One of the most storied American philanthropies is teaming up with the internet's biggest creator to an attempt to instill young people with a concern for what they call the world's "most vulnerable" populations. Beast Philanthropy, the charitable organization started by MrBeast founder Jimmy Donaldson, and the Rockefeller Foundation announced a strategic partnership Monday. The idea is to pair Donaldson's unique ability to capture youth attention spans with the foundation's 112-year history of using its resources and technology to tackle global problems.
"I've spent my entire life making YouTube videos. They've spent their entire lives helping people," Donaldson told the AP. "Obviously, they have a team who's way more experienced than me in helping people, but being able to pull on their knowledge and wisdom is amazing. I just want to download their brains into our team's brains," he added. Dr. Rajiv Shah, the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, said the philanthropic sector has long failed to capture "the hearts and minds of hundreds of millions of young people." He said MrBeast can help them engage young people, inspire hope, and communicate their work more accessibly.
Most people have a natural desire to help others, according to Shah, but we teach ourselves that world problems are "too big and too complicated" to solve. He pointed to MrBeast's video in Zambia, where they provided a village with solar-powered electricity and clean water wells. "What Jimmy's already done is show that you can change that dramatically," Shah said. "If we can get people believing that they can make a difference through this collaboration, we will have achieved something really unique and really special."
It's an unlikely marriage. The Rockefeller Foundation is a pillar of civil society established with wealth amassed by the 19th-century oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller whereas the 27-year-old Donaldson represents the 21st-century "influencer" economy where media empires can emerge from content creators' viral stunts. Donaldson said he wants to use his influence to inspire youth to "do good and volunteer and donate and care about these projects." But he hopes the Rockefeller Foundation can help him be more efficient and make "real, lasting change." He said it doesn't make sense for him to "go make the same mistakes they've made a bajillion times."
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