Santa Barbara County Named One of GoFundMe’s Most Generous Communities in 2025

Santa Barbara County was named one of the most generous communities in the country in GoFundMe’s newly released 2025 Year in Help report — a recognition that reflects thousands of small, individual acts of giving that, collectively, added up to something significant.

According to GoFundMe, Santa Barbara County ranked No. 10 nationwide for generosity last year, marking the first time the county has appeared on the platform’s top-10 list. More than 34,000 county residents donated through GoFundMe in 2025 — roughly one in 13 people living in Santa Barbara County contributed to a fundraiser.

The rankings placed Santa Barbara alongside counties across the country, including Los Angeles at No. 1; Marin County; Kings and Ulster counties in New York; Hampshire County, Massachusetts; Buncombe County, North Carolina; Chittenden County, Vermont; and nearby Santa Cruz and Ventura counties. California appeared more frequently than any other state on the list and was named the most generous state overall for the first time.

“It’s really a reflection of how people show up for one another in moments of need,” said Grace Nasri, GoFundMe’s product communications director and a Santa Barbara native. “Whether it’s responding to tragedy, supporting a local family, or helping a small business stay afloat, we saw Santa Barbara donors step in again and again.”

January 10, 2025, emerged as the county’s most generous day of the year, with more than 1,150 residents making donations. The surge coincided with the most generous day globally on GoFundMe, driven in large part by widespread giving in response to the Los Angeles wildfires.

While GoFundMe did not disclose the total dollar amount raised specifically within Santa Barbara County, the scale of participation points to a community that increasingly turns to crowdfunding during moments of crisis.

Several of the county’s most visible fundraisers last year centered on sudden loss.

More than 400 donors raised more than $43,000 to support the family of Joel Gonzales, a 29-year-old local bar manager and father who was struck and killed by a car while riding an electric scooter in May. The fundraiser helped cover funeral expenses and support his mother, Santahana, who organized the memorial.

After 17-year-old San Marcos High School student Tayden Tomblin died from injuries sustained in a Thanksgiving weekend skateboarding accident, hundreds of community members donated to support his family. That fundraiser surpassed its original $50,000 goal, raising more than $86,000 as of this week. His family shared that Tomblin donated his organs to help others.

Nearly $30,000 was raised for the family of Joseph Medina, owner of The Birria Boyz taco truck, who was killed in a crash, leaving behind his partner and seven children.

Other fundraisers reflected resilience. A community campaign helped Del Pueblo Café in Goleta raise more than $25,000, allowing the family-run restaurant to remain open for at least three more years. After a residential structure fire in western Goleta displaced five young adults, including three aspiring chefs from Ecuador, neighbors rallied to help replace what was lost. Students, athletes, veterans, and families facing medical emergencies all found support through similar campaigns.

In one case, 15-year-old Axel Wright paddled more than 22 miles from Santa Cruz Island to Ventura Harbor, raising money for DignityMoves, a Santa Barbara nonprofit working to end homelessness. Others raised funds quietly, without headlines, to cover tuition, medical bills, or groceries.

Nationally, GoFundMe reported that charity was the fastest-growing fundraising category in 2025, followed by volunteer and community-based causes. Essential-expense fundraising rose 20 percent, and more fundraisers were created to support food banks than for any other community cause. Across the platform, users raised roughly $330 million for natural disaster relief last year.

Since its founding in 2010, GoFundMe says it has facilitated more than $40 billion in donations worldwide.

Crowdfunding, Nasri noted, is not a substitute for systemic solutions. But it has become a mirror of how communities lean on each other in times of need and crisis. 

“What we see,” she said, “is people stepping in where they can — not because it’s easy, but because it feels necessary.”