What happens when GoFundMe campaigns don’t meet their fundraising goals? In a new article in The Conversation, PhD candidate Martin Lukk and Prof. Erik Schneiderhan write that the majority of digital fundraising campaigns on the platform fail to raise the money they need. Based on research from their recent book, GoFailMe: The Unfulfilled Promise of Digital Crowdfunding, the authors argue that a number of hurdles, including the digital divide, GoFundMe’s algorithmic recommendation system, and offline socioeconomic inequalities mean that most people seeking help on the website do not receive the support they need. This ultimately suggests that the democratic promise of digital crowdfunding campaigns falls short.
Martin Lukk is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology. Martin’s research interests include politics, inequality, and digital technology. He’s particularly interested in how income inequality shapes political identities and the role of internet platforms in social welfare.
Erik Schneiderhan is Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto Mississauga. His fields of study include the sociology of culture, political sociology, and theory.