Independent on Sunday's Happy List 2015: As this list shows, there's something in the air

The fundamental human response to the world's problems is growing, rather than receding in scope

Matthieu Ricard is officially the Happiest Man in the World. This French-born Buddhist monk and confidant of the Dalai Lama was found by US neuroscientists to be, of all the people whose brain patterns were monitored, the one in the greatest and most consistent state of bliss.

Recently Mr Ricard gave an interview in which he suggested he is not alone in his happiness. There is “something in the air”, he said, referring to the signs of grassroots solidarity which he believes are everywhere: the spontaneous response of thousands of people who start campaigns, big and small, to help others at times of need.

We at JustGiving have seen, and facilitated, those responses for many years, and I agree with his optimistic view that this fundamental human response is growing, rather than receding, in scope.

The response to the earthquake in Nepal is just one recent example of how technology is helping us express not only our individual altruism, but our capacity to collaborate with others to achieve greater feats of generosity than we could possibly achieve on our own.

Within hours, people were getting in touch with JustGiving to find how they could help. They have now raised £3 million, including almost £100,000 through crowdfunding pledges to pages like Sue Harper’s, which aims to rebuild the family homes of three Sherpas killed by the avalanche that swept through Everest Base Camp.

This expression of solidarity doesn’t just occur in the aftermath of major humanitarian disasters, as this year’s Happy List so wonderfully shows. There is a growing tide of giving and grassroots community action, where neighbours help neighbours and money is raised to help individuals, families and local communities. Crowdfunding may well further reinvigorate the meaning of that old chestnut, 'community'.

Business is beginning to take notice, too. Among early supporters is the high-street coffee chain, Harris + Hoole, who are reconnecting with the long tradition of the English coffeehouse as a place for people to engage in community action, nowadays by embracing crowdfunding for causes in their local communities. Their employees and customers have already helped Resources for Autism and enabled Accumul8 to get residents at the North London YMCA back into work.

Is this just the latest fad for the 'corporate social responsibility' tradition? I don't think so. At a time of deep cuts in public services and a renewed sense of inequity, we and some of the businesses we patronise may well be developing an appetite for that 'something in the air': a desire for greater connection with the people around us and a sense we can achieve, in many small but meaningful ways, real change.

Anne-Marie Huby is managing director and co-founder of JustGiving, the social platform for giving. She was previously UK head of the international charity Médecins Sans Frontières