History of GoFundMe in Timeline

GoFundMe is a for-profit crowdfunding platform that enables individuals to raise money for a variety of purposes, including celebrations, graduations, and challenging life events like accidents and illnesses. Since its founding in 2010, the platform has facilitated the raising of over $30 billion from more than 150 million donors worldwide. It serves as a digital avenue for people to solicit and receive financial support from others for personal or charitable causes.

2008: CreateAFund Website Creation

In 2008, Brad Damphousse and Andrew Ballester created the website "CreateAFund," which was later upgraded and renamed GoFundMe.

May 2010: GoFundMe Founded

In May 2010, Brad Damphousse and Andrew Ballester founded GoFundMe in San Diego, California. They had previously founded Paygr, and built GoFundMe off of PayPal's API.

2010: GoFundMe Platform Launch

In 2010, GoFundMe was launched as a crowdfunding platform allowing users to raise money for various events. From 2010 through early 2024, over $30 billion was raised on the platform.

2010: GoFundMe Start

In 2010, GoFundMe was not purposefully set up and built to be a substitute for medical insurance.

2014: $100,000 Raised for Homeless Valedictorian

In 2014, a GoFundMe tuition project raised over $100,000 for a homeless high school valedictorian to attend college and help his family.

May 27, 2015: Louis Daniel Smith Found Guilty of Fraud

On May 27, 2015, Louis Daniel Smith was found guilty of fraud and other charges related to selling Miracle Mineral Supplement (MMS).

May 31, 2015: MMSDefenseFund Removed From GoFundMe

On May 31, 2015, the mmsdefensefund for Louis Daniel Smith was removed from GoFundMe after Smith's conviction on fraud charges.

June 2015: GoFundMe Majority Stake Sold

In June 2015, Brad Damphousse and Andrew Ballester agreed to sell a majority stake in GoFundMe to Accel Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures, valuing the company at around $600 million. Damphousse and Ballester also stepped down from day-to-day oversight.

2015: Legal Defense Funds No Longer Supported

In 2015, GoFundMe announced that it would no longer support legal defense funds after suspending funding for the defense of Sweet Cakes by Melissa.

2015: GoFundMe Bans Legal Defence Funds

In 2015, after the site suspended funding for the defense of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, GoFundMe announced that the site would no longer support legal defense funds on their platform.

2016: GoFundMe Revenue in 2016

In 2016 GoFundMe made $100 million in revenue.

January 2017: GoFundMe Acquires CrowdRise

In January 2017, GoFundMe acquired CrowdRise. GoFundMe's CEO is Tim Cadogan.

March 2017: GoFundMe Becomes Largest Crowdfunding Platform

In March 2017, GoFundMe became the biggest crowdfunding platform, having raised over $3 billion since its debut in 2010.

November 2017: GoFundMe Eliminates Platform Fees

In November 2017, GoFundMe announced it would no longer charge a 5% fee per donation for US, Canada, and UK individual campaigns, and instead rely upon tips left by donors.

November 2017: GoFundMe Terms Allow Legal Defence Funds

As of November 2017 GoFundMe's terms and conditions allow for campaigns for certain kinds of legal defense.

November 2017: Legal Defense Funds Allowed

As of November 2017, GoFundMe's terms and conditions allow for campaigns for certain kinds of legal defense.

February 14, 2018: Fundraisers for Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting Victims

On February 14, 2018, there were a number of fundraisers for individual victims of the Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting in Parkland, Florida to help survivors' recovery and to fund causes chosen by family members in honor of the deceased.

2018: Social Media Donation Report

According to a 2018 report by GoFundMe, a donor sharing a campaign on social media results in $15 of donations on average, while any share of a campaign on social media, regardless of whether the user donated to the campaign, results in $13 of donations on average.

March 2019: GoFundMe Bans Anti-Vaccine Activists

In March 2019, GoFundMe banned fundraisers from anti-vaccine activists, including Stop Mandatory Vaccination founder Larry Cook, citing violations of their terms of service.

May 2019: Anti-Vaccine Campaigns Still Running on GoFundMe

Despite the ban on anti-vaccine activists in March 2019, The Independent found that several anti-vaccine campaigns were still running on GoFundMe as of May 2019.

June 2019: Fundraiser Terminated for Rugby Player Israel Folau

In June 2019, GoFundMe terminated a $3 million fund-raiser for Australian rugby player Israel Folau to finance a court case after he was said to be homophobic.

August 2020: Humanity Forward Foundation Donation Matching

In August 2020, Andrew Yang's Humanity Forward Foundation committed to matching donations, dollar-for-dollar, up to $1 million for The $1K Project.

August 2020: Brian Kolfage Indicted on Federal Charges

In August 2020, Brian Kolfage, along with Steve Bannon and two others, was indicted on federal charges of defrauding donors to "We Build the Wall" by diverting money to personal use.

October 2020: Over 800 Families Funded by The $1K Project

As of mid-October 2020, more than 800 families had been fully funded through The $1K Project.

May 2021: Brian Kolfage Indicted on Federal Charges

In May 2021, Brian Kolfage was separately indicted on federal charges of defrauding the IRS and filing false tax returns.

December 2021: GoFundMe Enabled Donations to Anti-Vaccine Campaigns

In December 2021, The Sunday Times reported that GoFundMe had enabled the donation of over €300,000 to anti-vaccine campaigns and challenges to vaccine certificates.

January 2022: Freedom Convoy 2022

In January 2022, a GoFundMe project was created with the claim of raising money for fuel and food for the Freedom Convoy 2022 to Ottawa in response to vaccine mandates for truck drivers.

February 4, 2022: Freedom Convoy 2022 Fundraiser Removed

On February 4, 2022, GoFundMe announced that the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser had been removed from the platform for violating terms of service, specifically "violence and other unlawful activity".

May 2022: GoFundMe Acquires Classy

In May 2022, GoFundMe announced the acquisition of nonprofit donation site Classy, which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of GoFundMe.

January 2023: GoFundMe Funneled Donations to COVID-19 Vaccine Injury Fundraisers

In January 2023, the British disinformation analysis organization Logically reported that GoFundMe had funneled over $330,000 in donations to fundraisers for injuries supposedly caused by the COVID-19 vaccine.

June 2023: Controversial Crowdfunding for Police Officer's Family

In June 2023, after the killing of Nahel Merzouk by a French police officer, far-right activist Jean Messiha organised a controversial crowdfunding in favor of the police officer's family, which reached €1.6 million, sparking widespread protests and riots in France.

August 2023: GoFundMe Freezes Funds for The Grayzone

In August 2023, GoFundMe froze more than $90,000 from contributors to The Grayzone, citing unspecified "external concerns", which founder Max Blumenthal believed were political and related to coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

December 2024: Campaigns for Legal Defense Fund Removed

In December 2024, multiple campaigns for the legal defense fund of the alleged shooter involved in the killing of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson were removed from GoFundMe.

2024: Over $30 billion raised on the GoFundMe platform

From 2010 through early 2024, GoFundMe facilitated the raising of more than $30 billion, contributed by over 150 million donors.

October 2025: GoFundMe Sets Up Pages for Nonprofits Without Consent

In October 2025, KGO-TV reported that GoFundMe had set up pages for 1.4 million nonprofit organizations without consulting with the nonprofits themselves.