New York — One of America’s most famous charities is teaming up with the Internet’s largest creator to instill interest in young people in what they call the world’s “most vulnerable” populations.
Beast Philanthropy, the charitable organization created by MrBeast founder Jimmy Donaldson, and Rockefeller Foundation It announced the strategic partnership on Monday. The idea is to combine Donaldson’s unique ability to capture the attention of young people with the organization’s 112-year history of using its resources and technology to address global problems.
While speaking together ahead of the November 21 video shoot at MrBeast’s Greenville, North Carolina, studio, the partners praised the strengths they hope to share with each other.
“I’ve spent my whole life making YouTube videos. They’ve spent their whole lives helping people,” Donaldson told the Associated Press. “They obviously have a more experienced team at helping people than I do, but being able to tap into their knowledge and wisdom is amazing.”
“I just want to download their brains into our team’s brains,” he added.
Dr Rajeev Shah, chairman of the Rockefeller Foundation, said the philanthropic sector had long failed to capture “the hearts and minds of hundreds of millions of young people”. MrBeast can help them engage young people, inspire hope, and communicate their work more easily, he said.
Most people have a natural desire to help others, according to Shah, but we teach ourselves that the world’s problems are “too big and too complex” to solve. He pointed to a MrBeast video in Zambia, where they powered a village with solar-powered electricity and clean water wells.
“What Jimmy really did was show that you can change that in a big way,” Shah said. “If we can convince people that they can make a difference through this collaboration, we will have achieved something truly unique and special.”
The move signals Donaldson’s ongoing attempts to develop an organization with sprawling interests that include an entertainment studio, food brands, his James Patterson book deal and, most recently, a limited-time theme park in Saudi Arabia. He brought Venture capitalist Jeff Hosenbold as CEO Last year and then Appoint more new executives your A series of controversies threatened His ambitions precede him Amazon Prime reality game show release.
It’s an unlikely marriage for some. The Rockefeller Foundation is a pillar of civil society that was established with the fortune amassed by 19th-century oil magnate John D. Rockefeller during the Golden Age, while the 27-year-old Donaldson represents the 21st century “influencer” economy where entire media empires can arise from content creators’ stunts and the online buzz they generate.
Shah admitted that the Rockefeller Foundation rarely partners with companies. But he said spending time with Donaldson and his mother, as well as watching his charity-focused videos, reflects the YouTube star’s “personal commitment to philanthropy” and “the sense of enthusiasm one can feel when helping others.”
Shah also found a natural synergy between the MrBeast team’s focus on data and Rockefeller’s desire to make philanthropy “results-oriented and science-based.” Donaldson’s obsession with viewership metrics has been well documented, and the YouTube page is known for its careful editing to ensure fans are not just clicking on the thumbnails, but watching the videos the entire time.
“We bring innovation, a sense of purpose, and a deep commitment to measuring results to these efforts,” Shah said. “Over time, we have helped literally hundreds of millions of people escape poverty, hunger and disease.” “I think Jimmy and the organization he’s built and the perspective he brings aligns perfectly with that.”
The specific issues they plan to address together are still under consideration and there are no joint grants to announce yet. But Shah noted that the Rockefeller Foundation has a long history of combating child hunger and pointed to a Beast Philanthropy video on the school meals program.
However, they have already begun working to combat child labor in the cocoa industry.
Through his snack company, Feastables, Donaldson says he wants to prove that chocolate can be profitable without using child labor on cocoa farms. He hopes to provide farmers with a living income, create stable economic conditions so children can go to school instead of on farms and use his YouTube channel to rally consumers around fair trade practices.
The Rockefeller Foundation consulted MrBeast on “how to conduct the case study,” according to Donaldson. To that end, the two organizations say they will visit Ghana early next year to “learn from each other’s work in development, community-led change, and global storytelling.”
Donaldson said he wants to use his influence to inspire young people “to do good, volunteer, donate and care about these projects.” But he hopes the Rockefeller Foundation will help him become more efficient and bring about “real and lasting change.” He said it made no sense for him to “make the same mistakes they’ve made millions of times.”
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