As we reported ... Justin and Chance announced a surprise collab Thursday -- teaming up to dole out $250,000 on CashApp to people affected by these hard times, to say thanks for the support on their musical collab, "Holy."

Thousands of fans shared their stories online -- along with their $cashtags -- with the hope of receiving some money, and the singer and rapper spent the day giving ... in $500 increments.

We did some digging, and the winners include students, teachers, artists, cashiers, people who lost loved ones to COVID, people taking care of sick parents, people dealing with immigration issues, and in general ... people who help people, people who need help, or both.

For example ... Cortney -- a teacher looking to buys supplies for her class after suffering damage in an apartment fire earlier this year, during the pandemic.

Megan -- a young woman whose father's dying from kidney failure and is trying to pay for him to have his eyesight improved during his final days.

Tiffany -- a cashier who lives paycheck to paycheck while also supporting her parents, who are out of work due to COVID and health reasons.

Ty -- a young handyman who hustles on the side as a freelance photog, but is still struggling to pay rent and the bills. Ty tells us he's going to use $400 of what Justin sent him for living expenses. He'll use the remaining $100 to give back to the homeless.

And finally, there's Sakinah, a young woman who does nails ... asked the fellas to support her business. She struck gold, because she received $500 from BOTH the Biebs and the Rapper.