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| (Image Source: Riot Games) |
Riot Games, the game developer and publisher known for genre-defining games including League of Legends and VALORANT, announced late last year that the Riot Games Social Impact Fund has reached a new milestone, surpassing more than US$50M raised in partnership with players to aid philanthropic efforts around the world. Since the fund’s founding in 2019, players have supported more than 450 organizations across 28 regions to date. “When we first established the Riot Social Impact Fund, we never imagined just how incredibly generous players worldwide would be in championing causes that make a real difference in their local communities. As the world continues to shift in unprecedented ways, we are so proud of and humbled by the millions of players who give their time, money and voice to help drive positive change and create a lasting impact for years to come," said Riot Games CEO Dylan Jadeja.
The Riot Games Social Impact Fund is Riot’s nonprofit engine for its collective global efforts. In line with the company’s player-focused mission, Riot’s social impact efforts are anchored in creating a positive, meaningful impact everywhere players live by supporting the local causes that matter most to them. In partnership with ImpactAssets, the Riot Games Social Impact Fund has partnered with nonprofits around the world to address systemic issues in education, opportunity, citizenship, and sustainability. Through the Riot Games Social Impact, Riot empowers players to help decide where grant aid is allocated in their communities through engaging campaigns and partnerships including:
• In 2019, League of Legends released its 1000th skin, Dawnbringer Karma, which raised more than US$6M. Dawnbringer Karma was honored as the Golden Halo Award Best Consumer-Activated Corporate Donation Campaign by Engage for Good.
• In 2020, VALORANT players voted to bring back some of their favorite skins in a special bundle called the Give Back Bundle which raised US$5.5M in the first social impact effort for the new game and is now an annual campaign.
• Also in 2020, the Social Impact Fund was integral in helping to support communities around the world affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Players helped to raise over US$2.1M by purchasing the medical skin bundle in game which allowed Riot to distribute more than 5.8 million pieces of personal protective equipment in the Philippines, provide more than 36,000 people with tents, hospital beds and oxygen supplies, and even help to establish 30 vaccination sites in areas in the U.S. that lacked adequate access.
• Sentinels of Light, the largest in-game fundraising event set in the League of Legends universe, was recognized on Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas List. The campaign, which ran in 2021, saw nearly 15 million players purchase a bundle featuring Sentinel Olaf and raised US$5.8M.
• To celebrate the release of 2021’s Emmy-winning animated League of Legends Universe series Arcane, players nominated charities around the world for a chance to receive a US$10,000 community grant. From 19,000 submissions, Riot partnered with ImpactAssets and GlobalGiving to identify 30 winning organizations.
• While Dawnbringer Karma marked the first player voting campaign for the Fund, players were offered an expanded way to choose where the money they raised went in 2022 by voting for 84 nonprofits across 28 regions. Players could log on, select the region they wanted to support, and vote for the cause they cared about most.
• To mark the inaugural VALORANT Champions Tour in Los Angeles this year, Riot joined forces with DonorsChoose to support middle and high school teachers who are inspiring the next generation of game devs, designers, and esports pros by matching all donation to gaming and esports-related projects up to US$400,000. So far the campaign has helped to fund 143 projects across 99 schools, reaching over 100 teachers and 2,000 students in the U.S.
• Over the years, the Social Impact Fund has supported specific cause areas based on what players have identified as important to them and supported nonprofits accordingly. One of those cause areas is wellbeing and mental health and as a result Riot has partnered with TakeThis to develop a mental health curriculum tailored for the gaming community and worked with The Public Good Projects to design a free mental health advocacy guide.
Learn more about the Riot Games Social Impact Fund at https://www.riotgames.com/en/who-we-are/social-impact/social-impact-fund.
