Alveus Sanctuary Explained

Alveus Sanctuary
Size:150px
Formation:February 2021[1]
Status:501(c)(3) charitable organization
Purpose:Conservation and online education
Headquarters:Austin, Texas, U.S.[2]
Region Served:Worldwide
Language:English
Leader Title:Executive Director
Leader Name:Maya Higa
Revenue:$763,380[3]
Revenue Year:2021
Expenses:$144,411
Expenses Year:2021
Website:www.alveussanctuary.org
AlveusSanctuary
Years Active:2021–present
Channel Name:AlveusSanctuary
Channel Url:alveussanctuary
Followers:224 thousand
Stats Update:August 14, 2024

Alveus Sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that houses non-releasable animals and provides online conservation education, primarily through 24/7 live-streamed content on Twitch.tv and produced content on YouTube.[4] [5] The name Alveus is borrowed from Latin ("the channel or bed of a river").

History and funding

Maya Higa founded Alveus in February 2021, with a 21-hour-long live stream to raise initial capital to fund the sanctuary. The live stream raised over $500,000, with donations over $100 receiving a metal leaf that would be displayed at Alveus.[6] [7] An auction was also held during the stream that included a pair of loafers from T-Pain and an hour with streamer Shroud, which was won by Ludwig Ahgren with a $53,000 donation.[8] [9]

Alveus continues to use the live streams on Twitch as their main way to educate their audience on conservation and to raise funds to continue operating. Since their founding, Alveus has raised over $1,000,000 through donations on their streams.[10] Alongside accepting donations at any time on the stream, they also host many dedicated fundraising events, such as their 2022 Art Auction which sold off paintings created by the ambassadors at the sanctuary for donations, raising over $40,000 during the single event.[11]

Other content creators also help to raise funds for Alveus, either through collaboration streams at Alveus or through dedicated fundraising events for Alveus. At DreamHack Atlanta 2022, Ludwig raised $315,000 during his 50-hour-long glass box stream, with 50% of that being donated to Alveus.[12] [13] Fellow streamers Britt and Malena held a fundraising live stream for Alveus in November 2022 and raised over $20,000 for the sanctuary, during a period of time where Higa had stepped away from streaming.[14]

In April 2023, the new CEO of Twitch, Dan Clancy, visited Alveus to meet the staff and ambassadors.[15] [16] Clancy also donated his first month of earnings from his personal Twitch stream to Alveus.[17]

Conservation and education efforts

Alveus takes in animals for a variety of reasons, some of them being non-releasable due to injuries or confiscations from the pet trade, and so on, with 32 animals at the sanctuary currently. These animals act as ambassadors for their species, all with different stories and conservation missions.[18] [19] These animal ambassadors are used in Alveus' educational content to allow viewers to build a connection to the specific animal and then learn to care for the species as a whole. "I learned that model of people falling in love with an individual animal and then caring about their species and planet," Higa told KXAN. "If they knew, they would care, because they love these animals, and so my job is to be that bridge and teach people."

Stompy, an emu, was the first ambassador at Alveus and helps educate viewers on the exotic meat trade, traditional medicine, and overexploitation of animal products in cosmetics. Higa hand-raised Stompy on many of her live streams as Alveus was initially built.[20] Other ambassadors at the sanctuary include macaws, American red foxes, a carpet python, donkeys, chinchillas, marmosets, and more.

The sanctuary is based on 15 acres of land in Austin, Texas, but is not open to the public due to safety concerns. Education at Alveus all happens online in a few different forms, from the 24/7 live cams of the ambassadors at the sanctuary, to collaborations with different content creators to spread the conservation messaging to a wider audience, and other produced content.[21] Higa hosts Animal Quest, a live series where each episode introduces viewers to an ambassador at the sanctuary, teaches them about their story, their species' importance to the environment, and what they can do to help.[22]

On April 4, 2023, Higa and Alveus teamed up with Twitch to host a weekly show called Nerve Center presented by Ally, a sponsored education show based around the animals at Alveus. The guests for this show featured a roster of online creators, including Daily Dose of Internet, Lacari, Dareon, and Caroline Kwan.[23] [24] [25]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About Maya Alveus Sanctuary . Alveus Sanctuary.
  2. Web site: Alveus Sanctuary Inc - GuideStar Profile . GuideStar .
  3. Web site: 2021 Annual Reports Alveus Sanctuary . Alveus Sanctuary .
  4. Web site: AlveusSanctuary - Twitch . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240321061755/https://www.twitch.tv/alveussanctuary . March 21, 2024 . Twitch.tv.
  5. Web site: Alveus Sanctuary - YouTube . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240225014758/https://www.youtube.com/AlveusSanctuary . February 25, 2024 . YouTube.
  6. Web site: Asarch . Steven . February 12, 2021 . Twitch Streamer MayaHiga Raises $573,000 to Start Animal Sanctuary . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240323133046/https://www.businessinsider.com/twitch-streamer-mayahiga-raises-money-animal-sanctuary-2021-2 . March 23, 2024 . Insider.
  7. Web site: Gordon . Eden Arielle . February 16, 2021 . Twitch's "Bird Girl" Raises $500,000 For Animal Sanctuary: Is Twitch the Future of Fundraising? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230526193719/https://www.popdust.com/the-twitch-bird-girl-raised-500-000-for-an-animal-sanctuary-2650553899.html . May 26, 2023 . Popdust.
  8. Web site: Lee . Jonathon . February 12, 2021 . Twitch in disbelief over man's $53,000 bid to hang out with popular streamer . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230528024344/https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/ludwig-bought-53-000-charity-160534204.html . May 28, 2023 . Yahoo Finance.
  9. Web site: Conlan . Daniel . February 11, 2021 . Maya's charity auction huge success as she goes bald, Ludwig pays $53k for hour with shroud . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231016131119/https://www.ginx.tv/en/twitch/ludwig-buys-hour-with-shroud-for-53k-in-charity-auction . October 16, 2023 . GINX.
  10. Web site: Vaske . Emma . April 13, 2023 . Texas Sanctuary Raises Money on Twitch . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525154132/https://dallasexpress.com/lifestyle/texas-sanctuary-raises-money-on-twitch/ . May 25, 2023 . The Dallas Express.
  11. Web site: Polhamus . Blaine . April 23, 2022 . Maya Higa auctions off over $40,000 of art pieces painted by animals for Alveus Sanctuary . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231126222917/https://dotesports.com/streaming/news/maya-higa-auctions-off-over-40000-of-art-pieces-painted-by-animals-for-alveus-sanctuary . November 26, 2023 . Dot Esports.
  12. Web site: Parker . Ellie . November 21, 2022 . DreamHack Atlanta attracts 27K fans from around the world . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230526181442/https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2022/11/21/dreamhack-atlanta-attracts-27000-fans-around-world/ . May 26, 2023 . Atlanta News First.
  13. Web site: Tsiaoussidis . Alex . November 21, 2022 . One glass box, 50 hours, and $300,000: Ludwig's IRL subathon at DreamHack, recapped . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231126222917/https://dotesports.com/streaming/news/ludwig-subathon-2-0-dreamhack-recap . November 26, 2023 . Dot Esports.
  14. Web site: Tsiaoussidis . Alex . November 3, 2022 . Britt and Malena raise more than $20k during Alveus Sanctuary charity stream . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231126222916/https://dotesports.com/streaming/news/britt-malena-raise-more-than-20k-alveus-sanctuary-charity-stream . November 26, 2023 . Dot Esports.
  15. Web site: Ng . Eric . April 13, 2023 . Twitch's new CEO defends job cuts, plans creator meeting . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231127060921/https://www.tradealgo.com/news/twitchs-new-ceo-defends-job-cuts-plans-creator-meeting . November 27, 2023 . TradeAlgo.
  16. Web site: Maya talks about having the NEW Twitch CEO at Alveus . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230527094423/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehS4b1DzHgA . May 27, 2023 . YouTube.
  17. Web site: Twitch CEO Dan Clancy's Stream Is Starting . https://web.archive.org/web/20230715174110/https://themessenger.com/tech/twitch-ceo-dan-clancys-stream-is-starting . dead . July 15, 2023 . The Messenger . Serrano . Jody . July 15, 2023 .
  18. Web site: Ambassadors Alveus Sanctuary . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240223021821/https://www.alveussanctuary.org/ambassadors . February 23, 2024 . Alveus Sanctuary.
  19. Web site: Thompson . Kelsey . April 6, 2023 . How a Texas sanctuary uses social media to highlight animal conservation needs . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230609084640/https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/how-a-texas-sanctuary-uses-social-media-to-highlight-animal-conservation-needs/ . June 9, 2023 . KXAN.
  20. Web site: Hamilton . Tenijah . November 2, 2022 . The Streaming Sanctuary BirdNote . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230526193011/https://www.birdnote.org/podcasts/bring-birds-back/streaming-sanctuary . May 26, 2023 . BirdNote.
  21. Web site: Collaborations Alveus Sanctuary . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230602230048/https://www.alveussanctuary.org/collaborations . June 2, 2023 . Alveus Sanctuary.
  22. Web site: Animal Quest Alveus Sanctuary . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231128155928/https://www.alveussanctuary.org/animal-quest . November 28, 2023 . Alveus Sanctuary.
  23. mayahiga . 1643024606612135936 . Apr 4, 2023 . I HAVE A NEW SHOW!!!! I teamed up with @Twitch Streamer Originals as the host for Nerve Center presented by @Ally. Tune into the first episode TOMORROW at 11am CT! #ad.
  24. twitch . 1645852127246405644 . Apr 12, 2023 . Our host for Nerve Center is none other than @mayahiga! What animals will she bring out for our guest @TheRealDareon today?.
  25. twitch . Cq580cHJS1q . Apr 12, 2023 . Our host for Nerve Center is none other than @maya_higa higa! What animals will she bring out for our guest today? . May 28, 2023.
  26. Web site: The Streamer Awards - Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240310011403/https://thestreamerawards.com/winners . March 10, 2024 . The Streamer Awards.
  27. Web site: Taifalos . Nicholas . Michael . Cale . February 18, 2024 . Streamer Awards 2024: All results and winners for every category . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240309165034/https://dotesports.com/streaming/news/streamer-awards-2024-all-results-and-winners-for-every-category . March 9, 2024 . February 18, 2024 . Dot Esports.