In 2025, teams, athletes and fans once again proved the power of sports to turn memorable athletic moments into meaningful impact. From record-breaking charity drives to grassroots campaigns, this year showcased how the spirit of competition can spark remarkable acts of kindness. As we look back, these standout fundraising moments remind us that the biggest victories often happen far beyond the scoreboard and unite people around causes that matter most.
More than 95,000 donors demonstrated a commitment to shaping the dreams of young athletes this year by supporting their competitive aspirations. Notably, “competition travel” emerged as the most frequent sports cause for which fundraisers were initiated. This trend is highlighted by the more than 300 youth baseball and softball teams that specifically started a GoFundMe to offset travel costs for their 2025 summer tournament season participation.
GoFundMe’s 2025 Year in Help report can be found in full here
Celebrations and Dropped Passes Fuel Charitable Giving
This January the Bills played two consecutive playoffs games that ended with a tight end failing to catch a pass. In both instances football fans stepped up to do something special. It started when Mark Andrews dropped a would-be game-tying catch to seal a Bills victory over the Ravens. Bills Mafia raised more than $140,000 for Mark’s nonprofit of choice “Breakthrough T1D.” The following week, the Bills Super Bowl hopes ended when their own tight end, Dalton Kincaid, couldn’t haul in a desperation toss from Josh Allen. Ravens’ fans returned the favor, raising nearly $24,000 for a charity of Kincaid’s choice.
Then in November, Carolina Panthers Running Back Rico Dowdle was assessed a nearly $15,000 fine for an “excessive celebration.” Dowdle was imitating the iconic Key and Peele skit in which a player gets flagged on the third pelvic “pump” of a celebration. Dowdle only did two pumps, but the league decided that was enough. Rico started a GoFundMe using the fine as an opportunity to rally fans. He ultimately raised more than $45,000 for Children’s Home Society of North Carolina. That included a $15,000 from Keegan-Michael Key, the comedian whose skit inspired the celebration. Rico made a visit to the charity to meet the many foster kids his fundraising effort is supporting.
Ballers Build Legacies Off The Court
Luka Doncic being traded to the LA Lakers created a lot of headlines, but what he did just a few weeks later became an even bigger news story. A mural in downtown Los Angeles honoring Kobe and Gigi Bryant was vandalized. The artist who created the piece started a GoFundMe asking for help restoring it. Within minutes of hearing about the effort, Luka donated the entire $5,000 goal. The mural and Kobe’s legacy were preserved, meanwhile Luka cemented himself as a Lakers fan-favorite.
Meanwhile in the WNBA, Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham was fined by the league for statements she made during the playoffs. She used the attention to help some families in need by starting a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House. She ultimately raised more than $10,000 for the charity that provides housing to parents whose children are in the hospital for extended stays.
Support Swells for Surfing Community
The global surfing community showed out to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for surfers and their loved ones when they needed it most. Whether for the family of surf legends such as Kolby Aipa or Dakota Briley, or supporting friendly locals like Chance Swanson and Toru Yamaguchi, surfers stood strong for one another in their time of need.
In Times of Crisis, Sports Are A Sanctuary
Following the LA Wildfires in January, several fundraisers were started on GoFundMe to help young athletes replace equipment left behind as their families fled their homes. This includes $30,000 raised for Palisades Lacrosse families, another $47,000 raised for Mad Dog Lacrosse families, and nearly $10,000 raised for local youth baseball players.
Additionally, in a showing of solidarity between communities previously devastated by wildfires, the Paradise High School Varsity Bobcats will travel to Hawaii to play Lahainaluna High School in a meaningful football game to kick off an annual competition between two schools who uplifted each other when they needed it most. The first game takes place on September 5, 2026, but they are collecting donations now to fund the trip and strengthen the shared recovery efforts between the two communities.
Gymnasts Stick the Landing to Keep Flipping
Olympic medalist Frederick Richard raised more than $60,000 to expand access to gymnastics for underprivileged youth in Africa, all while breaking a Guinness World Record for the most standing backflips in a row. Afterwards, he visited Uganda to celebrate the success of the fundraiser ahead of building the country’s first fully equipped training facility in Kampala in an effort to develop gymnastics as a national sport.
James Jones Gymnastics Academy, home of the only all-Black boys’ competitive gymnastics team in the U.S., needed support to find a new gym after zoning denials and skyrocketing lease costs forced them to temporarily close their doors. Over $80,000 has been raised so far as Jones searches for a permanent home for the gym while continuing to make gymnastics accessible for young Black boys in his community.
GoFundMe’s 2025 Year in Help report can be found in full here. Also, as we look ahead to 2026, more than 70 athletes representing 18 countries are using GoFundMe to chase their dreams of competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. All of them can be found on our centralized hub here.
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