Rockville was named among the 25 most generous cities in the United States this year, according to a year-end report from crowdfunding company GoFundMe.
Donations to causes ranging from helping the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department recoup a financial loss to raising funds to upgrade Hank Dietle’s Tavern on Rockville Pike helped the city earn the ranking of the 23rd most generous, the company said Tuesday in a press release. More than 15,000 Rockville residents gave to a GoFundMe fundraiser in 2024, with donations totaling more than $2.3 million.
Rockville’s ranking places the city below Millcreek, Utah, and above Tampa, Florida, in the list of the 25 most generous cities, according to GoFundMe. Some of the most common fundraiser categories supported by Rockville residents were medical, emergency, family, community and education.
The city with the No. 1 ranking was Marietta, Georgia, based on the number of donors per capita.
Rockville’s ranking on the list comes after the city of nearly 67,000 people has earned top billing in other national studies of U.S. cities. For example, WalletHub reported in October that Rockville ranked in the top 5% of best small cities in the United States, naming it the best small city in Maryland.
The city also was ranked No. 9 on Niche’s list of the best places to live in Maryland in 2024. In addition, Rockville also came in at No. 15 on WalletHub’s list of the most diverse in the country this year.
Here are the fundraisers supported by Rockville residents this year according to GoFundMe:
Residents helped raise more than $64,000 to honor the life of Bullis School football coach Raymond Butler after he suffered a brain hemorrhage in August. Although Butler died a few weeks later in early September, community members continued to donate to help his family with funeral arrangements and medical bills and to support his children.
Another campaign supported by residents was a fundraiser to help Hank Dietle’s Tavern make upgrades to the live-music venue at 11010 Rockville Pike. According to the fundraiser, community members helped raise nearly $29,000 out of a $50,000 goal. So far, according to fundraiser updates, the donations helped the tavern repave and restripe damaged areas in its parking lot and complete repairs on its HVAC system.
When the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department was scammed out of $220,000 that would have gone toward a down payment for two new ambulances, Rockville residents also came to the rescue. After the loss of the funds in May, the department launched a fundraising campaign on its website and GoFundMe. Since then, the GoFundMe, which raised more than $20,000, has disabled new donations.
Other GoFundMe fundraisers supported by residents included one aimed at sending Mexican whitewater kayaker Sofi Reinoso to compete in the Paris Olympics and another to help people affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton this year.
