American Cancer Society finds new supporters and drives meaningful engagement through GoFundMe experiments
Mission
To improve the lives of people with cancer and their families through advocacy, research, and patient support, to ensure everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer
Challenge
Cut through a crowded digital space, reach new supporters, and build lasting relationships
Solution
American Cancer Society (ACS) participated in GoFundMe’s experiments to test new ways to connect with supporters
Results from GoFundMe experiments in four weeks:*
750+
donors from the checkout experiment
38%
email opt-in rate from the checkout experiment
1,600+
individuals gave explicit marketing consent
*Based on 2026 GoFundMe data
Unlocking fundraising potential through rapid experimentation
For nearly 30 years, the American Cancer Society (ACS) has been at the forefront of digital fundraising. As the landscape evolves, so does the challenge: cutting through a crowded digital space and helping people see themselves in a story and take action. For individual fundraisers, it means opportunities that feel personal and achievable; for donors, it means an immediate emotional connection to a person, a cause, or something they’ve lived themselves.
When the path to giving is simple, more people take part. The easier it is to engage in the moment, the more people participate, and the broader that audience becomes. GoFundMe’s experiments helped remove friction so ACS could test, learn, and scale what works—fast.
Key experiments included:
- Enabling supporters to add an optional donation to ACS when donating to cancer-related fundraisers on GoFundMe
- Capturing email addresses and explicit marketing consent before making a donation to ACS on GoFundMe
In feedback sessions, the American Cancer Society team emphasized how invaluable it was to have a partner like GoFundMe, which was self-incentivized to improve the supporter experience.
Turning engagement into long-term impact
Through these experiments, ACS reached a new audience and saw strong early engagement. In four weeks, they:
- Brought in 750+ donors from the checkout experiment
- Achieved a 38% email opt-in rate from the checkout experiment
- Secured 1,600 explicit marketing consents
This growth shows strong interest from people ready to get involved. Next, ACS is focused on turning that first action into ongoing support. They’re doing this by:
- Encouraging peer-to-peer fundraising through GoFundMe Challenges
- Activating $0 fundraisers to help supporters rally their networks and bring non-monetized value to the organization
ACS empowers supporters to share personal stories that connect to their “why.” This leads to stronger engagement, better retention, and a supporter community that continues to grow and evolve.
Results reflect American Cancer Society’s campaign strategy and may vary for other organizations.
