GoFundMe released its 2019 Year in Giving report unveiling the biggest global moments and trends from the year. Results include the 10 most generous towns in Australia, with Wagga Wagga taking the crown as the most generous for its donations to people and causes.
Australia has ranked as the third most generous country on GoFundMe this year. It has been a monumental year for a range of causes, from individuals to charities, who have benefited from over one million donations on GoFundMe in Australia.
The Australian towns leading the philanthropic scoreboard, based on the number of donations per capita, on GoFundMe in 2019 are:
1. Wagga Wagga
2. Mackay
3. Launceston
4. Mandurah
5. Bundaberg
6. Ballarat
7. Cairns
8. Townsville
9. Hobart
10. Bendigo
In Australia, emergencies and community made it into the fastest-growing donor categories list this year compared to the year prior. Donations to pages in both categories have increased by over a third (35% and 33% retrospectively) as Australians rapidly turn to GoFundMe to take action for emergency and launch disaster relief funds.
We only need to look to the past six weeks as unprecedented bushfires have torn across the country as testament to this trend. During the period from 10th to 30th November, as some of the worst bushfires hit NSW and QLD, over $3.4M was raised by over 65,000 donors across over 700 GoFundMe pages. This included Australia’s biggest GoFundMe page to date, with 44,000 donors from over 95 countries raising over $1.9M for the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, to support rehabilitation of injured koalas.
GoFundMe has announced that its global community has now made more than 120 million donations, raising over $9 billion for people, causes and organisations since its founding in 2010.
“Behind every single donation is a random act of kindness. To witness the scale of this generosity tip into the millions this year in Australia has been inspiring. It proves that now, more than ever, Aussies are standing side by side to back one another in their time of need. It’s another level of mateship.” says Nicola Britton, GoFundMe Regional Manager, Australia.
“The rapid growth of GoFundMe pages in the emergency and community categories is a testament to this new era of giving, one driven by empathy. One in which Australians are turning compassion into action. Throughout 2019 we have watched some of the biggest GoFundMe pages in Australia’s history grow both locally and internationally. We have started to see a shift in which GoFundMe has become the ‘take action’ button for Australians at their time of need,” she said.
In a letter to the GoFundMe community, CEO Rob Solomon emphasizes how GoFundMe witnesses not only the good in humanity, but their generosity, and their action every day.
“We can make a tremendous difference when communities of people unite. While it’s easy to get wrapped up in our own lives and consumed by issues that divide us, GoFundMe strives to open our eyes to the millions of incredible people who are helping others and inspiring change by working together,” Solomon says.
The GoFundMe pages that received the most donations in Australia this year are:
1. Help Thirsty Koalas Devastated by Recent Fires: over 44.3k donations raising $1.9M
2. Luke Toki – Australia’s True Survivor: over 16.1k donations raising $550k
3. FreeHer: over 9.1k donations raising $457k
4. ForLove: over 5.8k donations raising $275k
5. Singleton family devastated by fire: over 5k donations raising $275k
6. The Blueboys 2019 Christmas Appeal: over 4.1k donations raising $152k
7. Eleanor’s Fight: over 3.5k donations raising $328k
8. Money for EggBoi: over 3.3k donations raising $80k (funds were distributed to the Christchurch shooting victims upon Will Connolly’s request)
9. Marko’s Smile – Help Marko Beat Neuroblastoma: over 3.2k donations raising $250k
10. Navar Herbert’s Journey Home: over 3.2k donations raising $117k