Redding one of most generous cities in nation. Here's why
David Benda
Moved to help people who lost everything from the wildfires that ravaged the North State this summer and fall, Redding residents were among the most generous people in the nation in 2018.
That’s according to GoFundMe’s Year in Giving report released this month.
Rankings were based on giving per capita from donors in zip codes across the country.
Steamboat Springs, Colorado, was the most generous city this year.
GoFundMe does not release specific numbers for each city on its list.
Although Redding was the only city in California to make the top 10, the Golden State was sixth on GoFundMe’s list of most generous states.
“While we won’t speculate on why people in the area chose to give this year, we do know that as the wildfires raged in Redding and beyond, residents in the city rallied around those affected,” Lisa Hurwitz, communications manager with CrowdRise by GoFundMe, said in an email.
Redding residents were part of a global community of more than 190,000 donors from all 50 states and 120 countries that raised nearly $30 million for the Carr Fire in Shasta and Trinity counties, Camp Fire in Butte County and other California wildfires, Hurwitz said.
“This was a year of taking action, and people in Redding demonstrated this by reacting to the news and giving to causes that resonated with them, whether through helping a neighbor after the devastating fires, or being moved by simple acts of kindness in their daily routines,” Hurwitz said.
And Redding’s generosity also received national attention.
Cal Fire fighter Eric Johnson of Redding lost his home in the Carr Fire while he was away fighting the Ferguson Fire in Yosemite. Ferguson and his girlfriend, Hope Jordan, bought the house in 2015.
Friends and family pitched in to a GoFundMe campaign that had raised $12,203 by the time they appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show in September. At the end of the interview, DeGeneres announced that online print company Shutterfly would raise the total to $50,000.
At one point, GoFundMe had approved nearly 600 Carr Fire-related accounts.
In addition to those campaigns, the Shasta Regional Community Foundation’s Carr Fire relief fund has so far raised $4.3 million and to date has distributed $190,000.
RELATED:The long and short: How groups plan to help Carr Fire victims
But the GoFundMe report points out that fires weren’t the only reason North State residents felt compelled to give.
Among the “inspiring fundraisers” the report highlighted was Stillwater Cat Haven, a cat sanctuary in Anderson whose owners, a retired couple, established to help pay the bills.
Don Neptune, a retired architect who operates the nonprofit sanctuary with his wife, Joan, said spend between $6,000 and $8,000 a month on food and cat litter.
The GoFundMe campaign has raised $2,195 toward its $4,500 goal.
“Oh definitely,” Neptune said when asked if she thinks it’s helped. “We are terrible at fundraising, so we have used two inheritances and half of our retirement savings over the years. So, we can’t spend any more or we will be homeless pretty soon. No, this has worked very well.”
Don Neptune said that most of the cats Stillwater takes come from “community situations.” They’ve been abandoned, some have been injured and need care.
Last year, Stillwater received a grant that allowed the sanctuary to spay and neuter 265 cats at $10 dollars each.
The nonprofit’s goal is to stabilize the homeless cat colonies so they don’t grow.
Don Neptune gives credit to the Shasta Regional Community Foundation and its efforts to rally the community to North State Giving Tuesday, which this year raised $870,075 for 179 organizations.
This year, the foundation conducted random drawings in which it picked an organization and gave $1,000. Neptune said Stillwater Cat Haven was one of the nonprofits that were selected.
Stillwater Cat Haven raised about $3,700 this year during North State Giving Tuesday. The Neptunes had hoped to raise more but believe the fires had an effect.
GoFundMe was launched in 2010 and is the world’s largest free social fundraising platform with over $5 billion raised so far.
GoFundMe's 10 most generous U.S. cities
- Steamboat Springs, Colorado
- Washington, D.C.
- Redding, California
- Tallahassee, Florida
- Midland, Texas
- Tucson, Arizona
- Bend, Oregon
- Gainesville, Florida
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Lincoln, Nebraska
More: Carr Fire accounts multiply at GoFundMe as money pours in to help
More: Anderson woman determined to neuter and stabilize homeless cat colonies