How GoFundMe became America's backup plan
Decoder with Nilay Patel | Aug 24 2026 | 01:17:44
Tim Cadogan is CEO of GoFundMe, the for-profit platform where you can donate to help people with everything from medical expenses to little league uniforms to starting a new business.
Tim took over as CEO in March 2020 — a chaotic moment when GoFundMe became a load-bearing part of American culture. So you can imagine I had a lot of questions for Tim, how he thinks about all this, and how he makes some very tough decisions on what money to make and what money not to make.
Read the full interview transcript on The Verge.
Links:
The GoFundMe CEO wants you to ask: ‘How can I help?’ | New York TImes
GoFundMe CEO: We weren't meant to replace COVID relief | USA Today
GoFundMe Is a healthcare utility now | The Atlantic
As Gaza is bombarded, GoFundMe donations are stuck in limbo | The Verge
For the uninsured, crowdfunding provides little help in paying for healthcare | University of Washington
Oregon nonprofits claim GoFundMe impersonated them | Central Oregon Daily News
The causes and consequences of medical crowdfunding | ScienceDirect
Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder!
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Eileen Felix. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Tim took over as CEO in March 2020 — a chaotic moment when GoFundMe became a load-bearing part of American culture. So you can imagine I had a lot of questions for Tim, how he thinks about all this, and how he makes some very tough decisions on what money to make and what money not to make.
Read the full interview transcript on The Verge.
Links:
The GoFundMe CEO wants you to ask: ‘How can I help?’ | New York TImes
GoFundMe CEO: We weren't meant to replace COVID relief | USA Today
GoFundMe Is a healthcare utility now | The Atlantic
As Gaza is bombarded, GoFundMe donations are stuck in limbo | The Verge
For the uninsured, crowdfunding provides little help in paying for healthcare | University of Washington
Oregon nonprofits claim GoFundMe impersonated them | Central Oregon Daily News
The causes and consequences of medical crowdfunding | ScienceDirect
Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder!
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Eileen Felix. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices