New Zealand Crowdfunds $1.7 Million To Buy A Private Beach (fastcoexist.com)

When debt-troubled businessman Michael Spackman put his private New Zealand beach on sale, Kiwis started a crowdfunding campaign to buy it back for the public... 

 The crowdfunding campaign raised $1.7 million in donations from around 40,000 people. Even the New Zealand government contributed $254,000. 
 
snubbed a businessman who offered them money in exchange for private access to part of the beach," with the campaign's creator calling this an example of technology's power to unite people for a common cause.

The BBC reports that the campaign "

 "Sometimes you can feel powerless, so for us, it's been a marvelous experience... There's been a real feeling of coming together."