When disaster strikes, the initial flood of news coverage drives an outpouring of support — but after that, survivors often face long, difficult roads to recovery. GoFundMe wanted to help by creating a sustainable way to keep real people’s stories in front of the public long enough to make a lasting difference.

Our idea: pair skilled, purpose-driven creators with GoFundMe organizers impacted by crises to produce authentic, first-person storytelling that inspires tangible action. We aimed to:

• Amplify survivor voices through emotionally resonant video interviews.
• Drive renewed donations for fundraisers stalled after initial coverage faded.
• Demonstrate a replicable model for creator-led crisis storytelling that combines empathy with measurable impact.

For our pilot project, we partnered with Kalina Silverman of Make Big Talk, a creator known for intimate, human-centered interviews, to document survivors of crises who had turned to GoFundMe for help in the wake of the LA wildfires. Working alongside our Customer Success and Communications teams, we identified fundraisers with compelling but underseen stories, and connected them directly to Kalina who could capture and share their journeys with care.

We quickly learned this was more than a content series — it was a deliberate blend of impactful community and survivor trust, that gave audiences a reason not just to watch, but to help. And it revealed our ultimate goal: turn empathy into action, and storytelling into real recovery.

Strategy

In the immediate days after the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, thousands of survivors turned to GoFundMe for help with fundraisers documenting their heartbreaking losses — childhood homes, small businesses, art collections, schools. At this scale, it seemed all too easy to focus on the collective loss, which we feared could drown out the individual appeals. To counter that, we connected a trusted creator with GFM-supported survivors to capture their stories in the most authentic way we could, and get them help.

We partnered with Make Big Talk host Kalina Silverman, known for meaningful, first-person interviews, and matched her with several wildfire fundraisers. She met them where they were — at burned properties, in damaged neighborhoods — asking a simple but powerful question: “What did you lose?” The resulting videos were raw, emotional, and humanizing. They quickly spread across social channels, introducing her community to Walt, Willie, Dorothy, and so many more survivors, driving millions of views and helping raise more than $2 million in donations for their immediate recovery.

At the same time, we connected photographer Elias Weiss Friedman of The Dogist with nonprofits Pasadena Humane and Best Friends in LA, that were actively helping animals impacted by the fires. He not only helped raise awareness for their operations, but used the moment to start a fundraiser for the impacted organizations — and raise over $200,000 in immediate assistance.

Seeing the success, we expanded the model to other crises:

• Asheville Floods (six months later): Many fundraisers had stalled as media attention disappeared. Kalina, accompanied by a GoFundMe team member, interviewed survivors still struggling to rebuild. The new videos reignited donations and brought fresh attention to an ongoing recovery, and shows a community that felt forgotten that we were with them for the long term.
• Then came the Texas Floods: We again tapped Kalina — but this time paired her up with nonprofit partner Direct Relief, which allowed her to responsibly reach fundraisers in disaster zones and therefore highlight the dual stories of survivors and first responders.
  • Another creator, Hunter Prosper, was also matched with GoFundMe organizers for interviews on the ground.

Challenges included:

• Logistics & Access: Disaster zones are sensitive environments. Partnering with Direct Relief ensured we could interview fundraisers responsibly, and not be seen by locals as a part of a media circus.
• Tone & Trust: Survivors must feel safe sharing their stories, especially when they trusted us to help in these moments. We selected empathetic, experienced creators to conduct interviews with care.
• Attention Decay: We overcame post-crisis donor fatigue by reframing stories for social channels, meeting audiences where they were.

This unique approach — creator-led storytelling for crisis recovery — blended the immediacy of journalism, the fragility of disaster response, and the authenticity of impact creators to produce results far beyond awareness.

Results

We set out to prove that creator-led storytelling could do more than generate likes — it could drive real recovery in times of crisis, and tune people back in to communities in need long after the network news vans have left town.

Across three major disasters, our model delivered:

• Los Angeles wildfires: Millions of views, $2M+ raised for survivors.
• Asheville floods: Reactivated dormant fundraisers and unlocked a second wave of donations months after the headlines faded.
• Texas floods: Combined survivor stories with nonprofit response narratives, boosting both awareness and giving in real time, helping raise $300,000 for those spotlighted

Working with Make Big Talk, The Dogist, and Hunter Prosper, we reached new audiences who might not have engaged with traditional nonprofit appeals. By pairing creators with fundraisers, we generated content that was personal, shareable, and action-oriented — prompting audiences to click “donate” instead of simply “like.”

Our approach also strengthened relationships with nonprofit partners like Direct Relief, proving GoFundMe’s value as a bridge between grassroots fundraising and philanthropy.

We consider this a success not just because of the money raised, but because it showed us a replicable, scalable way to keep survivors’ needs in the public eye long after the news cycle ends through storytelling with a measurable outcome beyond engagement.

Media