JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

In recent years, there has been growing concern about prejudice against racial minorities in crowdfunding, but empirical research remains limited, particularly in the context of medical crowdfunding. This study investigates racial discrimination in cancer crowdfunding by analyzing 104,809 medical GoFundMe campaigns from U.S. individuals with racial identities were determined using DeepFace. Through regression and supplementary analyses, we found that the average donation amount to White individuals is 17.68% higher than for Black individuals. Moreover, campaigns that did not disclose racial information demonstrated a marginally higher average fundraising amount by 3.92% in comparison to those identified as non-White. Last, in counties with a higher proportion of White residents, the extent of racial disparities in crowdfunding was relatively diminished when compared to counties with a lower percentage of White individuals. The findings strongly suggest the continued presence of racial disparities in cancer crowdfunding.