Creator-led fundraising is no longer a niche experiment inside the creator economy. According to new findings from Tiltify’s “2025 Giving Season Report,” it is becoming a durable layer of how generosity is organized online. At a time when traditional philanthropy is seeing fewer individuals participate, even as total giving rises, the data suggests creators are filling that gap by mobilizing digital communities at scale.

“Everybody in the world is either a consumer of content or a creator of content,” says Michael Wasserman, CEO and co-founder of Tiltify. “There are very few people who aren’t one of those two things.”

That shift in how people gather, communicate, and build trust sits at the center of Tiltify’s business. Founded in 2014, the platform provides fundraising infrastructure for creators across livestreaming, video, and emerging formats, including podcasts. Rather than relying on static donation pages or institution-led campaigns, Tiltify is built around real-time engagement, visible progress, and community participation, mirroring how creators already operate online.

The report’s findings suggest this is not just a more effective fundraising tactic, but a structural change in who participates in giving and how.

What the Data Shows: Participation Is Replacing Concentration

Tiltify’s report, based on surveys of 1,000 creators and 1,000 donors, reveals a paradox shaping modern philanthropy. Industry data shows that while overall charitable giving in the U.S. reached record levels in 2024, the number of individual donors continues to decline. Donations are becoming more concentrated among older, wealthier households.

The survey into creator-led giving tells a different story.

Among Gen Z, 61% say a creator’s involvement makes them more likely to donate. Nearly one-third report having donated through a creator-led fundraiser, and 67% say their giving has increased since the pandemic. Despite controlling just 6-7% of U.S. household wealth, Gen Z donors give at rates comparable to those of older generations, often in smaller amounts, but more frequently.

“What we’re seeing is more people getting involved,” says Michael. “Not just a few large donations, but communities contributing together.”

Tiltify’s internal platform data reinforces that shift. According to Michael, the average Tiltify campaign raises roughly $1,200 (more than double the typical personal fundraising page), driven by average donations of around $44. Instead of relying on a handful of family members, campaigns often attract 25 to 30 contributors from a creator’s audience.

This volume-driven model has long-term implications. “People who fundraised in their 20s are now returning as donors in their 30s,” Michael says. “That behavior compounds over time.”

Why Creator Communities Convert Where Institutions Struggle

The report highlights a key structural advantage creators have over traditional fundraising: engagement density.

Smaller, tightly knit communities convert donors at 5-10%, compared with 1-2% among large, passive audiences, according to the report. Campaigns that feature live dashboards, visible progress tracking, and interactive incentives raise approximately 41% more than campaigns without these features.

Those mechanics are not accidental; they are borrowed directly from how creators already build engagement and loyalty. “Creators understand digital communities and feedback loops,” Michael explains. “They know how to make people feel involved, not just asked.”

He notes that, unlike traditional donation pages, which are often static, delayed, and opaque, creator-led campaigns unfold in real time. Donations trigger on-screen acknowledgements, unlock content changes, or influence outcomes. The act of giving becomes participatory rather than transactional.

That participation also drives trust, he adds. One of the report’s most revealing findings is what donors don’t prioritize. Only a small percentage cited transaction fees or tax receipts as primary motivators. Half said that proof that funds were reaching the intended charity mattered most.

“People just want to know the money is going where it’s supposed to go,” Michael says. “Transparency outweighs incentives.”

Photo: An event for the 2025 LA Wildfires that raised $1.8 million
L-R: PointCrow, Ethan Nestor, and FanFan
Credits: Trevor Pikhart

Tiltify’s Role: Infrastructure, Not Influence

Tiltify’s business model is designed to sit beneath creator activity rather than dictate it. The platform works directly with more than 9,000 charities globally, enabling creators to launch campaigns that route funds directly into nonprofit accounts without Tiltify holding or redistributing funds.

“That direct flow matters,” Michael says. “Creators don’t want to manage funds, and donors want certainty.”

Unlike legacy fundraising tools, Tiltify continually adapts to creator behavior. Campaign creation is guided by an intelligent flow that adjusts by format (livestreams, recorded video, podcasts, etc.) and uses historical performance data to recommend engagement tools.

“If you’re live streaming, the system immediately adapts to that,” Michael explains. “It helps creators choose the tools that historically maximize participation.”

This approach positions Tiltify less as a fundraising brand and more as a connective infrastructure that allows creators to integrate giving without disrupting their content or audience expectations.

Case Study: When Creator Content Becomes a Giving Engine

The report cites several examples of creator-led campaigns scaling beyond expectations. One of the most illustrative involved YouTube creator Ryan Trahan’s partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Trahan’s “50 States in 50 Days” project combined daily video releases with donation-based incentives that directly shaped content. Viewers can unlock challenges, influence narrative decisions, or have their messages featured in videos, depending on their contribution tier.

The result was $11.5 million raised, driven not by a single viral moment but sustained engagement over two months. “What stood out wasn’t just the amount,” Michael says. “It was that families were watching together. It became part of their routine.”

He adds that brands followed organically, contributing donations tied to audience actions and further reinforcing the loop between content, participation, and generosity.

For Tiltify, the campaign demonstrated what happens when creators are given control and institutions resist over-structuring. “The creator knew how to communicate,” Michael says. “The charity supported without interfering.”

Where Brands and Institutions Still Lag

Despite growing adoption, the report suggests brands and nonprofits are still adjusting to creator-led dynamics. Many continue to prioritize message control over community fluency, creating tension that can undermine trust.

“There’s still a push-and-pull,” Michael says. “Brands want structure. Creators need authenticity.”

The most effective campaigns, according to Tiltify’s data, are those where creators retain narrative control while institutions focus on support, verification, and infrastructure. Michael believes that the division of labor between creators, platforms, and charities may define the next phase of philanthropic partnerships.

Giving as a Retention Strategy, Not a One-Off

Another key insight from the report is donor retention. Creators who host three or more campaigns per year see retention rates 36% higher than one-time fundraisers. Participation builds familiarity, and familiarity builds confidence.

“We see optimism increase with action,” Michael says. “The more someone fundraises, the more likely they are to do it again.”

This finding reframes creator-led giving not as episodic charity, but as an ongoing community behavior that strengthens creator-audience relationships rather than distracting from them.

What Creator-Led Giving Signals About the Creator Economy

The report suggests that creator-led giving is no longer peripheral to the creator economy. It operates alongside commerce, subscriptions, and sponsorships as another value-exchange layer rooted in trust rather than transactions.

As digital communities replace physical gatherings as the primary organizing unit, philanthropy is following suit. Tiltify’s data indicates that the future of giving will be shaped less by institutions trying to modernize messaging and more by creators already fluent in how communities mobilize online.

“The center of gravity has moved,” Michael says. “If philanthropy wants to stay relevant, it has to move with it.”

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