The Yogscast’s annual charity fundraiser raised a total of over $2.6 million, beating the previous record of $1.15 million set in 2013.
Set up by Yogscast founders Lewis Brindley and Simon Lane, Jingle Jam is a month-long live stream that encourages viewers fellow gamers to raise money for charity.
The 2016 fundraiser incentivised donations by offering “Humble Bundles” – a package providing video games and DLC at a reduced price – as a perk. Taking the form of an advent calendar, those purchasing the bundles would await a new daily game or DLC. For Jingle Jam 2016, this included games such as Team Fortress 2 and Goat Simulator.
Mark Turpin, CEO of The Yogscast tweeted that Jingle Jam 2016 had received a total of 86,573 donations. He also explained that the money raised goes straight from Humble (the company distributing the games) to the charities, bypassing him.
We had 86,573 donations during the #JingleJam2016 and when all is said and done should have raised over $2.6 million for charities! Chuffed
— Turps (@The_T) January 1, 2017
This outcome follows an early success for Jingle Jam 2016, which surpassed its 2015 total of $1.1 million just a week into the fundraiser. To date, the event has raised a total of $6.31 million for charities.
In 2016 the charities supported by the live stream included the Mental Health Foundation, ILGA, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Cancer Research UK, GamesAid, and Special Effect. There was also a new option to choose a charity to donate to from a list of thousands.
For those still wishing to donate, some bundles are still available at the Jingle Jam Humble Bundle page.
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