People and nonprofits raising money through live online video feeds have collected $80 million so far this year using software provided by one company — already double what was raised with its services in 2017 and quadruple the amount from 2016, according to a new report.
The data — from the company Tiltify — suggests more and more money is being raised each year through online video streaming, the report argues.
Tiltify, which launched in 2015, is not a streaming service itself. Instead, it gives people and nonprofits hosting online fundraising events tools to interact with viewers — including polls and on-screen alerts when donation goals are reached. People using the service still stream through Facebook, YouTube, and other companies that offer live video for users — though the videos also are played on Tiltify’s website. Thursday, Tiltify launched an extension that will allow people to use its services directly through the live-streaming site, Twitch, which is known mostly for hosting video-game events.
In recent years, Facebook, YouTube, and other companies have allowed users to raise money for charity while hosting live videos online. But complete data on the growth of live-stream fundraising is not available, as many companies that provide live-video software do not report fundraising numbers, as Tiltify did for this report.
To raise money, some nonprofits stream their own events — including ones with big fundraising goals and, sometimes, celebrity appearances.
But most charity streams are low-budget affairs, put on not by nonprofits themselves but by people in their homes talking about a cause they love, doing funny challenges, or playing video games.
Though there’s no data that shows overall growth in money raised through such streaming, Tiltify’s numbers likely provide a good proxy, says the report from Cohort3, a research firm that produces publications for nonprofits on technology and digital strategy. Raising money through live video, says Cohort3’s chief executive Jeff Patrick, helps nonprofits reach an important audience: young people. Both the people hosting live charity streams using Tiltify and their donors have an average age of 27, he notes — much younger than most charity supporters
And since it’s a relatively new way to raise money, it helps differentiate nonprofits from competing organizations making solicitations. “One of the things a lot of groups are looking for is strategic differentiation: ‘What can we do that sets us apart?’ ” Patrick says. “And this type of fundraising is really quite unique.”
Not a Passing Fad
Other companies are starting to offer live-stream services, too. DonorDrive, which offers digital-giving software, launched a tool recently that allows charity supporters to host live videos on their personal fundraising pages for charities.
This is not a passing fad, says David Hessekiel, president of the Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum, which tracks walkathons, cycling races, and other events that enlist volunteers to participate and raise money on behalf of charities. “It opens a door to new fundraising and new audiences,” Hessekiel says.
More data on Tiltify from the report:
- The average length of a live-stream fundraising event is eight hours.
- Forty-four percent of events meet or exceed their fundraising goals.
- The median gift size is $10.
The report also notes that $100 million has been raised on Twitch since the company launched in 2011. However, some of the money raised over the years on Twitch probably overlaps with the totals reported by Tiltify, Patrick notes, as charities often use both services simultaneously.
Small Slice of Total Giving
Despite the growth, live-stream fundraising accounts for only a small slice of the charitable dollars raised each year. In 2017, nonprofits raised $410 billion, according to “Giving USA,” an annual report on U.S. philanthropy.
And a relatively small number of charities appear to have benefited from live-streaming so far — only about 400 through Tiltify, according to the report, even though there are more than 1.5 million registered charities in the United States.
Still, Patrick expects more nonprofits will start raising money through live video. “I think we’ll probably see strong growth for another two to three years” in live-stream fundraising, he says, particularly among big-name charities.
