Creators continue to rewrite the rules

Read time: 3 min

👋🏾 Hey! I’m Sid and this is The Philanthropy Futurist, a weekly advice column preparing you for the future of the nonprofit sector. Each Friday, I tackle reader questions about measuring impact, driving growth, and managing your nonprofit.

This Week’s Newsletter at a glance:

• Creators continue to rewrite the rules

• Philanthropy News From This Week

• Sid’s Book Recommendation

Creators continue to rewrite the rules

£4.7 million → £6.2 million

90,000 people → still sold out

Millions watching → and even more came back this year

This isn’t a one-off event... it’s a clear pattern.

The Sidemen Charity Match has quietly become one of the most important case studies in modern philanthropy... not because of what it raises, but because of what it represents.

Last year, the match pulled in £4.7 million pounds in donations in just ~4 hours, with 2.5+ million concurrent viewers and hundreds of millions of impressions across platforms.

And this year? £6.2 million pounds raised (that's $8.4 million USD) in support of Bright Side and M7 Education. And roughly £1.5 million pounds more than last year... in the same format, with the same core idea:

Creators + Community + Cause = Culture-Driven Impact

But the real story isn’t just the funds raised.

It’s the momentum...

2.2+ million people tuned in live again. 90,000+ attendees showed up in person. And the official stream has over 12 million views on YouTube. And what stood out most wasn’t the production... it was the feeling. The event experience felt less like a fundraiser, and more like a reunion. A generation that mostly lives online, choosing to show up together... in real life... around something joyful.

That’s the shift.

Creators aren’t just raising awareness anymore. They’re building shared experiences at scale... and layering impact on top. Entertainment draws people in, community keeps it alive, and philanthropy and impact emerge as the outcome.

And it compounds.

Year after year, the numbers grow. But more importantly, so does the connection.

For nonprofit leaders, this is the signal:

The future of fundraising won’t feel like fundraising.

It will feel like culture.

And the creators and nonprofits who understand that? They won't just participate in philanthropy... they will redefine it.

Until next time y'all ✌🏾

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Philanthropy News From This Week

• How to Fix Online Giving Platforms Without Cutting Off Donors

• 20 goals and a burning yellow card - the best bits from Sidemen charity match

• How nonprofits can maximize the benefits of youth service

• Can Outside Nonprofits Solve Local Problems?

Sid’s Book Recommendation

Each week, I recommend a book or film that has impacted my life in a positive way. My recommendation this week is:

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

This book teaches hosts how to design gatherings... from dinners to large scale events... with a sharp focus on purpose over tradition. The author encourages intentional choices like purposeful guest lists (embrace exclusion), liberating rules, and strong openings/endings to foster authentic connections and memorable experiences. This is a unique read. Learn more.

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