Struggling Canadians fundraising to cover everyday expenses: GoFundMe | Only Sports And Health

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Canadians created more than 200,000 fundraising campaigns to cover everyday expenses over the course of three years, raising more than $480 million combined, according to new data released by the global crowdfunding platform GoFundMe.

The donation platform says they recorded a 274 per cent increase in Canadian campaigns that mention “cost-of-living” since 2020. The two most common reasons for these fundraisers were listed as food and housing.

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Ved Khan, GoFundMe’s senior corporate affairs manager in Canada, said approximately 140,000 campaigns focused on supporting Canadians with housing costs and 56,000 were dedicated to helping Canadians with the cost of food throughout the same time duration.

GoFundMe found that 214,912 campaigns were created and $480,212,706 was raised to support Canadians seeking support for cost-of-living-related expenses between 2020 and 2023.

Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver were the cities with the most cost-of-living campaigns during this period.

According to Statistics Canada, the Consumer Price Index rose at an annual average of 3.9 per cent in 2023, following a 40-year-high increase of 6.8 per cent in 2022 and a 3.4 per cent increase in 2021.

Leigh Adamson, an Ottawa-based social worker, started a GoFundMe campaign to support Claude Lorette, her friend who has been living in his car since February 2023 due to the rising cost of living.

The fund has since raised him approximately $8,300.

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According to the February 2024 Rentals.ca report, average rental prices for all residential property types in the country have increased 20 per cent since January 2020, about $373 per month to an average of $2,196 in January 2024.

The data collected by GoFundMe shows that, in 2023, approximately 35,525 campaigns were created solely to support Canadians struggling with rent.

It’s not just individuals creating these cost-of-living fundraisers.

Toronto’s Parkdale Community Food Bank (PCFB), a donation-funded food bank, is an organization for these basic necessities that has seen the direct impact of the increase in GoFundMe campaigns.

Though the food bank uses a “variety of avenues” to collect donations, including their website and charities like CanadaHelps. They also use, but GoFundMe. is one of their main resources that has made a lasting impact on them.

“It’s a really good tool for (us) to independently create campaigns so members of our community will have events and different initiatives for the food bank,” said Kitty Raman Costa, the food bank’s executive director. “They’ll then create a GoFundMe link and share it with attendees, family members or members of their own community in order to support the food bank.”

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The PFCB has raised just under $17,000 through GoFundMe campaigns between 2020 and 2023.

Kismet Creek Farm in Steinbach, Man., struggled to pay its bills after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down its foot traffic and visitation.

“Visitor counts have dropped, bookings have slowed, and funds have dried up,” read the animal sanctuary’s campaign. “The cost to keep Kismet Creek Farm alive is approximately $6,000/month. This includes the mortgage on the barn, insurance, leased farm equipment, heating the barn, feed, hay, vet care, supplies for events and more.”

A GoFundMe campaign has since raised over $22,000 and is still currently collecting donations.

Khan said that GoFundMe is fortunate enough to be able to assist Canadians struggling to pay their bills.

“I think the numbers speak for themselves, especially with what happened during the pandemic and all the economic uncertainty facing Canadians,” he said. “With rising inflation, people are just looking for avenues to help raise funds.”

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