GoFundMe names Wagga most generous city per capita in Australia

Based on donations per capita, the GoFundMe 2022 annual Year In Help Report named the Riverina city as Australia's most generous.

Director for GoFundMe Australia, Nicola Britton said the generosity of millions in the last year illustrated the "Aussie spirit of mateship".

"Wagga Wagga took out the top spot in 2019 and it's great to see this generous community continuing to be recognised as one of Australia's most generous cities," she said.

Top local fundraising on the platform which helped Wagga's 2022 efforts included campaigns for stroke sufferer Alex McDonald and for the death of 19-year-old Kai Harrold Flagg Stevens.

The ongoing campaign to fund a wheelchair accessible vehicle for key community member and long time sports trainer Alex McDonald has reached over $36,000 on its GoFundMe page.

However, friend and East Wagga Kooringal Football Club vice president Darren Cuthbert said recent fundraising events had raised an additional $60,000 for the family.

Mr Cuthbert said it was no surprise Wagga was recognised for its generosity.

"Wagga is a country town at heart and people know each other and support each other, which is great," he said.

In his first efforts with major fundraising, Mr Cuthbert said the local community had been "absolutely brilliant" in their support of Alex McDonald and his family.

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"You only have to make a phone call and we didn't get many no's," he said.

"It just goes to show you that Wagga communities come together and look after their own."

One recent fundraising effort for the campaign was a car and bike show held at Gumly Oval in November, which saw over 150 vehicles on show.

So successful and rewarding was the community event, Mr Cuthbert said, that he and other organisers are considering making it annual and finding a yearly beneficiary of the funds it raises.

This is the fourth consecutive year Wagga has made the GoFundMe 2022 annual Year In Help Report top 10 list and the second time it has topped it after doing so in 2019.

Rounding out the podium were Queensland's Mackay and Bundaberg.

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