Ruth from Bliss Auctions here with an update on our favorite peer-to-peer fundraising technique, charity livestreams.
Apparently we’re not the only ones reading the writing on the wall: one of our favorite vendors, Auction Packages, included Peer-to-Peer and Gen Z Donors in their Top 10 Non-profit Fundraising Trends for 2024. That makes us right on trend with our interest in charity livestreams!
Back in January, Tiltify has shared their list of the Top 30 Fundraisers for 2023. We took the time to look at the data for charity streams in 2023 and check out some emerging trends for 2024.
Wait, what are charity streams?
Before we dive into the nitty-gritty data, if you are new to charity streams aka charity livestreams, please check out what we’ve written about this phenomenon in our blog before.
By the way, in 2023 Tiltify’s Top 30 raised, collectively, $21,196,596! And that’s not counting what they may have raised on other platforms. But those are just the big names- tens of thousands of smaller streamers rallied their viewers to support a wide range of causes.
Notable Campaigns in 2023:
- Thankmas for World Central Kitchen: $6.6 Million
- Starlight’s 12 Days of Christmas: $127,585.91
- QTCinderella’s Gala for Good to benefit the rainforests: $99,171.74
- St. Jude:
- St. Jude PLAY LIVE 2023: $2,852,202.68
- PLAY LIVE Challenge Season (April-June): $2,470,894.54
- PLAY LIVE Creative Season (October-December) 2023: $94,523.63
- GCX (Gaming Community Expo) 2023: $1,928,974
- BAC (Build Against Cancer) 2023: $1,068,658.70
- Fallout for Hope 2023: $80,731
All told, it seems the streaming community raised around $5M for St. Jude in 2023! Per the St. Jude PLAY LIVE website, streamers & their communities have raised “$55 Million for the kids of St. Jude” since 2014. What an amazing amount over the years!
Streamers aren’t slowing down in the slightest- in fact, orgs like Starlight Children’s Foundation have already raised $178k in 2024 through their streamer supporters, nearly $30k more than their original goal.
Trend #1: Auctions
Released in June 2023 as a beta feature, Tiltify’s Auction House allowed for a silent auction-type listing to complement an existing campaign. That link will take you to Tiltify’s case study about CDawgVA’s hybrid event in June 2023.
We’ve seen a wide variety of streamers use this feature to fundraise for their chosen cause. Since it’s near and dear to our own hearts, we plan to release another blog post dedicated just to this trend. Stay tuned!
And speaking of CDawgVA, his community broke their previous record in April 2024 when they raised over $1 Million for the Immune Deficiency Foundation while he cycled across Japan!
Trend #2: Teams
We’re seeing more Team Campaigns, which increases the fundraisers’ cumulative efforts exponentially. The strength of the community ties within the team can impact individual streamers’ success at fundraising and spreading awareness. Strong team leaders can inspire, motivate and provide technical support to team members who are newer to using their platform in this way. Team campaigns also help smaller streamers have a few extra viewers, which can make a difference.
Trend #3: Donor Fatigue
The last trend we want to discuss is Donor Fatigue, which most nonprofits experience when their supporters are tapped too frequently. It also happens when people feel like there are just too many important causes competing for their attention.
Streamers, and the charities they support, would do well to be mindful of how often they are hitting their communities with fundraising appeals. One way to counteract donor fatigue is to show donors how their funds have been used and what concrete impact they made happen. The key is to do so without turning it into another appeal.
Conclusion:
Despite the potential hurdle to be overcome when it comes to donor fatigue, we are still very enthusiastic about charity streams as one of the tools in the nonprofit fundraising kit. Any org that is looking to reach younger demographics will succeed if they open themselves up to charity streams.
Have questions about how a nonprofit can start to benefit from this type of community-based fundraising? Send us an email at info@blissauctions.com.
