Christchurch terror: Givealittle page and global donors make history

Thousands of people gathered in Hagley Park, Christchurch, a week after the terror attacks. Photo / Alan Gibson

Donations to the main fundraising page for victims of the Christchurch mosque attacks have been traced to 139 different countries - an unprecendented number in Givealittle's history.

More than $9.2 million has been raised by nearly 95,000 donors on the Givealittle page set up by non-profit group Victim Support. A LaunchGood page set up in the United States raised a further nearly $2.7m from more than 40,000 people from at least 125 countries. The pages are two of dozens established to raise money for victims of the terror attack and their families.

A gunman killed 50 people in two Christchurch mosques, and injured dozens more, a little more than a fortnight ago.

Since then, donations have poured in from individuals and groups - from schools, religious organisations and companies around the world.

Data provided to the Herald on Sunday by Givealittle on donors' internet provider addresses showed donations were received from 139 different countries.

Eighty-one per cent of donations were traced back to New Zealand.

Australia was the next biggest donor - contributing 6 per cent of the funds received. The United States followed closely behind, with a little less than 6 per cent.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern waves as she leaves Friday prayers at Hagley Park on March 22. Photo / Vincent Thian

Other countries making up the top 10 contributors included the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore, France, Japan, Germany and India.

Givealittle spokeswoman Robyn Lentell said the volume of donors and donations on the page was unprecedented in Givealittle's 10-year history. This included the range of international donors.

Lentell believed many factors contributed to this, including significant media coverage.

"Many people, after hearing about this tragic event, felt such a strong sense of loss for the victims and their families and a desire to help followed."

Many saw a financial contribution as a way to send a message of support and love, Lentell said.

"While the total donated on this page is a figure that is truly incredible, the donation comments and heartfelt messages of support on the page are even more so."

"We encourage everyone to have a look at the donation comments to see the huge amount of love and support that has been expressed there."

Several updates on the page description also highlighted businesses' contributions.

Spark Foundation, which runs Givealittle, announced it would sponsor the service fee of the page.

Westpac and Payment Express were covering transaction costs while Givealittle's technology partner Amazon Web Services had covered the cost of the infrastructure upgrade needed to support "unprecedented" levels of traffic and donations.

Givealittle's team are on alert for scam pages or anyone trying to profit illegally from the massacre.