Researchers examined donations to hundreds of people who lost their homes in the 2021 Marshall fire in Colorado, which destroyed more than 1,000 dwellings near Boulder.
“Crowdfunding gives higher-income survivors a bigger leg up,” said Emily Gallagher, an assistant professor of finance and real estate at the University of Colorado Boulder and one of the study’s authors.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently conceded that its disaster programs often fail survivors, and pledged to overhaul them “to reach more people, provide more benefits and help them recover faster,” said Jaclyn Rothenberg, a FEMA spokeswoman.
David Leedy, a vice president at a financial services company who lost his house in the same fire, raised more than $30,000 on GoFundMe.
He said the money helped pay for immediate needs — buying clothing and meals right after the fire, and then getting supplies for the rental house that he and his wife moved into as their home was being rebuilt.
In an interview, Margaret Richardson, chief corporate affairs officer for GoFundMe, said this was the first time she had seen data examining the link between wealth and donations through the site.
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