How GoFundMe Became Canada’s Go-To Crowdfunding Platform

GoFundMe is the world’s leading cause-based crowdfunding platform, helping millions of people rally support for personal, medical, and community needs. With strong brand recognition in the US and Australia, the platform sought to replicate its success in Canada – a market with unique media habits and cultural nuances.

The Challenge

Despite global success, GoFundMe faced limited brand awareness in Canada. Crowdfunding was still a relatively unfamiliar concept for many Canadians, and the company lacked local presence and engagement. The challenge was clear: make GoFundMe a household name across Canada – quickly, credibly, and meaningfully.

The Strategy

Yulu advised GoFundMe to localize – from homepage branding (hello, maple leaf) to media strategy. We focused on:

• Surfacing Canadian stories that showed the platform’s real-life impact
• Engaging community-driven narratives tied to national issues
• Leveraging newsjacking and trend pitching
• Building journalist relationships across major and regional outlets
• Introducing weekly “campaign roundups” to maintain consistent media momentum

Through customized pitches and strategic media engagement, we turned individual fundraisers into compelling national stories, positioning GoFundMe as the go-to tool for personal fundraising.

The Impact

• 400+ national media hits in our first 18 months of engagement 
• Coverage highlights included the Fort McMurray fire relief, Olympic hopeful campaigns, and Syrian refugee family reunification
• Following our first quarter of engagement, GoFundMe saw a 110% increase in media placements compared to the previous year.

Most notably, GoFundMe became the #1 platform Canadians associated with personal fundraising, as reported in a market awareness study, within the first year of Yulu’s engagement.

Services Provided

• National and regional media relations
• Narrative strategy and campaign pitching
• Issues and trend hijacking
• Localization consulting
• Media tracking and analytics
• Stakeholder engagement

Let’s Work Together

Looking to elevate your brand through strategic communications? Call or email us to set up a call at hello@yulupr.com or +1 604-558-1656.