GoFundMe fundraisers to pay for basic living expenses surged in 2025
Fundraising patterns reflect Americans' mounting affordability challenges, according to GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan.
Watch CBS News
Fundraising patterns reflect Americans' mounting affordability challenges, according to GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan.
Crowdfunding website GoFundMe released its 2025 "Year In Help" report Tuesday. It showed a spike in people asking for donations to buy essentials like food. CBS News investigative correspondent Tom Hanson has more.
In the old days people might have turned to the government or to charities such as churches for help; today the first place many people seem to turn to is GoFundMe, a crowdsourcing website, where anyone can appeal to the public to contribute money for pretty much anything – medical bills, disaster relief, funeral expenses, acts of kindness. "Sunday Morning" Contributor David Pogue examines the good will, and occasional fraud, on crowdsourcing sites, and looks at the economics of online charity.
GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan is announcing the launch of a new tool called GoFundMe Pro to help non-profits increase charitable donations. He joins CBS Mornings News to discuss the feature and celebrates the $40 billion the online fundraiser has helped raise globally.
Donations on the crowdfunding platform this year reveal a range of urgent financial needs, GoFundMe data shows.
The number of people seeking help on the platform to pay student loans has exploded over the last year, the crowdfunding site says.
Doctors want to take the WWE Hall-of-Famer "Superstar" Billy Graham, who has been suffering medical issues for months, off life support, Graham's wife wrote on Facebook. She refused, calling him "a fighter."
The veteran who owned the dog says Santos pocketed $3,000 from a GoFundMe page that was set up to help pay for surgery.
Prosecutors said the campaign at the time was the largest fraud perpetrated through the crowdfunding platform.
Donations poured in within hours after Damar Hamlin suddenly suffered cardiac arrest after a tackle, with some donating thousands.
A former math teacher of Pieper Lewis' at Des Moines Lincoln High School organized the fundraiser.
The trio made up a story in late 2017 that sparked $400,000 in GoFundMe donations.
"I have never been more proud to be a Ukrainian," said Kunis, who immigrated to the U.S. from the country in 1991.
CEO says grocery delivery service "heartbroken" by fatal shooting at Fred Meyer store in Richland, Washington.
Attorneys general in Texas, Florida, Missouri and West Virginia are probing the company for shutting down a fundraiser.
Thousands of people turned to crowdfunding during the pandemic, but research shows most did not raise much money. CBS Moneywatch Reporter Irina Ivanova joined CBSN's Tanya Rivero with more on this.
Most successful crowdfunding drives were in U.S. counties with higher income — not the ones with the most need.
Hours after the school shooting massacre in Parkland, Florida, strangers started donating to a GoFundMe page to help the families of the victims. The next day, it was only a few thousand dollars from its goal.
Homeless man who used his last $20 to fill up the gas tank of a stranded motorist in Philadelphia has bought a home with some of the nearly $400,000 raised for him online by the woman he saved.
A video showing a University of California, Berkeley police officer ticketing a hot dog vendor, rifling through his wallet and confiscating his money has caused an outcry across social media. The incident happened on Saturday outside of a university football game. KPIX's Christin Ayers reports.
President Trump claims he recently learned President Obama ordered what Mr. Trump describes as a Watergate-style wiretap on Trump Tower in New York; In South Los Angeles, a woman turned her community's "food desert" into an oasis. Michelle Miller reports.
Northern California's storm damage has left a dozen monks trapped in Big Sur. At the New Camaldoli Hermitage, the monks have had to cancel all reservations through March and even turned to a GoFundMe page, but their spirits remain intact. Carter Evans reports.
A photo of a teen in a neck brace at work has gone viral with many people online praising the young man's work ethic. Alex McAdams from our Indianapolis affiliate WTTV has more on the dedicated employee.
One Chicago ice cream man has received thousands of donations from strangers through a GoFundMe campaign. CBSN's Tony Dokoupil has more on his story.
The popular crowdfunding site GoFundMe has raised over $3 million for the Orlando massacre victims and their families.
President Trump says the Iran war will end "very soon," but Tehran says it's "prepared to continue attacking" indefinitely, and it won't let oil leave the Gulf.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that it would be the "most intense day" of strikes against Iran so far.
A CBS News analysis of records for every hospice operating in Los Angeles County finds indications of fraud are growing.
Iran is using smaller crafts to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz, two U.S. officials said.
Rank-and-file career prosecutors in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division cases are not involved in investigating Alex Pretti's shooting death by federal agents, CBS News has learned, in a stark departure from historical practice.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune made clear that an elections bill known as the SAVE America Act faces an unlikely path to passage.
Investigators are searching a New Mexico ranch where Jeffrey Epstein once entertained guests, amid allegations that it may have been used for sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
TSA officer call-out rates have climbed into double-digit percentages at some airports, including half the officers at Houston's Hobby Airport, straining screening operations and contributing to longer security lines.
Marjorie Taylor Greene's seat in Congress has been vacant since her resignation in January, but voters in Georgia could choose her replacement during Tuesday's special election.
TSA officer call-out rates have climbed into double-digit percentages at some airports, including half the officers at Houston's Hobby Airport, straining screening operations and contributing to longer security lines.
Gas prices in the U.S. have surged roughly 20% since the attack on Iran. Read on to see what measures the Trump administration could take to offer relief.
Tommy Thompson found the S.S. Central America and its thousands of pounds of sunken treasure that sat at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean for more than 150 years.
Even if oil prices ease, they won't return to the levels they were at before the war started, according to Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy.
The FDA issued a warning letter to Novo Nordisk, the Danish drugmaker behind the diabetes and weight-loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, over unreported potential side effects.
Gas prices in the U.S. have surged roughly 20% since the attack on Iran. Read on to see what measures the Trump administration could take to offer relief.
Even if oil prices ease, they won't return to the levels they were at before the war started, according to Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is designed to cushion disruptions to U.S. oil supplies during emergencies.
Shortly after all JetBlue flights were grounded by the FAA due to what the agency said was a JetBlue request, the carrier said it had resumed operations.
Food containing norovirus may smell and taste normal but still cause serious illness if consumed, FDA warns.
TSA officer call-out rates have climbed into double-digit percentages at some airports, including half the officers at Houston's Hobby Airport, straining screening operations and contributing to longer security lines.
Voters in northwest Georgia have been heading to the polls all day to have their say in who will replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress.
The Gulf states have said they're running dangerously low on missile interceptors and have asked the U.S. to expedite new supplies, CBS News previously reported.
Rank-and-file career prosecutors in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division cases are not involved in investigating Alex Pretti's shooting death by federal agents, CBS News has learned, in a stark departure from historical practice.
Iran is using smaller crafts to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz, two U.S. officials said.
A CBS News analysis of records for every hospice operating in Los Angeles County finds indications of fraud are growing.
Food containing norovirus may smell and taste normal but still cause serious illness if consumed, FDA warns.
Dentists, hygienists, and researchers say a shortage of rural dental care professionals and worsening oral hygiene since the COVID-19 pandemic mean more kids are ending up in the emergency room for tooth decay.
The zipper head on the recalled HALO Magic Sleepsuits poses a danger to babies, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Debi Weiss thought her fatigue and weakness was a seasonal illness, but her condition quickly worsened.
The Gulf states have said they're running dangerously low on missile interceptors and have asked the U.S. to expedite new supplies, CBS News previously reported.
Iran is using smaller crafts to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz, two U.S. officials said.
When it comes to European Union territory, you can't go much further east than Cyprus. So far east, in fact, that it's within reach of Iran's weapons.
The most decorated American Winter Paralympian had her left leg amputated at age 9 and her right leg amputated at age 14.
According to U.S. Central Command, over 5,000 targets were struck and 50 Iranian vessels were damaged or destroyed in the first 10 days of the war with Iran.
American tap dancer Michelle Dorrance talks to CBS News chief medical correspondent Jon LaPook about Brenda Bufalino's impact and preserving the 88-year-old's artistry for future generations in a project at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
American tap dancer Brenda Bufalino talks to CBS News chief medical correspondent Jon LaPook about the many ebbs and flows of the art form and reflects on her career.
Michelle Pfeiffer talks with "CBS Mornings" about starring alongside Kurt Russell in "The Madison." She describes how she decided to take on the character and explains after decades in the entertainment industry why she still gets nervous in new roles.
Less than a week into a trial over Live Nation's alleged monopoly of the event ticket business, the parent company of Ticketmaster has reached a tentative settlement with the Justice Department. Kenneth Dintzer, antitrust attorney with the law firm Crowell & Moring, joins CBS News to break down the deal.
A woman has been arrested for allegedly firing several shots Sunday at the Beverly Hills home of pop music star Rihanna. CBS News Los Angeles' Tina Patel reports.
David Pogue, an author and correspondent for "CBS Sunday Morning," talks about covering the rise of Apple over his career as the company is set to turn 50 next month, and his new book, "Apple: The First 50 Years."
Artificial intelligence can give some workers "brain fry" if overused, according to a new study published in Harvard Business Review.
From labor shortages to environmental impacts, farmers are looking to AI to help revolutionize the agriculture industry. One California startup, Farm-ng, is tapping into the power of AI and robotics to perform a wide range of tasks, including seeding, weeding and harvesting.
In this web exclusive, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, talks with "Sunday Morning" correspondent David Pogue (author of "Apple: The First 50 Years") to discuss the company's first half-century and its constant focus on "the next thing." He also talks about the vision of Steve Jobs, whose return to Apple in 1997 reinvigorated the company.
David Pogue, author of "Apple: The First 50 Years," talks with Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak, CEO Tim Cook, and others about the vision of Steve Jobs, and how the company's products and services have reshaped life, technology and culture in the 21st century.
A new study in the journal Nature says most sea level rise research may have underestimated coastal water heights by an average of 1 foot.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced significant changes to the agency's Artemis program, which aims to land on the moon in 2028.
Documents might help scientists shed light on unexplained phenomena and government secrets, experts said.
A large shark was caught on camera for the first time in Antarctica's waters, surprising researchers. "There's a general rule of thumb that you don't get sharks in Antarctica," one said.
On the evening of Christmas 1776, Gen. George Washington surprised the King's forces by leading the Continental Army in a surprise crossing of a near-frozen Delaware River - a watershed military maneuver that dramatized a changing America, and a changing climate.
New York City police have given the all clear after concluding a suspicious package found near Gracie Mansion, the official residence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, was harmless.
Shots were fired outside of the U.S. consulate in Toronto, Canada, early Tuesday morning, police said. CBS News' Shanelle Kaul has more.
There is a heavy police presence near New York City's Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, as officials investigate a suspicious package found in the area. CBS News' Shanelle Kaul has more.
Hospice fraud has grown in Los Angeles County despite a state crackdown on facilities with notable red flags, a CBS News Investigation found. CBS News correspondent Adam Yamaguchi has more.
Jurors found Tal, Oren and Alon Alexander guilty on all counts in their federal sex trafficking trial in New York City after four weeks of testimony from women who accused the brothers of sexual assault. CBS News' Tom Hanson has more.
The Van Allen probe's mission was meant to last two years, but ended up going for nearly seven.
NASA has announced a major overhaul of its Artemis moon program amid ongoing safety concerns. CBS News space consultant Bill Harwood has more details.
NASA announced an overhaul to its Artemis moon program as safety concerns persist. CBS News space contributor Christian Davenport breaks down the key takeaways.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced significant changes to the agency's Artemis program, which aims to land on the moon in 2028.
NASA's Artemis II mission continues to face concerns and delays. Scott E. Parazynski, a former astronaut, joins CBS News with more.
A look back at the esteemed personalities who've left us this year, who'd touched us with their innovation, creativity and humanity.
Does the evidence show a cover-up, or was Todd Kendhammer wrongfully convicted for the murder of his wife?
Christy Salters-Martin dominated in the boxing ring but faced her toughest challenger at home.
Family seeks answers in death of newlywed who disappeared in 2005 while on Mediterranean honeymoon cruise.
Meet the tattooed beauty charged in the death of Google executive Forrest Hayes.
Emir Balat, an 18-year-old Pennsylvania man charged with terrorism for allegedly throwing two homemade bombs into a crowd near Gracie Mansion in New York Saturday, apparently purchased the fuse used in the devices at Phantom Fireworks in a Philadelphia suburb on March 2. Surveillance video from the store shows him walking inside and apparently purchasing a 20 foot roll of safety fuse.
The Persian Gulf states are facing more attacks from Iran amid its war with the U.S. and Israel. CBS News chief correspondent Matt Gutman has more from Tel Aviv.
War is deadly serious business and challenges presidents as no other event can. And yet, both former President Joe Biden and President Trump have been tripped up by bizarre language around the topic of war. CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett explains.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday would be the most intense day of U.S. strikes inside Iran. Meanwhile, Iran is launching ballistic missiles and drones against U.S. allies in the Gulf. Retired U.S. Army Major and military analyst Mike Lyons joins CBS News to discuss.
The pressure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is intensifying, along with the rhetoric around it from the U.S. and Iran. Matt Smith, an analyst at the data firm Kpler, joins to discuss.