The Greater Good Project - Community Built, Community Driven
Year 1 (2025-26)
by Anderson Boatman
The Greater Good Project brings unites trading-card and gaming communities through live and digital events to support and fundraise for charitable causes.
About This Idea
During the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, my sense of community was missing. While I connected with coworkers, friends and clients via webcam, I still felt isolated from the world around me. What I did not recognize at the time, was the greater good that simple webcam inspired.
The webcam fostered community through Twitch, an online live-streaming platform where people can broadcast games, interact with viewers in real time through chat, and build shared experiences around live content.
Three years ago, I decided to try and organize the community to rally behind a common cause: supporting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's mission to eradicate childhood cancer. This led to our first Community Stream-a-Thon, with 35 content creators raising money 24/7 for 10 days. After setting an initial goal of $25,000, our expectations were blown away when the community raised $79,000. The following two years provided the same mind-blowing experience, with the community coming together to raise $83,000 and $200,000, respectively bringing our three-year total to $357,000.
With our sights set on expanding the reach and impact of our initial event, we are organizing to build a sustainable, engaged community that unites content creators, gamers, and supporters around meaningful causes, both online and in-person. Our goal is not only to raise funds for charitable causes, but also to create an model to implement in digital and local communities to collaborate for social good.
We believe we are addressing two main problems: many charitable campaigns struggle to engage younger, online-native audiences, and people often feel disconnected from opportunities to make an impact. By combining live-streaming, interactive experiences, and in-person events, we make giving accessible, fun, and community-driven. Our model hopes to show that a local card store, a gaming convention, or even a simple webcam, can spark real-world change.
Where Did This Idea Spark at WMU?
While the first Community Stream-a-Thon took place before attending Western Michigan University, the inspiration for expanding and formalizing came directly from my experiences here.
Through my coursework and clinical training in WMU's Counseling Psychology PhD program, I became deeply aware of the importance of community, connection, and mental well-being. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions eased, I recognized that many people, including myself, were struggling with isolation and disconnection, despite these digital communication avenues.
Drawing on my training and connections made here, I realized that communities have the power to come together and move mountains. The intersection of community engagement and collective purpose are truly the inspiration for organizing our work at the Greater Good Project. In something that is so central to our experience as humans, we believe that connection and community is a catalyst to fostering good in the world.
Impact in Kalamazoo
If the Great Good Project works, many win.
Local businesses, start-ups, card shops, restaurants, and breweries can showcase their community involvement, draw in new customers, and support charitable initiatives through interactive events
Neighborhood and community groups can bring residents together, strengthen connections, and celebrate local identity through shared experiences
Content creators and gamers gain a platform to share their skills, collaborate with peers, and make a meaningful impact in their city.
Local charitable organizations win by gaining outlets for fundraising, community engagement, and increased visibility to support their mission and programs
Mental health benefits include resources and avenues for connection, especially through the the offering of resources to combat isolation, anxiety, or other stressors, in an increasingly distant world.
Lastly, residents and newcomers discover ways to connect, contribute, and be part of meaningful community efforts.
How Investment Helps
This investment would allow the Greater Good Project to take root in Kalamazoo by establishing consistent, visible events that connect local residents, businesses and organizations.
With funding, the following initiatives become possible:
- Expanding in-person events across multiple Kalamazoo businesses. Currently, we have relied on personal or private individual funding to procure incentives for fundraising efforts. Funding would eliminate this barrier, allowing us to focus fully on raising money for charitable organizations.
- Expanding online Stream-a-Thons across additional hobby communities, including Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, and Lorcana, as well as across platforms such as Twitch and YouTube.
- Professional Event Staffing and volunteer coordination would be possible. Funding would support hiring coordinators and works to better run events.
- Building a digital face, website, enhancements, and software tools to manage our growing community and scale.
What I'll Do With the Money
$15,000 - Event Production and Incentives. This would cover multiple in-person events across Kalamazoo, including venues, prizes, and materials to make participation engaging and memorable.
$5,000 - Legal fees. These would cover registration, prizing structures and regulations and contract construction for vendors, partners to ensure legal compliance.
$10,000 - Marketing, outreach and partnerships. Supports advertising, social media campaigns, and collaboration with local businesses and nonprofits to maximize community engagement and awareness.
$10,000 - Online streaming and technology. Funds equipment, software, website design, and platform tools to improve our production quality and reach of online and in-person events across hobby communities.
About the Founder
Hey everyone, I am Anderson, a PhD student in Counseling Psychology at Western Michigan University and mental health therapist. I am the founder of the Greater Good Project, a community-driven social enterprise that mobilizes online and in-person audiences to support charitable causes. Inspired by my grandmother's work running a domestic violence shelter, I am committed to building community and helping others, especially after seeing its power during the pandemic.