Reuters/Nacho Doce
A man holds a candle at a vigil for the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. This year, Americans gave millions of dollars to a GoFundMe campaign for the victims.
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• Americans donated millions of dollars this year using the crowdfunding site GoFundMe.
• GoFundMe's annual report revealed the cities and states that gave the most to those in need: New York City, Chicago, Houston, LA, and Austin, and California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois.
2016 has picked up a reputation as a less-than-stellar year, and it's easy to see why. In the past 12 months, Americans witnessed horrific attacks like the Pulse Nightclub shooting and lived through devastating natural disasters like the floods in West Virginia and Louisiana.
But there is at least one piece of good news to report before 2016 finally grinds to a halt: This year, lots of us found a way to overcome our differences and donate generously to people in need.
That's according to a new report from the crowdfunding site GoFundMe published on December 13.
The report found that the number of people who gave money through the site tripled from 2015 to 2016. Donors raised $11.2 million for those affected by flooding in Louisiana, $9 million for the victims of the Pulse shooting, and $7.8 million for Dakota Access Pipeline protesters. Other top campaigns were smaller in scope but huge in impact: One campaign helped an athlete compete at the Rio Olympics; another allowed a hardworking grandfather in Chicago to finally retire.
The report also reveals which American cities and states gave the most to GoFundMe campaigns during the year - and the winners were spread all across the country, not just clustered on the coasts.
These were the five most generous cities, based on all GoFundMe donations:
New York City
Chicago
Houston
Los Angeles
Austin
And these were the five most generous states:
California
Texas
New York
Florida
Illinois
There's no denying that 2016 has been tough. Still, it's nice to know that - at least by one metric - it's been a year of generosity, too.
See more from the GoFundMe report right here.