According to Fortune, MrBeast’s Beast Philanthropy organization has formed a strategic partnership with the 112-year-old Rockefeller Foundation to reshape how young people engage with global philanthropy. The 27-year-old YouTube creator Jimmy Donaldson brings his massive youth audience and viral content expertise, while Rockefeller contributes over a century of experience tackling global poverty, hunger, and disease. The partners announced the collaboration Monday ahead of a November 21 video shoot at MrBeast’s North Carolina studio, with plans to visit Ghana early next year to study development work and community-led change. They’ve already begun collaborating on combating child labor in the cocoa industry through Donaldson’s Feastables snack company.
A Generational Clash That Might Actually Work
This is one of those partnerships that sounds bizarre on paper but makes surprising sense when you think about it. Here’s the Rockefeller Foundation, established with Gilded Age oil money and steeped in traditional philanthropy, teaming up with a guy who built an empire by giving away Lamborghinis and opening temporary theme parks. But Dr. Rajiv Shah, Rockefeller’s president, admitted something important: traditional philanthropy has completely failed to capture “the hearts and minds of hundreds of millions of young people.”
And he’s not wrong. Look at Gen Z’s declining trust in institutions – they’re not exactly lining up to donate to century-old foundations. Meanwhile, MrBeast can raise millions in a single day and make videos about solar power in Zambia that actually get watched. Donaldson’s own words say it all: “I’ve spent my entire life making YouTube videos. They’ve spent their entire lives helping people.” That humility might be exactly what makes this work.
Moving Beyond Viral Stunts to Real Impact
The partnership signals MrBeast’s continued evolution from viral stuntman to serious philanthropist. He’s been building out his organization with venture capitalist Jeff Housenbold as CEO and other executives, even as controversies threatened his ambitions. Now he’s essentially admitting that making real change requires more than just big numbers and eyeballs.
Donaldson put it perfectly: “It doesn’t make sense for me to go make the same mistakes they’ve made a bajillion times.” That’s the kind of self-awareness you don’t often see from influencers with 200 million subscribers. He wants to “download their brains” into his team – and honestly, that might be the smartest move he’s made yet.
Starting With Cocoa and Metrics
They’re already tackling child labor in the cocoa industry through Feastables, with Donaldson aiming to prove chocolate can be profitable without exploiting children. But what’s really interesting is the natural synergy Shah identified between MrBeast’s data obsession and Rockefeller’s results-oriented approach. MrBeast’s team lives and dies by metrics – they’re famous for meticulous editing that keeps viewers engaged until the very end.
Now imagine applying that same analytical rigor to philanthropy. Instead of just counting donations, they could actually measure real impact on poverty, education, and living conditions. As MrBeast expands his philanthropic efforts, having Rockefeller’s expertise could prevent well-intentioned but ineffective projects.
A Bridge-Building Moment for Philanthropy
This partnership represents something bigger than just two organizations working together. As Milan Ball from Giving Compass noted, “We need more bridge building between generations, between the institutions that exist and then this new infrastructure that’s emerging.” Traditional philanthropy has been stuck in its ways for decades, while influencer-driven giving often lacks depth and sustainability.
The question is whether this can become a model for other partnerships. Can established institutions learn to speak the language of digital natives? And can influencers like MrBeast maintain authenticity while working within structured philanthropic frameworks? If they can actually make this work, it could reshape how philanthropy engages with the next generation. The Rockefeller Foundation doesn’t do partnerships like this often – that they’re willing to try suggests they see real potential here.
