TwitchCon 2019 was one for the books.
Thousands of TwitchCon attendees descended upon the San Diego Convention Center and went to the DonorDrive Charity Arcade - the first of its kind interactive zone within TwitchCon that combines play with purpose.
DonorDrive, the premier live stream fundraising platform for charities, made a space at Twitchcon for broadcasters to come to and make connections with nonprofits. Some charities like Extra Life and Stack Up have well established charity streaming communities and others like MDA and AACR are brand new to the Twitch community. They were all well received in the Charity Arcade by the vibrant and engaged Twitch community.
Since 2011, streamers have raised over $150 Million for Charities on Twitch and interest in charity streaming on channels like Twitch, Youtube, Mixer, and Facebook Gaming continues to grow.
DonorDrive featured eight organizations in the DonorDrive Charity Arcade: American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), Doctors Without Borders, Mercy Corps, Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), Stack Up, Wounded Warrior Project and Children's Miracle Network Hospitals's program Extra Life. Each of them brought interactive games and also activities to show the impact that joining a fundraiser can do.
The Charity Arcade was a space TwitchCon attendees made sure not to miss. With everything from retro arcade games, to live Charity Streams from Twitch broadcasters in the event space, streamfluencer meetups, tons of giveaways, and - you're reading this right - a Human Claw machine.
Children's Miracle Network Hospital's program Extra Life brought a Human Claw Machine which proved irresistible to TwitchCon attendees. A giant contraption capable of lifting attendees and lowering them into a pit full of mystery prizes. Hundreds of experienced Extra Lifers and curious newbies flocked to the booth to witness the fun and to sign up to support their local hospital. Extra Life's annual fundraising game day is on November 2, 2019.
Other longstanding DonorDrive clients with highly active charity streaming communities include Stack Up and the Wounded Warrior Project - Stream to Serve program, who are gearing up for their big charity streaming day coming up on Veterans Day.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention also has a Stream for AFSP program.
Just before heading to San Diego, the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) launched MDA Let's Play a charity streaming initiative so broadcasters can play games and transform the lives of people affected by neuromuscular disease. While at Twitchcon, a few content creators like MsTeamKK and StevoTVR went live to raise funds for MDA at the Charity Arcade's streaming station. One in particular, @stevotvr uses adaptable controllers and tool while he plays, because of a muscular disability.
Other organizations who launched new charity streaming programs this year included, Mercy Corps launched #StreamforHumanity, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) - Cancer Destroyer program, and Doctors Without Borders also launched a DIY program for charity streaming along with a custom Twitch Extension for streamers to place directly on their profile pages.
These organizations all use Live Fundraising™ powered by DonorDrive. With Live Fundraising, broadcasters can quickly connect their stream to their fundraising page where they can view donations and comments live with a real-time activity feed. Mission-branded fundraising pages and tightly integrated Twitch extensions allow donors to give confidently, knowing their gifts are going directly to the charity.