Santa Barbara & Ventura Make GoFundMe’s “Most Generous Places” List
Alissa Orozco
CENTRAL COAST, Calif. (KEYT) – In its Year in Help report, GoFundMe gave the Central Coast – and its generosity – a special shoutout.
The organization, GoFundMe, released its annual Year in Help report, wrapping up the year 2025 in global donations, support, and generosity.
The United States was ranked #2 amongst the most generous countries, right behind the country of Ireland. California came out on top as the most generous state in the U.S., and five California cities made the top 10 most generous places in the U.S.:
#1: Los Angeles, CA
#6: Ulster, NY
#2: Marin, CA
#7: Chittenden, VT
#3: Hampshire, MA
#8: Santa Cruz, CA
#4: Buncombe, NC
#9: Ventura, CA
#5: Kings, NY
#10: Santa Barbara, CA
Santa Barbara, Calif. was ranked #10 on the list, following the city of Ventura, Calif. coming in at #9.
According to the report, over 79 million donations were made in 2025, with one coming in every 2.5 seconds.
January 10th was the most generous day recorded. Following multiple wildfires breaking out in Los Angeles County at the beginning of the year, donors from across all 50 states and over 160 countries made donations on GoFundMe towards rebuilding efforts and aid.
About one million donors raised $265 million dollars, over 7,500 grants were delivered to serve those impacted by the fires, along with over 170 organizations.
A statement by GoFundMe reads:
“This year, our community showed that kindness knows no borders. From town to town and across oceans, people came together to give and get help, creating a global network of support. This is the story of how generosity traveled across the world in 2025, connecting us all.”
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