Cassidy F. is a line cook who had been living with her fiancé and two roommates when her restaurant suddenly shut down, leaving her without work. She had done what she could to prepare for uncertainty and had a backup job lined up at another local restaurant. The following day, that restaurant burned down.

With both her primary job and backup job gone, Cassidy began searching for work immediately. Even if she were hired right away, she knew she would not receive a paycheck in time to cover rent. Falling behind would not only put her own housing at risk, but also affect her fiancé and two roommates, all of whom depended on making rent together.

After exhausting her options, Cassidy turned to GoFundMe and started a fundraiser to help cover rent and groceries while she continued her job search. Shortly after, she received a grant from GoFundMe.org’s Essentials Fund, which helped her and her roommates stay housed during a gap between jobs.

Karina H. is a single mother balancing a full-time job, college classes, and ongoing cancer treatment. She had been getting through it one day at a time, when last November, her cancer relapsed.

Needing time to focus on her health, Karina took a month off work. While the decision was necessary, it came with immediate financial consequences. Things became even more difficult when she had to switch insurance plans, leaving her without enough money to cover rent. Suddenly, the stability she had worked so hard to maintain was at risk.

With few options left and her child’s housing on the line, Karina turned to her community and started a fundraiser on GoFundMe, sharing “I am not due to return to work for a month and this definitely adds to the monetary loss. I would like to have a home to come back to.”

Just before Thanksgiving, she received a grant from GoFundMe.org’s Essentials Fund. The support helped her pay rent for the month, keep her child stably housed, and focus on recovery at a time when it mattered most.

Thanksgiving Day was supposed to be a quiet holiday at home for Hunter and Jessica, spent with their one and two-year-old children. Instead, it became the day they lost everything.

Their house caught fire, and there was no time to think, only to get their babies out safely. “We didn’t have time to grab anything,” Hunter said. “No clothes, no toys, no baby items, nothing. We walked out with only the clothes on our backs as our home burned.”

By the time the fire was out, their home was gone. So were the children’s beds, clothes, toys, and the small, everyday things that make a house feel like home. Without homeowner’s insurance, the reality was immediate and stark: they would have to start over from nothing.

“This has been the hardest thing we have ever gone through. Watching our babies cry because they don’t understand where their home went… it broke us. Everything we spent years building, their beds, toys, clothes, furniture, memories, is gone.”

With no insurance to fall back on and two toddlers to care for, the couple turned to GoFundMe to ask for help with clothing, groceries, and temporary housing. A few weeks later, they received a grant from GoFundMe.org’s Essentials Fund. The support allowed them to purchase essentials for their children and secure temporary stability while they began the long process of rebuilding. In a moment defined by loss, it gave them something steady to stand on.

During the 2025 government shutdown, we were proud to support many individuals helping their communities by creating fundraisers for neighbors facing new and unexpected challenges.

Erin S., a teacher at her local elementary school, saw the impact of delayed SNAP benefits firsthand and knew she wanted to help. Wanting to involve her community, Erin started a fundraiser on GoFundMe to purchase turkeys and Thanksgiving fixings for families at her school who might not be able to afford them. She also hoped to provide grocery store gift cards and help stock a food pantry for families who lost SNAP benefits beginning November 1st.

In November, Erin received a grant from GoFundMe.org’s Essentials Fund. With the additional support, she was able to distribute 150 turkey dinners to families in need, making it the largest giveaway the school had ever held.

Michelle S. and her family were already getting by on very little. Even while working full time and picking up DoorDash shifts on the side, Michelle was only earning enough to cover rent for her and her family.

When her power was shut off, she realized she was about to lose all the groceries in her refrigerator, the food her family would have depended on for the coming weeks. With few options left, Michelle started a GoFundMe to ask for support from her community. $365 was the amount she needed to turn the power back on, and meant the difference between being able to replace that food and falling further behind.

Soon after, Michelle received a grant from GoFundMe.org’s Essentials Fund. The no-strings-attached support helped her cover her utility bill, replace groceries, and assure that rent could be paid the next month, giving her some relief at a moment when she had run out of options.

Amanda and her son Cayden have been facing more than any family should have to. Cayden is an eight-year-old with severe scoliosis, a painful and debilitating condition that had been progressing rapidly as he grew. As his condition worsened, surgery became unavoidable, bringing with it the need for a long recovery, stability, and care.

Amanda had recently started an exciting new job but had not yet accrued enough paid leave to be with her son throughout his recovery. At the same time, she and Cayden were living in a long-stay hotel. Amanda had hoped to secure an apartment where Cayden could recover and where they could settle long term, but taking time off work and covering medical costs made the upfront expenses of a security deposit and first month’s rent out of reach.

Knowing that she could use support from their friends and family, one of Amanda’s close friends started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help. Shortly after, she received a grant from GoFundMe.org’s Essentials Fund. The support made all the difference, helping Amanda secure housing and giving her the peace of mind to focus on her son’s recovery.