Since 2010, GoFundMe has been an invaluable source for individuals or grassroots movements looking to raise money for their causes.
GoFundMe sent us a list of their most successful campaigns of all time. From the Time’s Up Legal Fund to fundraisers for the victims of mass shootings across the US, these GoFundMe pages have raised the most money in the site’s history. Some of the funds are still active, so you can donate today.
Here are the 20 highest-earning GoFundMe campaigns of all time.
20. Veterans for Standing Rock (#NoDAPL): $1,155,660
In the wake of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests of 2016, also known as “Standing Rock,” US veterans assembled to protest the proposed plan that would drill through ancient Native American burial grounds, as well as threaten the region’s clean water supply.
Veterans came together at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in South Dakota between December 4 and 7, and were described by their GoFundMe campaign as "peaceful, unarmed militia." They raised over a million dollars for the cause, money that was donated to "providing transportation and supplies for the brave patriots" that came and stood in solidarity.
19. Gaytan's Quadruple Pregnancy: $1,167,460
Kayla Gaytan was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2016. After receiving chemotherapy, she was told she couldn't have any more children (she already had two), but became pregnant with quadruplets only one month into her disease's remission.
During that pregnancy, her cancer came back. The quadruplets had to be delivered at 30 weeks so Gaytan could receive treatments, and that's when her family created a GoFundMe campaign that went on to raise over $1.1 million for medical expenses and the new babies' overall care.
Gaytan told People about the campaign, "It renews my faith in humanity. To know that people that don't even know us just wanted to help our family is amazing."
As of 2017, Gaytan's cancer is remission.
18. Tree of Life Synagogue Victims: $1,181,758
On October 27, 2018, 11 people were shot and killed, and another six injured at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Shay Khatiri, a 29-year-old who felt passionately about the shooting, decided to set up a GoFundMe the next day.
The campaign surpassed its goal just nine hours after Khatiri created the page, and it has since raised over $1 million in order to "help the congregation with the physical damages to the building, as well as the survivors and the victims' families."
You can still donate to help victims of the shooting here.
17. Save Benny and Josh: $1,249,490
Parents Jennie and Gary Landsman set up a GoFundMe for their two sons, Benny and Josh, who have a rare disease called Canavan Disease. It's described on their page as a fatal brain disorder that causes mental and physical deterioration over time, such as seizures, blindness, and losing the ability to speak and move.
The cause has gained quite a following, and the Landsmans have raised over $1.2 million for their children since first setting up the campaign a year ago. The money raised goes towards research on a currently still experimental treatment, and you can still donate today.
16. Charlie Gard (#charliesfight): £1,352,400 ($1,758,339)
When Charlie Gard was 8 months old, he was diagnosed with a rare disease called mitochondrial depletion syndrome. There is a treatment for it - called nucleoside bypass therapy - but it's not available in the UK, where Gard is from. So, Gard's parents set up a GoFundMe to get Charlie to America for his treatments.
The campaign was super successful, and since January 30, 2017, it has raised £1,352,400 - or, in US dollars, roughly $1,758,339. It went viral after Gard's parents, Connie Yates and Chris Gard, became involved in a legal battle in their home country regarding Charlie's life support.
15. MATW Africa Project with Ali Banat: AUD $1,651,900 ($1,204,532)
The Muslims Around The World (MATW) project was set up in 2015 to help those who are poverty-stricken in the Togo areas of Africa. The founder of MATW - Australian Muslim Ali Banat - was diagnosed with cancer around that same time, and decided he wanted to spend the remainder of his life assisting Muslims in Africa.
His campaign raised over 1.5 million Australian dollars, and, according to its GoFundMe, delivers wages, food, and other sustainable support to people in need - with 0% administrative fees. This roughly converts to $1,204,532 in US dollars.
14. Jo Cox's Fund: £1,966,140 ($2,554,755)
In 2016, Jo Cox, a popular British Labour Party Member of Parliament in London, was brutally murdered. Her friends Nick Grono, Tim Dixon, Mabel van Oranje, Gemma Mortensen, and husband Brendan Cox set up a GoFundMe in her honor. They decided to donate the money they raised to three causes near to Cox's heart: The Royal Voluntary Service, Hope Not Hate, and The White Helmets.
Their campaign was very successful: it raised £1,966,140, which is roughly $2,554,755.
13. Saving Eliza: $2,078,890
In 2013, Glenn O'Neill created a GoFundMe for his daughter, Eliza, who was diagnosed with Sanfilippo Syndrome. According to their page, the disease is also known as "childhood Alzheimer's," and has taken a debilitating toll on Eliza.
The money this campaign made - a little over $2 million - went towards the family's non-profit organization, Cure Sanfilippo Foundation, which advocates for research and cures for the disease. Eliza has already received treatment thanks to the success of the GoFundMe, and more children are to follow.
12. Houses For Rohingya Refugees: $2,105,210
The Rohingya are an ethnic minority in Myanmar, which is predominantly Buddhist. The government of Myanmar denies the Rohingya citizenship, which has caused over 700,000 of them to flee persecution and head to Bangladesh since August 2017.
The Houses For Rohingya Refugees GoFundMe, created in March of 2018, aims to raise money in order to build durable shelters for the refugees, which can hold up to six people per house. So far, it has raised over $2.1 million for the cause, and is still accepting donations.
11. Love Army For Rohingya: $2,249,120
Like the Houses For Rohingya Refugees cause, the Love Army for Rohingya focuses on supporting this persecuted minority group by providing food, clean drinking water, and other basic living supplies.
Set up in November 2017, the GoFundMe for the Love Army has already raised $2,249,120, which is just shy of the campaign's $2.5 million goal. You can still donate here.
10. Love Army For Somalia: $2,702,760
In 2017, Vine star and social media influencer Jerome Jarre had the idea of filling a plane to Somalia entirely with food to feed the many malnourished children in the country. Ben Stiller's Stiller Foundation sponsored Jarre's GoFundMe, and the page quickly blew up with donations.
They raised $1 million in 21 hours, and were able to fill a Turkish Airlines plane with 60 tons of food. That only cost $166,371, though, so Jarre and his team decided to spend the rest of the money on food and water in Somalia to support the local economy.
9. The Official Sacred Stone Camp: $3,133,910
The Sacred Stone Camp GoFundMe was started by Howaste Wakiya on behalf of the camp's founder, LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, and meant to give protesters of the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock basic needs, like winter supplies and sleeping bags.
It was immensely successful, and raised over $3 million dollars.
8. March for Our Lives: $3,586,650
Cameron Kasky, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, started the #NeverAgain movement and organized the March For Our Lives event in D.C. as a response to the February 2018 shooting at his school. The Parkland shooting is the deadliest at a high school in US history.
According to the GoFundMe, the whopping $3,586,650 that was raised was "spent on the incredibly difficult and expensive process that is organizing a march like this." Leftover funds were distributed to the victims' families. The March For Our Lives event took place in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2018, and saw many satellite marches across the country and world.
7. The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund: $5,288,460 (2016-2017)
The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund was created in 1911 by NYT owner and publisher Adolph S. Ochs, to provide "direct assistance to those who are facing tough times in New York and beyond." They have many beneficiary charities, like Children's Aid and The Community Service Society of New York, and raise money annually.
In their 2016-2017 season, the NYT Neediest Cases GoFundMe raised $5,288,460.
6. The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund: $6,177,970 (2015-2016)
The New York Times Neediest Cases GoFundMe raised almost a million more the previous year, in its 2015-2016 season. You can donate to the current fund here.
5. Support Victims of Pulse Shooting: $7,854,290
The shooting at Pulse Nightclub in 2016 is the deadliest mass shooting in US history. It left 50 dead and 53 critically injured in Orlando, Florida, and the entire country rallied to help.
The Support Victims of Pulse Shooting GoFundMe page was set up by Equity Florida, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, and raised close to $8 million in 29 months. The funds went directly to aid victims of the shooting.
4. Stoneman Douglas Victims' Fund: $10,102,900
Broward Education Foundation - the school district of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School - set up a GoFundMe shortly after the February 2018 shooting. They emphasized their transparent distribution process, assuring those who donated that the funds would go directly to provide "relief and financial support" to the victims.
The GoFundMe surpassed its $10 million goal, and the fundraiser is now closed. But you can follow the fund's progress and updates here.
3. Las Vegas Victims' Fund: $11,874,100
The 2017 Las Vegas shooting resulted in the killing of 58 concert-goers, and the wounding of nearly 500 others. Later that October, Steve Sisolak, Clark County Commission Chair, decided to set up a GoFundMe to "provide relief and financial support to the victims and families" affected by the tragedy.
The campaign was tremendously successful, raising well over $11 million for the cause.
2. Funds for Humboldt Broncos: CAD $15,172,200 ($11,511,299)
In early April 2018, a junior hockey team from Saskatchewan, Canada, was involved in a deadly bus crash while riding to a game. Their bus collided with an incoming semi-truck, and 15 boys, ages 16 to 21, died. Another 14 were injured.
Mere hours after the crash, a Humboldt resident created a GoFundMe to assist the families of victims. The campaign became the second most successful in GoFundMe history, raising $15,172,200 Canadian dollars (roughly $11,511,299 in the US).
The Humboldt Broncos president, Kevin Garinger, wrote in a statement: "The Broncos have been humbled, and our spirits buoyed, by the staggering number of individuals and groups wanting to make donations, or holding fundraisers to support our organization, as we deal with this unprecedented crisis."
1. Time's Up Legal Defense Fund: $22,067,100
The Time's Up movement got its legs in 2017, among numerous accusations of sexual misconduct against high-profile men. These were largely ignited by Ronan Farrow's exposé on Harvey Weinstein, published in The New Yorker.
The Time's Up Legal Defense Fund was set up to assist women with similar stories who wanted to come forward. Donations go directly towards "connecting those who experience sexual harassment, abuse or related retaliation in the workplace" with legal or public relations assistance.
The campaign is administrated by the National Women's Law Center, a women's legal rights organization, and tax-deductible donations can be made thanks to a partnership with The Direct Impact Fund.
So far, the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund's GoFundMe has raised the most money in the site's history: $22,067,100.
You can be a part of this legacy by donating here.
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