Stand Up To Cancer brings in thousands of donations from participating in GoFundMe’s experiments
Mission
To raise awareness and fund research to detect and treat cancers with the aspiration to cure all patients
Challenge
Extend the bandwidth of a smaller team and maximize digital fundraising reach
Solution
Leverage GoFundMe’s continuous product innovation and participate in digital fundraising experiments to acquire new donors
“There’s a big difference between a vendor and a partner. I can find 10 other vendors that do what GoFundMe does. The secret ingredient is that GoFundMe is a true partner, and the communication goes both ways.”
– Martin Quessenberry, SVP of Digital Transformation and Innovation at Stand Up To Cancer
Results from the GoFundMe checkout experiment after two months*:
$0
acquisition costs
52% more
donations per day, on average
4,200+
donations
41%+ opt-in rate
for marketing communication
*Based on 2025-2026 GoFundMe data and Stand Up To Cancer-provided data
A decade-long partnership drives product innovation
For many organizations, including Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), extending bandwidth and maximizing reach are constant challenges. This has driven the team to be innovative and rely on technology to scale its operations. Martin Quessenberry, SVP of Digital Transformation and Innovation at SU2C, has been a close partner of GoFundMe and GoFundMe Pro for over 10 years, spanning multiple nonprofits.
GoFundMe’s experimentation roadmap is continuously evolving, and opportunities are shaped by partner readiness, mission alignment, and platform priorities. By partnering with GoFundMe, SU2C has a critical advantage to influence product development and participation in platform-wide experiments that help reach new audiences. One such experiment involved prompting supporters who donated to a cancer-related GoFundMe fundraiser to make an optional donation to SU2C at checkout.
The goal of the low-lift test was to capture incremental revenue from supporters on GoFundMe who are already motivated to give, establish a new pathway for nonprofit discovery and donor acquisition, and create new donor relationships from explicit marketing consent that bring future engagement beyond the initial gift. The checkout experiment led to impressive initial results for SU2C, a 52% increase in donations per day, on average, and $21,000 raised within the first two months, all with $0 acquisition costs.
We’re excited about the results that have come out of the checkout experiment. We can capitalize on GoFundMe’s product improvements and increase exposure to donors and potential donors, which will help to drive both immediate funding and long-term donor relationships.
A data-driven donor nurture strategy
While the checkout experiment generated over 4,200 gifts, the true value lies in the donor data. A key success metric was the 41% of donors who provided explicit marketing consent. These donors are being added to Salesforce, and with the help of Dataro, real-time AI-powered data analysis can help SU2C understand why donors gave, their capacity to give, and their communication preferences, enabling effective segmentation. This data-first mindset ensures that every experimental opportunity is maximized to build a sustainable, long-term donor file.
Dataro and GoFundMe Pro are powerful on their own, but together they close the gap between intelligence and execution—helping Stand Up To Cancer move seamlessly from knowing who to focus on to actually acting on it. Dataro’s predictive models remove guesswork from sustainer growth, whilst surfacing hidden mid-level and major giving prospects. Those insights then flow directly into GoFundMe Pro, where Stand Up To Cancer can bring them to life through personalized landing pages and targeted supporter journeys. The result is smarter work, stronger stewardship, and better fundraising outcomes with less wasted effort.
New innovations to continue product and donor acquisition growth
After the success of the checkout experiment, SU2C is eager to pilot and test new ways donors discover nonprofits on GoFundMe—including its own. In addition to expanding its digital footprint, SU2C is actively leveraging GoFundMe’s live fundraising tools to engage an influencer and creator market that already supports SU2C’s mission.*
*Results reflect Stand Up To Cancer’s campaign strategy and may vary for other organizations.
The exposure and revenue being generated from these experiments are phenomenal, but the value is in the data that we’re receiving. Because of the conversion rate and the number of people opting in to receive communications from us, that’s where the true value is that we can optimize.
Martin’s GoFundMe Pro tips:
- Share candid feedback—your insights can influence product development and simplify your daily work.
- Utilize GoFundMe Pro’s platform flexibility for high-end customization to build, design, and develop campaigns that fully align with your organization’s needs.
