Your nonprofit keeps hearing about the power of this new Peer-to-Peer phenomenon, charity streams, and they’ve decided to give it a go! You’ve been given the task of hiring someone to manage it all and you are not quite sure where to start or what to ask. You’re also, no doubt, very busy with your other work!
The good news is that we’ve been researching this very topic and we’ve put together a list of qualities, skills and experience an ideal Charity Stream Manager will possess or be able to learn quickly. We hope you find this blog post helpful on your quest, and we’d love to chat about livestreams and charity streams with you anytime!
We’ve written multiple Moments of Bliss about charity streams, so feel free to go back to read those posts like Going Above the Call of Duty, A Wish to Build A Stream On and most recently, Stream From & For the Heart, to get a primer on the subject! We even wrote about a nonprofit that helps teens get into livestreaming, Empowering Success Now!
Start With Your Own Staff
Does your organization have interns or staff who are really into video games? After all, 66% of Americans play video games!12022 Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry: https://www.theesa.com/resource/2022-essential-facts-about-the-video-game-industry/ If so, they may also be aware of streamers and the programs they use to do what they do. No gamers on hand? You can still ask your Gen X, Millennial and Gen Z staff if they watch livestreams (or if they stream themselves) and if so, that’s a great place to start!
Areas of Experience & Education
In a perfect world, your new Charity Stream Manager will have some experience in fundraising already. Peer-to-Peer is great, but anything in which there was a focus on cultivating relationships with fundraisers and donors will be useful. Experience in customer service or retail is definitely relevant here, but those candidates might need some training on retention and activation.
Many of the early adopters of charity streams see them as an opportunity to welcome small donors back in after losing touch with them as their annual galas achieved new levels of success and exclusivity. The entertainment and engagement that livestreams offer to their communities and that relationship the streamers have cultivated offer nonprofits a fresh way to diversify their donor base. So the ability to attract and nurture relationships with streamers will be an important function of your Charity Stream Manager.
Do they need a college degree? Not really, and in fact, because many successful streamers are under 25, you might find that a finished degree requirement is a hindrance in attracting candidates with a strong familiarity with streaming. Far more important than a diploma is an understanding of how livestreamers do what they do and what their needs and pain points are. Bonus points for being a gamer!
“Wait, should I just hire my teenager for this?!?” you may be thinking.
Probably not, unless you have a really responsible 19 year old who wants a full time job. But if you have a teenager who is into video games, esports and livestreaming, you should definitely chat with them about their favorite streamers. They may have seen, or even donated to, a charity stream before and you didn’t even know you had a resource under your roof!
Almost 3/4 of Millennials identify themselves as philanthropists and Gen Z is even higher!2A new mindset changes donors’ relationship with philanthropy: https://www.fidelitycharitable.org/insights/2021-future-of-philanthropy/new-mindset.html
The majority of streamers who are creating charity stream campaigns on Tiltify, a platform popular with streamers for fundraising, range in age from 18-35, which is also the average age of livestreamers to the platform Twitch. There are plenty of streamers who are Gen X and above, as well as some in Gen Alpha, but the minimum age for most platforms is 13.
Other livestream platforms include YouTube, TikTok, Facebook Live and Instagram Live.
Streamers often use programs like broadcasting software (OBS, SLOBS and Stream Elements are the three most common) and chatbots, and feature customized graphic assets like overlays and emotes.
Many streamers and gamers use Discord to communicate when the stream isn’t live, so your Charity Stream Manager should be familiar with it (or able to get familiar with it). Many orgs who run regular campaigns have a Discord server where the streamers can receive support and encouragement from the nonprofit and each other. This is a great tool for fundraiser retention, so it’s an important area of expertise to note.
Social media is often used by streamers to promote their content, so your Charity Stream Manager should be aware of the current platforms and able to work with your current Social Media team when the need arises. Basic graphic design skills would be a bonus, and/ or the ability to work with your current graphic designer to produce assets for your streamers.
Skills
In addition to the areas of expertise or experience above, there are some basic skills you’ll want your Charity Stream Manager to posses. And they include:
- Excellent written communication
- Google Suite
- Ability to Multi-task
Conclusion
Hiring for this mostly or fully remote position (unless your org prefers on-site) doesn’t have to be as intimidating as it seems at first. This person will lead an important part of your overall peer-to-peer strategy with lots of potential for growth, and they will be responsible for helping your nonprofit to connect with a younger, more online demographic of potential supporters. By focusing on the areas of expertise and the skills listed above, you will find a candidate with the right ingredients to make a great recipe for charity stream success!
Resources
- 12022 Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry: https://www.theesa.com/resource/2022-essential-facts-about-the-video-game-industry/
- 2A new mindset changes donors’ relationship with philanthropy: https://www.fidelitycharitable.org/insights/2021-future-of-philanthropy/new-mindset.html
