Millions of people turned to the fundraising website GoFundMe this year to raise money for causes including natural disaster recovery, student loan debt and school lunches for kids in need—here’s how donations broke down in 2023, according to a report released by the website Tuesday.
Some $106 million was raised for natural disaster relief in 2023, a report by GoFundMe out Tuesday ... [+]
Donors made 39 million donations in 2023, the report published Tuesday found.
There were more than two million first-time organizers of fundraisers and more than 8.9 million repeat donors in the past year, GoFundMe said.
Some 94,000 GoFundMe fundraisers were started for businesses this year and more than 240,000 fundraisers were started for animal-related causes.
January 2 was the most generous day of the year, GoFundMe said, coinciding with the cardiac arrest of Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin who at the time was raising money to support a toy drive for Hamlin’s community—his near-death experience led more than 200,000 people to donate money to his drive.
The Northeast dominated the list of most generous states per capita with Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island taking the top five spots, the report found.
Ireland was the most generous country for the fifth year in a row.
Fundraisers for need based on public policy increased in the past year. GoFundMe said there was a 4.5x increase in the fundraisers started for lunch debt following the end of the pandemic-era free school meals program. Fundraising for student loan-related needs increased 40% year-over-year as student loan payments for many borrowers returned earlier this year. And fundraisers for help with senior care rose nearly 10% year over year, GoFundMe said.
Overall, $106 million was raised for natural disaster relief in 2023, the report said. Some $3.03 million was raised for Italy after severe floods; 78,000 donors donated after an earthquake struck Morocco; and GoFundMe received donations from 100 countries when wildfires erupted in Maui.
Donations of $13 doubled year over year, GoFundMe said, thought to be linked to Taylor Swift fans. April saw the biggest surge in $13 donations, which rose 14x that month. In the report, GoFundMe noted that 13 is Swift’s favorite number. Swift began touring for the first time in five years in March.
$50. That was the most common donation amount in 2023, the report found.
Damar Hamlin's GoFundMe For Children's Toy Drive Surpasses $6 Million In Donations After Injury (USA Today)