During the Indianapolis leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, something unexpected happened on TikTok. Tess Bohne, a stay-at-home mom of three turned content creator, had already built a loyal following as the “livestream queen,” offering thousands of fans front-row access to the sold-out shows they couldn’t attend.

But during those shows, she did something different. She turned her spotlight toward someone else.In just a few days, Tess used her livestreams to raise over $34,000 for Coburn Place, a local nonprofit that provides safe housing and support to survivors of domestic violence.

No gala. No grant cycle. No strategic development plan.

Just one creator, one mission, and one moment of generosity that caught fire.

The Creator Effect Is Quickly Changing the Game

Tess’s story isn’t an outlier. It’s a preview. Creators are no longer just entertaining audiences; they’re mobilizing them. In fact, a recent report from Tiltify revealed that 61% of Gen Z donors are more likely to give when a creator is involved.

And it’s not just Gen Z. When trusted voices share a cause with clarity and conviction, people listen.

We’re seeing this across the board:

Starlight Children's Foundation partnered with gaming creators like TheHungerService and Amish_Ace to fund free play programs for 700+ hospitals, all by rallying gamers to stream for a cause (March 2024).

NAMI launched their Take the Moment campaign by equipping creators with tailored toolkits to fight stigma and promote mental health resources reaching over 1 million people (May 2024).

Huggies and Walgreens activated over 40 parenting influencers to spotlight diaper need and support the National Diaper Bank Network, leveraging trust in the parenting space to drive targeted impact (Sept. 2024).

And of course we can’t forget: YouTube stars MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) and Mark Rober led the massive #TeamWater campaign, uniting over 3,000 creators across 84 countries to raise over $40 million in 31 days, successfully funding clean water for two million people through WaterAid and empowering a generation to care about the global water crisis (August 2025).

These aren’t outliers. They’re a shift.

At Cause Fokus, we’ve worked with nonprofit clients of all sizes who are trying to answer the same question: “How do we get our message to actually break through?” 

And here’s what we’re seeing:

This year, successful social strategies will be ones that focus not only on what you post, but on who is trusted to share it. We’ve worked with nonprofits that exceeded their fundraising goals not because they went viral, but because a single micro-creator shared a personal story that resonated. No paid media or six-week campaign buildout. 

Just relevance, timing, and the right voice reaching the right audience.

And in today’s landscape, the most credible messages aren’t always coming from your official accounts. They’re coming from people your audience already trusts.

Sondra Clark, cofounder at Urban Legend, an influencer marketing agency that connects a network of 2,000+ influencers with organizations, associations, and brands that are making a difference in the world, told me in a meeting recently:

“It's far too easy for people to scroll past a brand's message-tested graphic, but they stop and listen to the face they see every day in their Instagram story. That trusted introduction is golden when you are looking for future donors for your organization.”

You Don’t Need a “Creator Strategy.” You Need a Trust Strategy.

If you’re planning your 2026 campaigns right now, here’s what I want you to know:

You don’t need to chase viral moments, hire influencers with 1M+ followers, or create a perfectly crafted toolkit. What you do need is a community of people (creators, partners, staff, volunteers) who already love what you do, but just need a reason to share it.

Start there.

1. Equip them with a story that’s easy to tell.
2. Make it simple to post, reshare, or link to your campaign.
3. Let them speak in their own voice, not your brand guidelines.

And then watch what happens.

Final Thought

If a stay-at-home parent can turn a livestream into $34,000 for a domestic violence shelter…
If thousands of small creators can fuel a $40M water campaign…what could happen if your supporters had the tools and the trust to do the same?

The Creator Effect isn’t coming. It’s here. And the good news is, you don’t need to go viral to see results. You just need to get your content into the hands of people your audience already trusts to build the kind of momentum that generosity can ride on.

About the Author

Brynne is a social media strategist for NGOs and purpose-driven businesses.

Working with NGOs, thought leaders, and policymakers in DC for the last decade, she specializes in getting people to care about complex issues that might otherwise get ignored.

Her team at Cause Fokus uses empathy-based marketing to turn passive audiences into loyal advocates.