Canadians Crowdfund to Pay for Living Expenses

Over 200,000 fundraising campaigns set up on GoFundMe

In a sign that average Canadians are struggling to get by with the increased cost of living, many are turning to crowdfunding to help pay for food and housing.

According to data from GoFundMe, over 200,000 fundraising campaigns were set up in the last three years raising more than C$480 million combined.

The fundraising platform says this is a 274 percent increase in campaigns that mention "cost-of-living" since 2020.

C$480M donated to pay for living expenses

Between 2020 and 2023, 214,912 campaigns were created, which raised C$480,212,706 to help pay for cost-of-living expenses, mostly food and housing.

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

The GoFundMe data also shows that in 2023, around 35,500 campaigns solely focused on helping to pay rent.

Even the Parkdale Community Food Bank in Toronto has a GoFundMe campaign, in addition to collecting donations on its website and other charities. It has raised just under C$17,000 from 2020 to 2023.

It's a sad reality when people are virtually panhandling just so that they can pay basic living costs. There's not much relief in sight, though interest rates are expected to fall this year. 

But by the same token it's amazing there are others who have opened their wallets to donate to these people in need. C$480 million is not chump change. Every little bit helps.