Maya Higa's animal sanctuary just became the #2 most-subscribed channel on all of Twitch. AlveusSanctuary, the broadcast arm of a 501(c)(3) wildlife sanctuary in Austin, Texas, hit roughly 69K active subscribers on June 8, 2026, leapfrogging CaseOH, HasanAbi, and StableRonaldo. About 61,000 of those subs (88%) were gifted by other viewers. A nonprofit just out-monetized the platform's biggest variety stars.
ā” Key Takeaways
- Maya Higa's AlveusSanctuary hit ~69K active Twitch subs on June 8, 2026, locking down the #2 spot on the entire platform.
- Roughly 61K of those subs (88%) were gifted by other viewers, sub-bomb culture pointed at a 501(c)(3) instead of a streamer.
- Alveus passed CaseOH (~21K), HasanAbi (~6.7K), and StableRonaldo (~6K). Only Jynxzi (~94K) sits ahead.
- The Alveus Subathon, launched May 21, 2026, hit a cumulative 110.4K subs over the run, second only to Jynxzi in overall rankings.
- Two months earlier, Higa became the first Twitch streamer ever to give a main-stage TED Talk, after her community raised $7.5M+ for conservation.
- The takeaway: gifted micro-transactions at scale are the next monetization primitive, and Twitch's 50/50 split leaves money on the table next to Fanvault's 8%.
What actually happened?
On June 8, 2026, AlveusSanctuary vaulted past three of Twitch's most commercially dominant streamers to claim the #2 slot platform-wide, according to Deltia's Gaming. The only channel ahead was Rainbow Six star Nicholas "Jynxzi" Stewart at roughly 94K active subs, per Growthscribe. The leaderboard at the time of the surge wasn't close.
| Channel | Active Twitch subs (June 2026) |
|---|---|
| Jynxzi | ~94,000 |
| AlveusSanctuary | ~69,000 |
| CaseOH | ~21,252 |
| HasanAbi | ~6,722 |
| StableRonaldo | ~6,074 |
The surge wasn't random. On May 21, 2026, Alveus launched a round-the-clock "Alveus Subathon," where every paid subscription funded sanctuary operations and added time to the broadcast clock. Early days drew 3,000 to 4,000 peak concurrent viewers and roughly doubled as the event stretched on, per Streams Charts. The cumulative run hit a reported 110.4K subscriptions, second only to Jynxzi in overall Twitch rankings.
Why does this matter for creators?
Because the dominant monetization primitive of the next cycle isn't the subscription. It's the gifted micro-transaction pointed at a clear, named mission. A wildlife rescue in Austin just beat the platform's loudest political streamer and one of its biggest variety creators using a checkout flow Twitch designed for fandom, not philanthropy.
The mechanic compounds in ways a one-time donation drive can't. Gifted subs route through the same wallet an audience already uses for entertainment spend, which collapses friction to near zero. Pair a clear cause with a subathon clock and let sub-bomb culture do the rest. Expect a wave of mission-led creators to copy the play before the year is out.
The cultural read is sharper. A 501(c)(3) animal sanctuary is now a top-of-funnel revenue engine on a platform whose top earners spend most of their hours playing video games or yelling about politics. That's a quiet rebuke of the assumption that purpose-driven content can't compete with attention-driven content at scale.
"This is so crazy to see š"
AlveusSanctuary, X post reacting to the #2 ranking on June 9, 2026
What's the bigger picture?
This isn't a fluke moment, it's the logical end of a five-year build. On April 14, 2026, Higa became the first Twitch streamer ever to deliver a main-stage TED Talk, at TED2026 in Vancouver. As Dexerto reported, she disclosed that her community has raised over $7.5M for conservation causes and received a standing ovation. Two months later, that same community handed her the #2 sub slot on the platform.
Per Streams Charts, Higa's streams generated more than 250 million views of educational content in 2025 alone. The sanctuary itself launched on February 10, 2021, with a 21-hour charity stream that raised over $500,000 to open the doors, according to Wikipedia. Five years later, the same playbook (livestreamed conservation, ambient education, community-funded everything) has scaled into a platform-leading subathon. Mission-led media isn't a side category anymore.
What does Fanvault think?
The AlveusSanctuary moment is a preview of where mission-led creators should actually be running this play. Twitch's standard 50/50 sub split (or 70/30 in the Plus Program once a creator clears the thresholds) means a $4.99 gifted sub nets a sanctuary roughly $2.50 to $3.50 before payment processing. Fanvault's 8% platform fee routes nearly all of that same $4.99 to the cause, with no take-rate cliff at higher volume. Stack the storefront (authenticated memorabilia auctions, buy-it-now drops, wishlists) plus the Telegram-based automation layer for fan DMs, and a viral conservation moment becomes a year-round monetization engine rather than a one-week spike.
The lesson for 2026 creators isn't to chase a viral subathon. It's that once you've earned a community willing to subsidize your mission, you want it pointed at the platform that lets the mission keep 92 cents on the dollar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did AlveusSanctuary actually become #2 on Twitch?
Yes. According to Deltia's Gaming, on June 8, 2026 the AlveusSanctuary channel hit roughly
Who is Maya Higa?
Maya Higa is a Twitch streamer, licensed falconer, and wildlife rehabilitator who founded Alveus Sanctuary, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit wildlife sanctuary in Austin, Texas, in February 2021. Per Wikipedia, she grew up on a farm in Northern California and graduated from California Polytechnic State University. On April 14, 2026, she became the first Twitch streamer to deliver a main-stage TED Talk at TED2026 in Vancouver.
What is a Twitch subathon?
A subathon is a livestream format where every paid subscription extends the duration of the broadcast, often by minutes or hours per sub. The Alveus Subathon launched on May 21, 2026, ran round-the-clock, and routed all sub revenue to sanctuary operations. The mechanic turns subscription gifting into a community-coordinated funding event with a visible clock everyone is racing.
Why is the gifted-sub mechanic such a big deal?
Because it removes friction. Gifted subs use the same checkout an audience already uses for entertainment spend, so a viewer can drop a $4.99 sub on a stranger in two clicks. Stack that with a clear cause and a public clock, and the community piles in. The result is that a wildlife rescue just out-earned the platform's biggest variety streamers in active subscriptions.
What's Fanvault's take on this?
That mission-led creators should run this exact play, but on a platform that respects the economics. Twitch's standard 50/50 subscription split (or 70/30 in the Plus Program) means a sanctuary keeps roughly $2.50 to $3.50 of every $4.99 gifted sub. Fanvault's