How gaming-influencers raise money for nonprofits while live-streaming

By: Alyssa Sweetman

Twitch streamers have raised millions of dollars for nonprofits live-streaming video games and other content. Since 2011, Twitch live-stream influencers have amassed over $310 million for charities around the world. The number of influencers on Twitch fundraising for nonprofits is growing exponentially and those who have fundraised in the past seek to keep a regular cadence on supporting causes they are passionate about. In this article, we will explore how influencers are able to fundraise for nonprofits while live-streaming video games.

While TikTok and YouTube have first party nonprofit donation products, the vast majority of funds raised are processed not through content streaming services like Twitch or YouTube but through third party fundraising services.

These fundraising services have dedicated tools for helping live-streaming influencers be successful when fundraising. The most prominent and widely used globally are Streamlabs Charity and Tiltify — these fundraising services where built with the influencer in mind — some traditional fundraising services have built out live-streaming tools such as DonorDrive, JustGiving, and betterplace.

Shown here is a capture of Twitch creator /wil_wisp’s live-stream while fundraising for Trans Lifeline for her 2,000 follower celebration.

Influencers tend to prioritize nonprofits that are available on fundraising services with tools that enhance their ability to create and produce content while fundraising.

While these tools enhance an influencer’s ability to fundraise while live-streaming these tools are still third party. This requires influencers create call-to-actions that take the viewer to campaign donation page.

The primary difference between these fundraising services and the traditional DIY and crowdfunding services is the instantaneous feedback loop when a viewer makes a donation.

The process for a viewer to donate is:

• Influencer goes live on their live-stream channel

• Viewers are prompted to donate through chat bot message containing a link of where to donate through

• Viewer clicks link and makes a donation

• Donation is processed and an automated alert appears on screen

• Influencer thanks viewer and celebrates donation

Interested in trying it out for yourself? Check out our article on hosting your first charity live-stream.