Amy's top tips for organising a gaming fundraiser

So, you want to fundraise for Cystic Fibrosis Trust in a fun and enjoyable way, but don’t know where to start? Fundraising doesn’t have to mean running a marathon or organising a bake sale, you can raise money from the comfort of your own home. Here’s how…

The popularity of charity gaming streams has rocketed over the past two years, with many supporters choosing gaming to raise vital funds and awareness for the causes close to their heart. So here are some helpful tips on how you can use your gaming stream to raise vital funds for Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Decide the kind of game you want to play

Firstly, decide what kind of gamer you are. Do you enjoy story driven games, for example? These games are usually single player, and while it might seem pretty boring watching one person play through a single player campaign, these games - played by the likes of Jackcepteye and Markiplier - have grown in popularity with viewers, as they can watch players’ reactions to the story, their views on the game, and decide whether or not the game is worth buying.

Maybe you prefer online multi-player styled games, like Fortnite, Among Us, Minecraft, or League of Legends, which focus more on playing with friends, earning points, and levelling up your character. These games are very popular, as well as being on a platform where you can meet and make friends from all over the world. Whichever type of game you decide to play, think about the popularity of the title you choose and when is a good time to play it.

Twitch or switch? 

Next, think about the platform you want to play your game on and stream to the audience. One of the original ways to watch people play games was on YouTube, but in recent years there have been many platforms set up to help streamers live stream to a wider audience. Twitch is by far the most popular of these platforms, and with their very easy set-up you’ll be streaming in no time. Twitch even has a step-by-step guide and goal checklist to help new streamers get started and use the tools given to create fun content for viewers. The platform also gives you the chance to interact more with your audience through chats and allows the viewers to contribute to your streamer either as subscribers, followers or just watching your stream.

Think about your audience

It’s important to think about interacting with your audience to ensure that you’ve created a fun, enjoyable place for them to come and watch your stream. When streaming, it’s vital to choose how you stream your playthroughs, you can do it via a console, such as PS4, or a gaming computer. Console options are a bit simpler as you can directly stream from it, whereas a gaming PC is slightly trickier, but luckily there are helpful guides on Google to help you get set up.

You want to also think about when you play your stream, what time and what day would generate the most views, ideally you want to try and play when people are not working and when others playing the same game are playing. It sounds complicated but if you keep an eye out, it’ll become easy to choose when you game.    

Spread the word   

Marketing your stream will help you gain more views, promote your channel and is the perfect time to think about fundraising ideas. Facebook has various groups where you can promote your stream and channel to other streamers, as well as Discord groups. Discord is a free voice, video and text chat app that's used by tens of millions of people aged 13+ to talk and hang out with their communities and friends. Lots of streamers tend to use this platform to engage with their audience and let them know of their streaming schedules. Use social media channels, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to market and promote your platform; you could even approach the Trust and ask if they could also encourage followers to watch through posts on their pages.

Raising vital funds

Now it’s time to think about your fundraising charity streams. There are many ways to go about this, you could contact the Trust and let them know you’re raising money via a Twitch stream. They could provide banners, posters or even a t-shirt for you to wear whilst gaming. If you'd to stream showing your face on a camera, it would be a good idea to maybe dress your background as well as yourself up in branded Cystic Fibrosis Trust materials and other items. If you want to go all out, you could approach game developers or companies and ask for sponsorship in return for promoting their products or services. You could ask your viewers to donate a small amount when you reach a goal, unlock a new level, or even beat a personal best score. But you don’t even have to do it alone, you can collaborate with other streamers to help bring in more viewers and donations. The more help the better, plus it’s always fun with friends!    

#CFNextLevel

Level up to help us support people with cystic fibrosis. 

Unite with us to be part of the ultimate mission: raising vital funds so that we can help everyone with CF live a life unlimited. Whether you're a console or PC gamer, simply pick your game, choose your challenge, select a date and get gaming. 

Use your gaming skills for good