Ultra.
If you’ve ever done a charity stream (or have one in the works), chances are you’ve set a monetary goal beforehand for your viewers to help you achieve. Depending on how high you set the bar, it may be challenging to reach your goal. One simple way to get the money rolling in for your charity of choice while keeping your viewers engaged is by providing incentives throughout your stream. Whether you choose a reward based on a specific denominational amount or to celebrate a milestone (i.e., achieving a particular percentage of your goal), these incentives are a great way to liven up your charity stream while working towards your goal. The best part of providing incentives for donors is that many can, in most cases, cost you little to no money.
Contrary to beliefs, adding rewards to your charity stream is fast and easy. To help facilitate, you can use Streamlabs Charity Rewards to set up a fundraising campaign and allow donors to choose their reward right on the donation page. FYI, Streamlabs Charity is a unique fundraising platform in that it doesn’t charge any fees to set up or collect donations—100% of the money (minus payment processor fees that Streamlabs doesn’t control) will go straight to your charity. You can read our guide to learn more about using Streamlabs Charity Rewards to help you encourage your community to donate.
Below you will find incentives that you can use during your next charity stream to reward your community for contributing to a cause that’s near and dear to your heart.
Handwritten Thank You Cards
Nothing says “appreciation” like a handwritten thank you card. You can incentivize your viewers to donate during your charity stream by letting them know that you’ll be giving donors a handwritten card. Considering handwriting thank you cards can be a bit of a heavy lift (depending on the number of donors), you may want to consider pre-writing the thank you cards. Once the donations come in, all you have to do is write each donor’s name and address and mail them.
Wall of Fame
Speaking of recognizing fans in a personalized way, creating a “Wall of Fame” is a great way to give donors a shoutout. Take a poster, whiteboard, or whatever else you have at your disposal to give donors a shoutout by writing their name on your charity stream wall of fame. Trust us—your fans will love seeing their name on your live stream.
Merch
Whether it’s your merch, from the charity itself, or a mix of both, giving away freebies is a great way to encourage viewers to donate. After all, who doesn’t love free swag? For this incentive, we recommend setting an item limit based on the number of units that you have to give away.
Tiny Hands
What better way to celebrate hitting a donation milestone than by bringing out the tiny hands for a round of applause? There’s something about incorporating tiny hands into your content that is very entertaining.
Blindfolded Gameplay
Another way to keep things interesting during your charity stream is adding in some blindfolded gameplay. This is another one of those incentives mainly for laughs but will motivate your viewers to donate. Entertaining your viewers while getting donations for a worthy cause sounds like overall wins in our playbook.
Beanboozled
Let your viewers join in on the fun by donating to have you taste test a mystery Beanboozled jelly bean. They may look like regular jelly beans, but keep in mind that the flavors can range from a strawberry banana smoothie to canned dog food. If you have a weak stomach or low tolerance for gross food, you may want to think twice before making this an incentive. However, you may thoroughly enjoy this if you’re adventurous.
Game Key Giveaway
One thing that viewers love more than anything is access to free games. This particular incentive can be a bit expensive, so make sure you limit the amount you give away and make it a reward that’s available for a higher donation amount than some of your other incentives.
Surprise Giveaway
There are very few people who don’t like surprises, especially when they involve freebies. Think of something your community would love and offer as a milestone incentive. Don’t be afraid to remind your viewers about the giveaway and drop hints throughout your charity stream to drive their interest.
Access to Exclusive Content
Whether you’re creating a tutorial for something you’re well versed in or granting access to an exclusive Discord server, your fans will go crazy to be a part of the selected few to receive something from you. For this incentive, it may be best to require a significant but reasonable donation amount for viewers to be able to redeem as a reward.
Themed Stream
This isn’t only a great way to encourage people to donate, but it’s also a way to get viewers to come back for the big reveal of the themed stream. Plan out a theme that you know your viewers would love. They aren’t going to want to miss out on the content made possible because of their participation in your charity stream.
Exercise
Skip the gym for the day and get donations for push-ups instead. After your community donates a specific dollar amount (either collectively or individually), do an exercise to commemorate. This can be a push-up, bicep curl, or anything else to get you going and donations flowing. Be sure to limit how many times you’ll do the exercise within a stream so that you don’t overexert yourself.
It’s crucial that when offering rewards for donations, you hold up your end of the bargain. Never make a promise on something that you’re not able to deliver. No matter which incentives you choose for your charity stream, be sure to set limits for redemption based on your ability to fulfill and thank donors for their participation.