Beyond the stream: How gaming communities turn fandom into fundraising

Gaming fundraising is often measured in livestreams, donation counters and marathon gaming sessions. But not every contribution happens while somebody is holding a controller.

Sydney independent clothing label Lonely Kids Club has been supporting Game On Cancer through a collaboration that combines gaming culture, independent art and cancer research fundraising in a form that can be worn long after a stream ends.

Its Science Meets Gaming tee features artwork by Claire Harrison, with 100% of the profit from each shirt donated to Game On Cancer, an initiative of Cure Cancer.

The shirt itself is not new. It first launched in 2023 and remains available today.

Rather than being a short-lived charity drop built around a particular event, the project grew out of conversations that began a year earlier.

“We started talking with Shane from Game On Cancer in 2022. They were already bringing the gaming community together to fund cancer research, and we’d been using our tees to support causes we care about. Making something people would want to wear gave us a practical way to contribute.”

Where science meets gaming

Harrison was involved from the beginning. She was Lonely Kids Club’s artist at the time and joined the original conversation with Game On Cancer before developing several concepts for the collaboration.

“She sketched a few directions, then developed the bright grid of gaming and science references with feedback from their team. Claire and I both felt that one was very us. We wanted it to be fun to wear while pointing back to the research.”

The artwork was developed as part of the collaboration itself, with input from the Game On Cancer team rather than simply being applied to a shirt after the fact.

For Lonely Kids Club, that kind of involvement is also part of a broader approach to working with artists.

“Artist collaborations bring a perspective and a community we wouldn’t have on our own. Claire worked directly with Game On Cancer on this one, so it feels like something that belongs to both of us. Giving artists proper credit and fair pay matters to us too.”

What does 100% of profit mean?

Charity merchandise can sometimes make it difficult to work out exactly how much money reaches the organisation being supported.

In this case, Lonely Kids Club says the arrangement is straightforward.

Each Science Meets Gaming tee is printed to order at the company’s Sydney studio.

After the cost of producing the shirt is covered, all remaining profit is donated to Game On Cancer through Cure Cancer.

“That’s 100% of profit, rather than the full $45 sale price. We track sales and settle the amount with the charity.”

Buying the shirt does not mean the full purchase price is donated, but Lonely Kids Club says none of the profit it makes from the product is retained.

Gaming beyond the game

Gaming has become an effective space for community fundraising.

Streams, tournaments and events give people a common activity to rally around, while online platforms make even small individual contributions visible as part of a much larger total.

Warwick sees that shared participation as one of gaming culture’s strengths.

“Gaming gives people a shared goal and a way to act on it together. Streams and events make it easy for lots of people to chip in, even in small amounts, and see the momentum.”

The Science Meets Gaming shirt extends that participation beyond the stream itself.

“The shirt gives people another way to support that outside a stream.”

A livestream eventually ends. An event packs up. A donation counter stops moving.

But community support does not necessarily have to disappear with them.

In this case, it can also look like an independent Sydney label, an artist, a gaming charity and somebody choosing what T-shirt to wear.

The Science Meets Gaming Charity Tee is available from Lonely Kids Club for $45.

Feature image credit: Lonely Kids Club