Givealittle hits $50 million in donations - Abel Tasman beach campaign the top page

New Zealand's most popular crowdfunding site has hit $50 million in donations.

Givealittle which has over 30,000 pages set up by New Zealanders in need, reached its milestone this evening.

The crowdfunding site, established eight years ago, helps raise money for people and communities in need.

It was part of the famous campaign to crowdfund the $2 million purchase of Abel Tasman Beach earlier this year.

Givealittle chief giving officer Tom Beyer said the major milestone proved Kiwis were a "generous bunch".

"...New Zealanders are a generous bunch who are always there to back a great idea or to help each other out when the going gets tough," he said.

While some pages attracted a lot of attention such as the Abel Tasman campaign, there were other smaller causes that made a difference in communities, he said.

"Community fruit harvesting shares excess fruit from people's gardens with those in need who are struggling to purchase their own. Hayley Yu raised more than $5,000 to research how to make healthy fresh food more accessible to all New Zealanders - and on the back of that has launched the award-winning social enterprise Clove.

"And Timaru's own superhero, Scooterman, successfully fundraised for a new set of wheels," he said.

Mr Beyer said donations on the crowdfunding site had grown rapidly over the past three years.

In the year to 30 June 2014 donations on the site were $7.4 million.

This compares to an expected $21.4 million in the year to the end of June this year, with more than $10 million being raised in just the past four months.

He believed the steep growth showed crowdfunding was a popular way for Kiwis to donate to those in need.

"...the crowdfunding model for social giving is becoming more mainstream amongst New Zealanders, who appreciate the transparency it provides as well as the ability for donors to remain anonymous if they choose.

"Digital communication is now ubiquitous and so the ability to donate instantly online is of great appeal to your average Kiwi," he said.

Page owners being able to share their stories also helped the site become successful.

"For people who find themselves in extremely difficult circumstances, being able to tell their story and establish a community of support around them can feel very empowering.

Fundraisers on Givealittle tell us the messages of love and support that come with the donation mean as much to them as the actual dollars raised."

Top five Givealittle pages

1. Abel Tasman Beach - $2,276,183.09

Money raised helped make a private Awaroa Inlet beach public.

2. Nepal Earthquake response - $367,570.00

The Himalayan Trust, founded by Sir Edmund Hillary, delivered emergency relief items throughout the Solukhumbu region after teh Nepal Earthquake last year.

3. Help Lucy & Family -$269,634.00

Lucy Knight fell and hit her head, fracturing her skull and suffering a brain bleed after she intervened in a bag snatch attempt at the Northcote Countdown in 2014.

4. Brad Smeele's Recovery - $232,688.22

Kiwi wakeboarder Brad Smeele suffered an accident while training in the US, leaving him as a quadriplegic.

5. Riding for Hospice - $230,028.90

Jeff and Virginia, along with their friend Tony Ellis, biked 1,365km from Picton to Bluff over 19 days to raise money for Tony's wife Marlene who was diagnosed with terminal cancer.