GoFundMe is remaking disaster relief. It largely helps the rich.

As climate-induced disasters destroy more and more American homes, the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe has exploded in popularity. Its appeal is simple: people can give money directly to survivors, which is faster than insurance and often more generous than government assistance.

But new research suggests that cash sent through GoFundMe disproportionately benefits the wealthy and not those who need help most.

Researchers examined donations to hundreds of people who lost their homes in the 2021 Marshall Fire in Colorado, which destroyed more than 1,000 homes near Boulder. They found that those with household incomes above $150,000 received an average of 28 percent more money than those with incomes below $75,000.

The authors concluded that the explanation largely revolves around social networks: wealthier disaster survivors tend to be connected to more people, and those people often have more money to give.

“Crowdfunding gives higher-income survivors a bigger advantage,” said Emily Gallagher, an assistant professor of finance and real estate at the University of Colorado Boulder and one of the study's authors. “We cannot count on this form of private charity to fill the funding gaps.”

Dr. Gallagher and her colleagues said they plan to submit the paper to a peer-reviewed journal in March.

The data comes as traditional sources of financing for disaster recovery are buckling under the pressure of climate shocks. Weather-related disasters forced more than 3.3 million American adults from their homes in 2022, census data shows. Of these, at least 1.2 million people lost their homes for a month or more; more than half a million of them never returned, creating a growing diaspora of domestic climate refugees.

Federal disaster aid already disproportionately helps the wealthy, data shows. The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently admitted that its disaster programs often fail survivors, and vowed to overhaul them “to reach more people, provide more benefits and help them recover faster,” said Jaclyn Rothenberg, a spokeswoman for the FEMA.

And insurers, faced with the rising costs of disasters, have limited coverage and raised prices, leaving more Americans underinsured.

Crowdfunding fills a larger part of that gap. Ten years ago, in 2013, U.S. disaster recovery campaigns on GoFundMe raised just over $3 million, according to the company. By last year, that figure had risen to more than $106 million. That's about one-seventh of the amount FEMA has spent on individual disaster assistance grants: $765 million.

The growing role of crowdfunding can be seen in the aftermath of the Marshall Fire. Homeowners who received FEMA assistance for property damage received an average of $2,564, the researchers estimated. In contrast, the average GoFundMe campaign for Marshall Fire survivors was found to raise $23,744. Among homeowners whose homes were destroyed by the fire, the average was $31,422.

These donations were unevenly distributed.

Josh R. Engel, a 46-year-old engineering manager who lost his home in Louisville, Colorado, was lucky compared to other survivors. His insurance paid about $775,000 to rebuild his destroyed home. (Mr. Engel decided instead to rebuild and expand his home for about $1.4 million). He and his wife, an executive at a home health care company, received about $60,000 through two GoFundMe campaigns set up by friends.

“We've just had stuff coming in from all over the world,” said Mr. Engel, who recently moved into his newly rebuilt home. “We are on the lucky side in this situation.”

David Leedy, a vice president at a financial services company who lost his home in the same fire, raised more than $30,000 through GoFundMe. He said the money helped pay for immediate needs: buying clothes and meals right after the fire, and then buying items for the rental home he and his wife moved into when their home was rebuilt.

“When you have nothing, you need everything,” Mr. Leedy said.

Others who lost their homes were less successful.

A man who identified himself on GoFundMe as Don Wieser wrote that he escaped the fire with only his clothes and wallet. “I am currently incapacitated,” he further wrote his campaign page. “I would greatly appreciate any help I can get from the community to help me rebuild my life.”

Mr. Wieser set his campaign goal at $15,000. According to his GoFundMe page, he has raised $8,183.

Another survivor of the disaster, Adam Kucera, said on his GoFundMe page that the fire destroyed the converted school bus he had been living in. He wrote that he could not meet the requirements for receiving assistance from FEMA or the American Red Cross.

“I am facing homelessness for the first time in my life,” Mr. Kucera wrote. “Please help me get my life back.” He raised $4,575.

Neither Mr. Wieser nor Mr. Kucera responded to messages seeking comment.

In an interview, GoFundMe Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Margaret Richardson said this was the first time she had seen data examining the link between wealth and donations through the site. She said it wasn't surprising that wealthy survivors have access to others with money.

“We are really a reflection of what is happening in society,” Ms Richardson said.