Vanessa Pappas, GM @ TikTok

In what started as a $200 million fund to help content creators get their start and earn a livelihood on the TikTok platform, Vanessa Pappas, the GM for TikTok US has shared that she expects the number to go as high as $1 billion.

But will this fund truly make a difference in support of content creators? Or is this a marketing ploy to mask some of the political drama currently surrounding the platform? Here’s everything we know so far:

Currently, eligibility is based on:

  • Age 18+
  • A currently unspecified number of followers
  • Creating consistent content in alignment with TikTok’s community guidelines (for more on these guidelines, view here).

According to Vanessa, the first $200 million will be “distributed over the coming year and is expected to grow over that time.”

In addition, the fund is aimed at supporting other initiatives such as:

  1. $50 million towards a Creative Learning Fund which is largely focused on getting experts like Bill Nye to create learning content for the platform itself.
  2. TikTok LIVE Streams as a monetization vehicle for creators.
  3. The TikTok Creator Marketplace to help creators connect with brands.