GoFundMe blasts inaction on COVID relief by sharing people’s stories

Even GoFundMe thinks that people shouldn’t have to depend on GoFundMe during the pandemic.

The crowdfunding platform has launched a new campaign to highlight the economic impact of COVID — and put a spotlight on how congressional gridlock has failed people in need.

Every day, GoFundMe will share with its millions of followers on its social platforms the story and GoFundMe campaign of a family or individual struggling to make rent or pay the bills. It’ll keep doing so until Congress passes a relief package — lawmakers have been deadlocked on the issue for months, and key protections like eviction moratoriums are set to run out soon. 

The campaign is an explicit message to Congress to do something, now.

During the pandemic, GoFundMe says that there were so many people starting campaigns to ask friends, family, and strangers for help that the platform created a whole new category: “Financial emergency help.” 

GoFundMe has spoken out before on the precarious situations of people who turn to crowdfunding in desperation. In the realm of healthcare, GoFundMe’s CEO has said that the number of campaigns to pay for medical bills reveal the ‘gigantic gaps’ in the system itself. While it’s warm and fuzzy to see a community rally around a person in need in an online crowdfunding campaign, that’s not the way the system should work.

Then again, GoFundMe takes a 2.9% cut plus 30 cent fee for every donation. So while the CEO’s words, and this recent campaign, certainly look good, let’s not forget they’re making money out of the crisis too.