When Paul Garner received severe burns while trying unsuccessfully to prevent a man from setting himself afire outside a Midtown Memphis bar in May, a couple hundred donors contributed more than $8,600 for medical expenses.
In Nashville, more than 13,000 people blew up a $40,000 goal by contributing a whopping $425,000 for Christian music artist Nathan Johnson and his newborn daughter, Eilee Kate, when Johnson's wife, Megan Johnson, died hours after giving birth in June.
And a March campaign by Adam McElhaney of Chattanooga, seeking to raise funds to buy the internet search history of congressmen, garnered more than $200,000 - well beyond the $10,000 goal.
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The top GoFundMe campaigns in Tennessee behind Johnson
* Country artist Chris Young of Nashville started a Hurricane Harvey fundraising campaign in August. To date, 3,726 people have contributed $386,420 of a $500,000 goal. * Adam McElhaney, of Chattanooga, launched his drive in March to raise $10,000 to buy the internet search histories of members of Congress who voted for a bill allowing such information to be sold to marketing firms, law enforcement and other entities. "Let's turn the tables," McElhaney said on GoFundMe. "Let's buy THEIR history and make it available." People responded - $208,742 was raised in the campaign, which is now closed. * David Wesley Bangean of Gallatin started a campaign in August on behalf of his cousin, who was paralyzed from the neck down while playing volleyball. To date, $104,405 of a $150,000 goal to cover medical expenses has been raised. * The top campaign nationally? By far, it has been the Las Vegas Victims' Fund. Started by Clark County, Nev., County Commissioner Chairman Steve Sisolak, the fund to date has raised $11.7 million for the survivors and victims of the Oct. 1 mass shooting of concertgoers. The fund is still accepting donations.