s teaching them how to fall where the camera can see.