JustGiving has launched a new online hub to encourage the gaming community to donate to charities.
The Gaming for Social Good hub provides tools and resources for gamers who livestream their gameplay to create fundraisers and encourage their audiences to donate to charity.
The charities War Child UK, the National Autistic Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK and disability charity SpecialEffect are among the first to have signed up to support the initiative.
The hub includes guides to help gamers integrate their JustGiving page with their streaming accounts. It will also provide a calendar of upcoming gaming events and will feature a monthly ‘Hall of Fame’ to recognise gaming fundraisers.
Gamers are increasingly using their platforms for charitable purposes.
Keith Williams, general manager of JustGiving in the UK and Ireland, said: “Over the last year, we have seen a huge increase in gamers wanting to do good while they play.”
“We are proud to empower individuals and charities to easily connect gaming and livestreaming to their fundraising efforts and capabilities.”
In January, YouTuber Harry Brewis, ‘Hbomberguy,’ played the video game Donkey Kong 64 last month for as long as he could to raise money for gender dysphoria charity, Mermaids. He raised over £250,000.
Meanwhile, this weekend, Rob Walker, a gamer from Shropshire will complete a 24 hour gaming marathon to raise money for SpecialEffect.
In 2017, research by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) found that 58 per cent of gamers were interested in donating to charities while playing games.
Lucy Squance, director of supporter-led fundraising at Alzheimer’s Research UK, added: “Gaming for Social Good is an exciting opportunity for Alzheimer’s Research UK as it will open doors to a new and vastly growing audience. JustGiving is making it easy for people to support causes close to their hearts by simply doing something they love and, given the size of the market, we believe the potential growth could be a game-changer for the third sector.”
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