Survey: Nearly 1 in 3 contribute to crowdfunding drive each year

Nearly one in three Americans say they donate to a crowdfunding effort each year, according to a first-of-itskind study by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. And all indications are that the pandemic has made people even more likely to give to informal campaigns on Gofundme and elsewhere.

People were most likely to give to appeals made by a family member or close friend: More than half of the 1,535 adults surveyed in September 2020 said they had given to one such effort. Campaigns organized by charities were the second-most popular, with more than 47% of respondents saying they had donated to a nonprofit on a crowdfunding platform.

About 91% of people surveyed were familiar with crowdfunding, and 31% said they had given to such an effort.

And as financial needs skyrocketed during the pandemic and many individuals and nonprofits took to mass giving platforms to appeal for contributions toward rent, medical bills, funeral costs and other expenses, Americans were eager to respond. Among donors who routinely gave to crowdfunding efforts before the pandemic, more than 47% said they had contributed to a stranger’s fundraising appeal during the previous year. That’s nearly 10% higher than the share of all donors who said they had supported a stranger’s crowdfunding campaign.