Jeff Bezos may not have planned to donate to the Jane/Finch Centre (JFC) in Toronto, but his money is certainly flowing into the poverty relief organization.
The JFC launched a campaign on Wednesday that sources fundraising from Twitch Prime subscriptions. Amazon Prime members that link their accounts to Twitch get $3.50 from Amazon that they can give to their streamer of choice. By giving that money to the JFC’s new Twitch account, they effectively fund the community center with Amazon’s — and Bezos’ — money.
The JFC offers job search support, food access through urban gardening and community markets and sports, arts, culture and youth mentorship programming in Toronto.
To promote the stream, JFC worked with creative and strategic consultancy Angry Butterfly to create a video depicting a digital rendition of Bezos voiced by a questionable impersonator. Digital-Bezos says that because most Twitch Prime subscriptions go unused, he gets to pocket the $3.50.
Others have noted the ability to effectively force Amazon to support charities through Twitch Prime subscriptions. Broadcaster Brian Kibler raised money this way for the North Valley Community Foundation, which focuses on wildfire relief, in November 2018.