This holiday season, Save the Children is set to roll out its very first gaming‑focused fundraiser, a two‑day event titled Save Point, which will run on December 5 and 6, 2026. The concept emerged from a broader ambition to deepen the organization’s connection with the worldwide gaming community, a sector that has grown into a cultural and economic powerhouse over the past decade. Fiona Baxter, the charity’s senior fundraising manager, told GamesIndustry.biz that Save Point was "born from a wider desire to engage more with the gaming community." She explained that, unlike traditional endurance challenges such as marathons, a gaming‑based fundraiser offers a more inclusive avenue for supporters of all ages and fitness levels. "Save Point is allowing us to engage more with the gaming community, both from a partnership and individual supporter perspective.
Not everyone can run a marathon, so an event like this is a lot more accessible and allows us to showcase what a different type of supporter can do," she said. The event is being anchored by a collaboration with popular online creator and streamer TheKapFantastic, who has already demonstrated his fundraising potential by raising over £5,000 for Save the Children earlier in the year. His involvement will include live‑streamed gameplay sessions, interactive challenges, and donation milestones that encourage viewers to contribute in real time. Baxter highlighted the strategic importance of such partnerships: "It would be incredible to reach more people in this community with information about the work we do and why it's important.
I will consider it a huge success if we walk away from this event with a new crew of supporters who might want to game for us again because of their experience with us." Because this is Save the Children’s first foray into a gaming‑centric fundraiser, the organization anticipates a steep learning curve. Baxter noted, "There are also a lot of learning opportunities in this event.
This is our first time doing this type of fundraiser, so the feedback we get will be invaluable and help us shape bigger and better gaming events year‑on‑year." The data gathered—from viewer engagement metrics to donation patterns—will inform future campaigns, potentially expanding the format to include e‑sports tournaments, charity raids in popular MMOs, and collaborative charity streams across multiple platforms. Baxter also praised gamers and streamers as "the unsung heroes of fundraising," emphasizing that the gaming world is "setting a new, innovative standard" for charitable support. She elaborated on the cultural traits that make gamers uniquely positioned to drive change: "There is an understanding between game‑lovers that we are a group of people who love stories, imagination and escaping to new worlds through the power of play. By turning our love of gaming into a force for real‑world, lasting change, we're demonstrating just how powerful and impactful the gaming community can be." Save Point is integrated into the broader "The One Delivery That Matters" campaign, which launches in November 2026.
This campaign seeks to shift public attention from traditional holiday gifts to the essential items that many children desperately need during the festive season—food, medicine, warm clothing, and safe shelter. Baxter summed up the message succinctly: "Absolutely anything you could think of can be delivered right to your door at the tap of a screen. But for millions of children this Christmas, it’s not toys or treats they’re waiting for – it's the deliveries that will save lives and protect childhoods." The mechanics of Save Point are straightforward yet designed to maximize participation. Interested individuals can register via a dedicated landing page, where they will receive a toolkit that includes guidelines for setting up a fundraising livestream, tips on engaging an audience, and suggested donation tiers tied to in‑game achievements.
Streamers are encouraged to incorporate interactive elements such as viewer polls, challenges, and reward unlocks that correspond to donation milestones. For example, a streamer might pledge to complete a particularly difficult raid or unlock a rare in‑game item once a certain amount of money has been raised. Beyond the immediate fundraising goal, Save Point aims to cultivate a lasting network of gaming‑oriented philanthropists. Baxter envisions a future where the charity regularly collaborates with developers to embed charitable triggers directly into games—such as optional micro‑transactions that fund specific child‑focused programs—or where e‑sports leagues allocate a portion of prize pools to humanitarian causes.
By establishing these pipelines now, Save the Children hopes to create a sustainable model that leverages the massive, engaged audience of the gaming sector for ongoing social impact. In summary, Save Point represents a pioneering step for Save the Children, merging the immersive, community‑driven world of gaming with the urgent humanitarian mission of delivering essential supplies to children in need.
The event not only offers an accessible way for gamers to contribute but also serves as a testing ground for innovative fundraising strategies that could redefine charitable giving in the digital age. To join the movement, register your interest through the provided link and receive all the information you need to set up your own fundraising livestream and become part of this groundbreaking initiative.