Jun 27, 2025

GoFundMe CEO hopes to make asking for help easier

GoFundMe's Tim Cadogan says Uber normalized getting into strangers' vehicles. He wants to flip the script in the same way when it comes to asking for help.

Economyby Kai Ryssdal and Sarah Leeson

“No one's life is perfect,” said GoFundMe’s Tim Cadogan. “We all go through the same ultimate cycle of life, and we want help for one another.” — “No one's life is perfect,” said GoFundMe’s Tim Cadogan. “We all go through the same ultimate cycle of life, and we want help for one another.”
Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images

When money is tight, or an unexpected disaster comes along, people often turn to each other for help.

Last year, charitable spending in the U.S. reached $592 billion, and donations from individuals accounted for $392 billion of that, about two-thirds of that sum. That slice is up more than 5% from the year before after adjusting for inflation.

Tim Cadogan is CEO of crowdfunding platform GoFundMe. He joined “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal to talk about what people turn to the site for these days and how the company thinks about its future.

Use the audio player above to hear the conversation.

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