Time’s Up, the legal defense fund launched to support victims of workplace sexual misconduct, is the largest fundraiser in platform GoFundMe’s history.
The fundraiser, which was launched in December 2017 amid the “Me Too” movement, has raised more than $22 million so far.
GoFundMe announced Thursday that Time’s Up is officially the biggest fundraiser in the website’s eight-year history, and raised almost as much as the top 10 campaigns of 2017 combined, according to BuzzFeed News.
{mosads}Other top fundraisers in 2018 included pages to help the survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, one to build homes for Rohingya refugees, another for the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting victims and one to aid the sole surviving member of a family killed in the Missouri duck boat accident.
The Time’s Up campaign beat out the previous highest-raising one, which was launched in 2017 to support victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting, raising just under $12 million.
GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon said in a statement to The Hill that through the Time’s Up fundraiser, the company “saw Hollywood link arms with communities across the world to share stories and support one another” on a global level.
“Throughout the year, we saw people respond to the news and come together to stand up for women’s rights and fight sexual harassment and violence against women,” Solomon said. “From friends supporting each other in local communities to women on the national stage, such as [Dr. Christine Blasey Ford], we saw people engage, find community, and turn compassion into action.”
Nearly $30 million has been raised for those affected by the California wildfires, though that amount was spread out over a number of fundraisers.
GoFundMe has become a go-to for people hoping to make a difference in the wake of natural disasters, shootings and other tragedies. Individuals have also turned in droves to the fundraising platform to pay medical bills and legal bills.
A GoFundMe page went viral this year in support of Blasey Ford, who accused then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, raising nearly $650,000.
A separate fundraiser was also started in support of Kavanaugh, raising $488,500.
There are hundreds of fundraisers for victims of rape and sexual assault on the website, though BuzzFeed News noted that a significant number of sexual assault-related fundraisers fly under the radar, never meeting their goals or making national news.
Time’s Up was officially founded in January following sexual assault allegations against a number of prominent men in the entertainment industry.
“The TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund connects those who experience sexual harassment, abuse or related retaliation in the workplace or trying to advance their careers with legal and public relations assistance,” the fundraising page reads. “The money raised will help defray legal and public relations costs in select cases based on criteria and [availability] of funds.”
—Updated at 1:37 p.m.