Livestreams can bring in big sums of money. The gaming fundraising event Extra Life, for example, has raised more than $100 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals since it began in 2008.
The method works because it’s so interactive, says April Stallings, the gaming and influencer community manager at Make-a-Wish International. Unlike walkathons or charity bike rides, in which participants ask family and friends to give to a cause, streaming fundraising events allow donors make gifts of all sizes and personally participate in the event.
“This is like being at the finish line and cheering as they cross it,” Stallings says. “It’s really the most heartfelt, interactive form of this type of giving I’ve ever seen.”
But these events take work to pull off, experts say. Despite the new technological tools the events use, the key to running them successfully is relationship-building — a skill that’s at the core of the fundraising profession. Here are some of their tips for building strong ties with streamers and launching a successful streaming fundraising event.
Choose Your Streamer Carefully
When nonprofits are approaching streamers to raise money for their cause, the streamers are generally more likely to agree if they personally connect with the nonprofit’s mission, says Marcus Howard, a consultant who helps nonprofits and companies raise money through esports.
Anthony Marinos, director of business development and partnerships at the clean water nonprofit Charity: water, says his group often builds relationships with streamers who already follow them on social media. These streamers may never have interacted directly with Charity: water, Marinos says, but his initial email or direct message is easier to write because he knows they’re already somewhat interested in the mission.
Nick, a streamer who uses the handle @itsnippy, says he primarily determines which charities to raise money for based on their mission. He’s drawn to causes that are personal to him. Nick was born prematurely, and he celebrated his birthday last year by raising $1,750 for the Northwest Center, which supports children and adults with disabilities. He is from a military family, which inspired him to raise $1,140.71 for the veterans organization Wounded Warrior Project.
Some streamers decide to raise money for charity on their own, but others are asked to do so by nonprofits. In these cases, nonprofits often vet the streamers beforehand. Stallings, at Make-a-Wish International, typically watches content creators’ past streams and reviews their interactions with their followers on the social-media site Discord. Primarily, Stallings checks to make sure streamers’ language and content aren’t hateful or offensive. Before arranging a charity stream with creators, she also has a call with them and invites them to connect with Make-a-Wish on Discord, where they can get to know the charity’s supporters.
“We definitely check them out and make sure that they are good people,” Stallings says. “And 99 percent of the time they are.”
Think Small
It’s counterintuitive, Howard says, but generally streamers with smaller audiences will raise more money for a charity than those with millions of fans. He likens it to friendships. “You have the best relationships with the people who are closest to you,” Howard says. “As those circles get larger, your influence begins to decrease, and so your impact also begins to decrease.”
Streamers use their influence to win donations. “They make very close relationships with their community members, so when they ask them to give, it’s very impactful,” Stallings says.
The bond between a streamer and a fan tends to be much tighter than one between a movie star and a fan. Most fans will never have a personal interaction with their favorite movie star. But for streamers, “being available to the people who are watching you is the whole point,” Stallings says. The smaller the fanbase, the tighter those bonds are.
Make It Easy
Streamers may have a loyal fanbase, but that doesn’t mean they’re practiced at asking them for donations. It helps to give streamers talking points and videos about the charity they’re raising money for, as well banners, branded templates that streamers can layer over their video and chat feeds and one-on-one coaching about how to ask for donations.
“Making sure that your content creator has all the assets they need to remind people constantly that what is happening is super important,” Stallings says. “But always making sure that the creator themselves are comfortable making the ask is the most important thing.”
While the most effective appeals come from streamers, Stallings will also set up chatbots to periodically ask for donations during streams for Make-a-Wish International.
When it’s done well, Stallings said, watching a stream should feel like “watching a soccer game and one of the players is miked and running up and down the field, and every now and then they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, don’t forget, you’re supposed to be donating to Make-a-Wish while I’m doing this.’”
Ahead of its annual Project Hopemas streaming fundraising campaign, Project HOPE released tips and talking points for streamers, which suggests activities to do during the livestream and information about the charity to share with their audience. The document includes examples of the impact that donations can make, such as how a $3 gift can fund an hour of mental-health support for a health-care worker or an $11 gift can fund first-aid kits for displaced families.
“Be sure to communicate how important each donation is,” the document reads. “Remember to recognize both large and small donors.”
Project HOPE also recommends activities for streamers such as eating a spicy food, watching a YouTube video and streaming their reaction, or writing their donors’ names on a holiday card. The charity has ground rules for Project Hopemas streams, too, which prohibit alcohol use and “bitter talk,” among other things.
A group of trustees and donors to Project HOPE agreed to match as much as $100,000 in contributions in 2023. The nonprofit kicked off its year-end streaming event with a $20,000 goal, but by December 12 — just a day after it launched — the effort had brought in more than $35,000. Fundraisers continued boosting their goal throughout the month, eventually increasing it to $100,000. To date, donors have contributed $94,000.
Build Relationships
Nonprofits always need to establish strong ties with their supporters, and that’s no different when it comes to charity streamers. It’s common for streamers to raise funds for many organizations, so experts say it makes a difference to keep them close.
“You have to continue to cultivate and engage back with them so that they want to fundraise again,” says Evan Johnson, senior director of mass-market fundraising at Project HOPE. Whereas the average direct-mail donor to an international aid organization might contribute to 24 charities a year, a streamer may host fundraising events just two or three times a year, he says. To that end, nonprofits need to work to stay top of mind for the streamers who support them.
Project HOPE, for example, sends small gifts like water bottles and stickers to the streamers who raise money for them. But Nick, the streamer and ambassador for Project HOPE, says what matters most to him is just being thanked by the organization he’s supporting.
“They might give swag like hoodies and cups and whatever, which is cool,” Nick says. “But if I have somebody that’s involved with the organization reach out and say, ‘Thank you for doing this. We really loved your stream. It was a lot of fun,’ whatever, I’m way more likely to do it again because I felt appreciated.”
Thanking streamers may seem simple, but not every nonprofit that benefits from their donations takes the time to do it. Nick has raised $27,978 for charity since 2019, but he says some of the groups he’s raised money for have never interacted with him at all.
Staff at Project HOPE often write words of thanks to streamers in the chat box during their livestreams for the nonprofit. It’s a small act that makes a difference, Johnson says. “When we thank them live on stream, it’s like we’re a celebrity,” he says. “They can’t believe that we’d take the time to join and thank them.”
That sense of mutual appreciation is powerful. For Nick, it’s what keeps him streaming. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of something bigger,” he says. “Doing this makes me feel like I’m a part of something bigger. I’m helping people all around the world.”
