GoFundMe CEO says economy is so challenged people are raising money to buy food

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In a time when consumers can split food delivery orders into four separate payments, turning to crowdfunding to cover essentials might not be as rare as you think.

During a new conversation on the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast (see the video above; listen below), GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan shared that groceries are becoming a hotter topic for fundraising. "In some cases, very sadly, that is happening," he told Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi. "We're seeing it more and more."

GoFundMe often serves as a way to reach out to the recipient's circles to raise money for a specific goal. Medical or sudden death expenses are often at the top, but the platform also raises money for other causes.

"One indicator that's interesting is we have a category we call essentials," Cadogan said. Rent, utility bills, and car payments fall under this category.

"Basic things you need to get through life [have] gone up significantly in the last three years in practically all our markets," he said, "because affordability is an issue in essentially all Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economies."

Cadogan worked at Yahoo from 2003 to 2008 in the search and ad businesses. Prior to joining GoFundMe as CEO in 2020, he was a founder and CEO at adtech firm Open X.

Since its 2010 launch, GoFundMe has seen 200 million people utilize the platform, which has raised over $40 billion. The company is in 19 countries, and an estimated one-third of Americans have used its services, according to Cadogan, who was included on the Time 100 Most Influential People of the World list in 2025.

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Recently, consumers have felt the squeeze financially in major ways.

The latest Consumer Price Index data shows prices are up 2.9% annually, while the USDA reported that overall food prices would increase by 3% this year, slightly ahead of the 20-year historical average of 2.9%. The Trump administration's tariffs have also induced companies to raise prices.

"Currently, one of the things that we're really focused on is how do we increase the total amount of GDP that goes to giving," Cadogan added. "It's about 2%. It's nothing, it's pretty modest, and it's been stuck there for 50 years."

"As you see this shift in maybe government doing less, we think there's a real opportunity to help increase that percentage, specifically in the US," he said, pointing to the coming great wealth transfer and Gen Z and millennials as possible future contributors.