Hank and John Green’s annual charity livestream, Project for Awesome, is a beacon of hope and engagement for the duo’s dedicated online community: The Nerdfighters.
This year, the event raised over $4,133,000 in a single weekend — its largest sum of all time.
Hank and John — who are known for projects ranging from authoring best-selling books and creating educational YouTube videos to launching VidCon and selling socks, soap, and coffee for charity — have been leading Project For Awesome since 2007.
During the annual 48-hour livestream, the pair collaborates with influencers, scientists, philanthropists, and more to entertain viewers, and most importantly, raise money for a wide range of charitable organizations.
Hank (left) and John (right) Green stream in the early hours of the 2026 Project for Awesome. Photo courtesy of vlogbrothers/YouTube
How Project For Awesome Works
Before the livestream begins, community members can submit videos nominating a nonprofit of their choice to receive a portion of the proceeds from the fundraiser.
Viewers can watch and vote for videos and nonprofits that resonate with them. Then, the organizations that receive the most votes will receive a portion of the funds raised throughout the livestream.
Donations are gathered from supporters who can select from a range of “perks” in exchange for donations. These perks include physical keepsakes, like T-shirts and limited edition art, as well as digital downloads like exclusive podcast episodes or sneak peeks of projects discussed by creators involved with Project For Awesome.
2026 perks were hosted by fundraising platform Tiltify and included items like signed art prints, apparel, the first two chapters of Hank Green’s next book, exclusive access to podcast episodes, and commemorative coins and pressed pennies.
Project For Awesome’s 2026 Impact
As of the writing of this article, the 2026 Project for Awesome, which took place from Feb. 13-15, has raised $4,133,229.
Half of all of the money raised will be split among charities voted on by Nerdfighters through the video voting process. The rest of the funds will be split between Save the Children and Partners in Health, two long-term charitable partners of the Green brothers.
Both organizations focus on bringing health solutions to areas where it is needed most. This year, all of the Project For Awesome funds contributed to Partners in Health will benefit their ongoing efforts to end tuberculosis worldwide.
Save the Children, which has been in partnership with Hank and John for 19 years, seeks to provide humanitarian aid in areas of crisis.
Project For Awesome is a project of the Foundation to Decrease World Suck, a nonprofit that fundraises for the benefit of other nonprofits and awards grants to classified charities.
Viewers could vote for their favorite Project For Awesome charities throughout the livestream event. Photo courtesy of Project For Awesome
This year, over $1.8 million in direct donations were made through Tiltify, while a number of matching funds through FTDWS, Partners in Health, and Save the Children added up to reach the grand total of over $4.1 million.
In 2025, the livestream raised over $3.7 million which was split among 30 viewer-selected charities, as well as Partners in Health and Save the Children.
Highlights from the 2026 Project For Awesome
While the underlying work of the Project For Awesome is to make a tangible difference in the face of real problems, both John and Hank are known to bring a hefty dose of humor to the livestream.
Joined by guests like Tyler Thrasher, Travis McElroy, Tess Violet, Alexis Nikole Nelson, and more, the livestream featured its usual goofy shenanigans — all in the name of doing good.
One highlight included a cameo by John’s son, Henry, a boxer, who was promised the opportunity to punch his father after the livestream raised $1 million (and did). Other standout moments included a classic game of “Banana Loca,” appearances by alter egos like “Silly Ray Cyrus,” and Batman Hank, and guest Demi Adejuyigbe singing a capella.
Nerdfighters watching along at home even broke out some 2026 P4A bingo cards.
Guest host Tessa Violet plays her guitar for viewers. Photo courtesy of vlogbrothers/YouTube
In between the silliness, the livestream also featured conversations with Dr. Joia Mukherjee from Partners In Health, and Gary Shaye from Save the Children to help spread the word about the important work the livestream supports.
“We are still caring for millions of people in beautiful fashion,” Dr. Mukherjee said, adding that the Paul E. Farmer Maternal Center of Excellence opened its doors on February 14.
The maternal center is the first-ever neonatal intensive care unit in the country of Sierra Leone and was partially funded with the support of the Green brothers and Nerdfighteria over the last nine years. Together, the online community raised over $50 million to drastically expand maternal services in Sierra Leone.
John and Dr. Mukherjee also spoke about the growing support for advocacy to end tuberculosis, especially on the heels of John’s own advocacy and his latest nonfiction book, “Everything is Tuberculosis.”
“I’m so grateful to everyone who has become part of the movement against tuberculosis. It is really overwhelming to me. We can accomplish so much more together than we can accomplish alone, and Project For Awesome is always a reminder of that for me.”
Hank spoke with Shaye of Save the Children, as well, specifically discussing the organization’s humanitarian efforts in Gaza and Sudan.
Shaye said the organization has been working in Gaza since 1953 and that aid delivery in the region has gotten “a little bit easier” since last year.
“If there’s any good news, I would say it’s a little easier to get the services we need into the territories and have a little greater access than we did before,” Shaye said.
“We focus heavily on health; we have two health clinics [in Gaza], and in the last 4 months of 2025, we screened over 14,000 children monthly for malnutrition … and screened 1,400 babies and mothers, who are in acute malnutrition stage.”
John (left) and Hank (right) celebrate crossing the $4M threshold during the 2026 Project For Awesome. Photo courtesy of vlogbrothers/YouTube
The support that will be provided to the organization through Project For Awesome will help continue these efforts — something John and Hank have uplifted for nearly 20 years.
“The thing that I always feel coming out of these conversations is just how many people are out there doing good in the world,” Hank said after speaking with Shaye.
“Whatever work this community does to turn people’s attention to that instead of whatever nightmare-of-the-day we’ve got going on in the news … it’s really valuable.”
Header image courtesy of vlogbrothers/YouTube
