By the numbers: The Humboldt Broncos GoFundMe
More than $15M raised from more than 80 countries
Despite being open for only 12 days, the GoFundMe campaign for the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash raised $15.1 million, making it the crowd-sourcing site's second-biggest ever, topped only by that of the Time's Up Legal Defence Fund.
A GoFundMe spokesperson said donations came in from more than 80 countries around the world, including the U.K., Australia, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Ireland, Sweden, India and Peru.
On Wednesday, a judge ruled that an interim payment of $50,000 will be paid out to each of the survivors and families of the 29 people affected by the crash, which left 16 dead and 13 injured.
A non-profit corporation, the Humboldt Broncos Memorial Fund Inc., will be shepherding the fund through the courts to divvy up that money 29 ways.
Top 10 donations
- $200,000 - Violent Gentlemen
- $100,000 - Dream Asset Management Corp.
- $100,000 - GONGSHOW Hockey Apparel
- $60,000 - Nation Network
- $50,000 - Anonymous
- $50,000 - Canadian Tire Corp.
- $50,000 - SaskTel Employee Donations and SaskTel's Match
- $46,308 - Silver Icing
- $35,282 - Giant Tiger Stores Ltd.
- $28,830 - ADESA Auctions Canada and Our Customers
Biggest donation
As soon as the owners of Violent Gentlemen, a sports clothing company in California, heard about the crash, they knew they had to do something, said co-owner Mike Hammer.
The hockey community has given us everything we have.- Mike Hammer, co-owner of Violent Gentlemen
"The hockey community has given us everything we have and where we are is because of them and because we're a part of this community," Hammer said. "We enjoy giving back. That's all it was."
They put together a Humboldt Broncos design for a T-shirt and hoodie and pledged 100 per cent of the proceeds to the GoFundMe.
"If you didn't know where to donate, we wanted to give you an avenue that was easy, you knew it was going straight to them, as well as, you got an item in return that says, I'm standing with you guys, we support you as the hockey community," Hammer said.
They expected to donate around $10,000.
Instead, they became the campaign's top donor, at $200,000.
They have continued to sell the T-shirt and hoodie and plan on doing quarterly donations as long as the merchandise continues to sell.
Hammer said he expects their next donation to be in the $10,000 to $15,000 range.
While the GoFundMe campaign is now closed, donations are still being accepted through an organization called the Humboldt Strong Community Foundation.
The Time's Up Legal Defence Fund, GoFundMe's most successful campaign, has raised $21.9 million and continues to collect donations.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
