MrBeast aims to raise millions for his charity by offering a weekend
experience to six-figure donors
[June 03, 2025]
By JAMES POLLARD
NEW YORK (AP) — MrBeast plans to turn the success of his Amazon Prime
Video reality competition series into millions of dollars for charity.
YouTube’s biggest creator is offering an exclusive weekend on the set of
Beast Games Season 2 to the first 40 donors who make $100,000 gifts to
his registered nonprofit. The earliest contributors and up to two guests
each will spend June 27-29 touring MrBeast’s North Carolina studio,
hearing from the production team in a private Q&A and visiting Beast
Philanthropy’s food pantry.
The invitation comes as Jimmy Donaldson’s reported $5 billion media
empire surpasses 400 million subscribers on YouTube, where he had
already set the record for the biggest following. But the call raises a
question: Who among his following of young people and their parents can
make a six-figure donation?
“I have some big charity projects I want to fund so I think it’s a
win/win,” MrBeast said in a post on X.
Rallying his fervent fan base to make their own contributions marks a
new fundraising strategy for Donaldson. He has long stated that his
YouTube pages’ featured charitable work is funded with his Beast
Philanthropy channel’s revenue.
The content has drawn a mix of praise from fans for working with local
nonprofits to support previously unfunded projects and pushback from
critics who accused Donaldson of exploiting vulnerable people for
clickbait “inspiration porn.” Campaigns have involved treating rheumatic
heart disease in Nigeria and protecting endangered animals in Kenya.
Other examples include building wells in countries across Africa and
covering the cost of cataract surgery for 1,000 people.
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 The call also signals Donaldson’s
continued philanthropic presence after comments suggesting he would
get “less hate” if he stepped away from philanthropy altogether.
Responding to allegations that he uses philanthropy as a shield,
Donaldson said he thinks “it paints a negative spotlight on me.”
“People hate me more because I do good,” Donaldson said in a
conversation uploaded last November on the YouTube channel
oompaville. “Maybe that’s too crazy of a statement. I’m not trying
to sound like a victim here or anything.”
“The truth is, I just find videos where I help people more fun than
videos where I don’t,” he added.
Monday’s announcement comes shortly after Amazon Prime Video renewed
Beast Games for two more seasons. The reality competition series
pitted 1,000 contestants against each other for a $5 million grand
prize that doubled in the Feb. 13 finale. Forbes reported that the
show broke the streaming service’s record by totaling 50 million
views in the 25 days after its premiere.
MrBeast’s latest fan event also follows reports that an April
weekend experience billed as “immersive” and “unforgettable” had
fallen short of attendees’ expectations.
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