How COVID-19 Has Changed Crowdfunding: Evidence From GoFundMe
While the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have yet to be determined, its immediate impact on crowdfunding is nonetheless significant. This study adopts a computational approach to better understanding this consequence. We aim to gain insight into whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic has...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Computer Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomp.2022.893338/full |
| _version_ | 1818203377824169984 |
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| author | Junda Wang Jiebo Luo Xupin Zhang |
| author_facet | Junda Wang Jiebo Luo Xupin Zhang |
| author_sort | Junda Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have yet to be determined, its immediate impact on crowdfunding is nonetheless significant. This study adopts a computational approach to better understanding this consequence. We aim to gain insight into whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed crowdfunding. Using a unique dataset of all GoFundMe campaigns published over the past 2 years, we explore the factors that have led to successfully funded crowdfunding projects. In particular, we study a corpus of 36,370 projects from November 2018 to December 2020 by analyzing cover images and other attributes commonly found on crowdfunding sites. We first construct a classifier and a regression model to assess the importance of features based on XGBoost. Next, we employ counterfactual analysis to investigate the causality between features and the success of crowdfunding. Furthermore, sentiment analysis and paired sample t-tests are performed to examine differences in crowdfunding campaigns before and after the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. Findings suggest a significant racial disparity in crowdfunding success. In addition, sad emotions expressed in a campaign's description became significant after the COVID-19 outbreak. This study enriches our understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on crowdfunding as well as the prevalence of discrimination in crowdfunding. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T03:24:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0857d1daa0e54bfab1e9207f80724ab1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-9898 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T03:24:23Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Computer Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-0857d1daa0e54bfab1e9207f80724ab12022-12-22T00:40:05ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Computer Science2624-98982022-05-01410.3389/fcomp.2022.893338893338How COVID-19 Has Changed Crowdfunding: Evidence From GoFundMeJunda Wang0Jiebo Luo1Xupin Zhang2Department of Computer Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United StatesDepartment of Computer Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United StatesFaculty of Economics and Management, East China Normal University, Shanghai, ChinaWhile the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have yet to be determined, its immediate impact on crowdfunding is nonetheless significant. This study adopts a computational approach to better understanding this consequence. We aim to gain insight into whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed crowdfunding. Using a unique dataset of all GoFundMe campaigns published over the past 2 years, we explore the factors that have led to successfully funded crowdfunding projects. In particular, we study a corpus of 36,370 projects from November 2018 to December 2020 by analyzing cover images and other attributes commonly found on crowdfunding sites. We first construct a classifier and a regression model to assess the importance of features based on XGBoost. Next, we employ counterfactual analysis to investigate the causality between features and the success of crowdfunding. Furthermore, sentiment analysis and paired sample t-tests are performed to examine differences in crowdfunding campaigns before and after the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. Findings suggest a significant racial disparity in crowdfunding success. In addition, sad emotions expressed in a campaign's description became significant after the COVID-19 outbreak. This study enriches our understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on crowdfunding as well as the prevalence of discrimination in crowdfunding.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomp.2022.893338/fullcrowdfundingGoFundMecounterfactualtopic modelXGBoost |
| spellingShingle | Junda Wang Jiebo Luo Xupin Zhang How COVID-19 Has Changed Crowdfunding: Evidence From GoFundMe Frontiers in Computer Science crowdfunding GoFundMe counterfactual topic model XGBoost |
| title | How COVID-19 Has Changed Crowdfunding: Evidence From GoFundMe |
| title_full | How COVID-19 Has Changed Crowdfunding: Evidence From GoFundMe |
| title_fullStr | How COVID-19 Has Changed Crowdfunding: Evidence From GoFundMe |
| title_full_unstemmed | How COVID-19 Has Changed Crowdfunding: Evidence From GoFundMe |
| title_short | How COVID-19 Has Changed Crowdfunding: Evidence From GoFundMe |
| title_sort | how covid 19 has changed crowdfunding evidence from gofundme |
| topic | crowdfunding GoFundMe counterfactual topic model XGBoost |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomp.2022.893338/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jundawang howcovid19haschangedcrowdfundingevidencefromgofundme AT jieboluo howcovid19haschangedcrowdfundingevidencefromgofundme AT xupinzhang howcovid19haschangedcrowdfundingevidencefromgofundme |