One of the prime examples of such an initiative is the recent tree-planting campaign that started when YouTube stunt philanthropist, MrBeast Donaldson, was given a suggestion to plant as many as 20 million trees upon hitting 20 million subscribers on YouTube. Donaldson took notice of this and collaborated with a fellow YouTuber and former NASA engineer Mark Rober to help him devise a plan to complete this challenge.
And as they say, when you try to do something good, the entire world helps you in your initiative, this is exactly what happened with Donaldson's aka MrBeast's plan. What was started by one man, soon took the form of a social movement. Now more than 600 YouTubers, including Rhett & Link (4.5M subscribers), Smarter Every Day (7.3M), Mark Rober (8.7M), Ninja (22.4M) and more, are all teaming up to be a part to be the cause. Donaldson is inviting other YouTubers as well to join him in this venture, calling it the 'largest YouTube collaboration of all time.'
YouTubers are posting videos using the initiative's hashtag #TeamTrees and are asking their viewers to be a part of this cause by donating as much as they can. The good part is, YouTube is covering all the transaction fees for donations made on the platform, so they will not have to worry about anything.
Arbor Day Foundation, one of the largest non-profit organizations in the world known for its conservation and reforestation program, is lending its support by using its international partnership network to donate to the cause. Many local organizations from Europe, America and Australia have submitted their proposals to the foundation, showcasing their desire to contribute to the cause.
Business bigwigs have donated to cause as well such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk with $1 million, Shopify Tobi Lütke with $1,000,001 and YouTube Susan Wojcicki with $200,000. Owing to these contributions, YouTube has crossed the halfway point within a week, raising $10 million so far for this tree charity campaign.
As an aftermath of these efforts, funds to plant 17,807,917 have been collected so far. Fundraising will continue till the first of the trees get planted, which is expected by the end of December. The first trees will be planted in warmer places like Texas and Florida and then will eventually reach other parts of the world.