Riot Games has announced that more than $6 million has been donated to charities worldwide through its Social Impact Fund. Player voting helped determine which nonprofits received the funds.
Launched in 2019, the Social Impact Fund was created as a way for Riot Games to directly invest in nonprofit organizations that address systemic issues in society. The Social Impact Fund page of the official Riot Games website lists the initiative's priorities: Citizenship, Education, Opportunity, and Sustainability. Players contributed to the Social Impact Fund by purchasing Star Guardian cosmetics in League of Legends and the Give Back Bundle in Valorant.
From December 12-22, Riot Games opened voting for players to help decide which charities would be granted the funds. The charity voting campaign allowed community members to vote on three nonprofits per country across 28 countries. The top-voted organization from each country would receive half of its country's allocated funds, while the other two nonprofits would be granted a quarter of the country's pool each. All nonprofits featured in the campaign were guaranteed a minimum of $15,000.
In collaboration with GlobalGiving, Riot Games tallied the results of the campaign. All 83 nonprofits were allocated a portion of the more than $6 million raised, with some organizations receiving more than others as determined by player voting. Riot Games notes the total amount raised is equivalent to approximately 550,000 Star Guardian Taliyah skins.
The nonprofits that received the most votes take on different missions, from education and gender equality to climate change. Reforestation initiative Cultiva received half of Chile's allocated funds. The World Wildlife Fund, a wilderness preservation-focused charity, was the top voted organization in the United States, while the Drive Forward Foundation, a nonprofit geared toward empowering young adults leaving foster care, won the hearts of voters in the United Kingdom. The full list of Social Impact Fund awardees is available on the Riot Games website.
Upon the voting campaign's conclusion, about 775,000 votes were received from community members worldwide. "It was truly inspiring seeing all our players come together to champion the causes they care about most," Riot Games stated. With the success of the Social Impact Fund, players can expect Riot Games' philanthropic efforts to only expand this year.