By Vanessa Pappas, General Manager, TikTok US

[UPDATE - March 25, 2021]: Beginning March 25, 2021, creators will need at least 100K authentic video views in the last 30 days to be eligible to join the Creator Fund. The Creator Fund is in its early stages, and we're continuously exploring new ways to improve the experience for our creator community and the way creators are rewarded. We’re looking forward to sharing more information soon!

Creators are the heart and soul of TikTok, where hundreds of millions of people around the world come together every day for laughter, entertainment, and human connection – all made possible by people just like them. Whether sharing family outings, inspirational messages, or creatively celebrating a milestone, our talented creators bring a ray of sunshine through their unique, innovative, and relatable content. 

We recently announced our TikTok Creator Fund to further support creators of all sizes and backgrounds through earnings that reward the passion and dedication they put into inspiring, uplifting, and entertaining the TikTok community. This Fund will reach hundreds of thousands of creators, starting with $200 million and growing to $1 billion in the US over the next three years, and more than double that globally.

Creating engaging and meaningful content takes time and commitment, and our creators are just as passionate about sharing stories and connecting with their audiences as we are about serving them and our broader community of users. We've seen an incredible response to the TikTok Creator Fund and today, we are pleased to announce the first recipients of the Fund.

Each of these creators has shown what it means to be your authentic self, bring joy and inspiration to people, and creatively connect with an audience. TikTok would not be the vibrant community that it is today without creators like these, some of whom have only been on the platform a few months and others who have been with us from the beginning. From redefining a category to venturing into uncharted waters, these creators are a huge part of TikTok and we're grateful for their ingenuity and creative spirit. 

There are so many more creators that make TikTok the platform that it is today and we encourage all of our eligible creators to apply to the Creator Fund when the application process opens in-app mid-August. To be eligible, users must meet the minimum eligibility requirements, including be 18 years or older, meet a baseline of 10K followers, have accrued at least 10K video views in the last 30 days, and post original content in line with our Community Guidelines. This Fund was created to reward your creativity, your passion, and your tenacious spirit to connect with others. We invite you to turn your creativity into an opportunity to earn a livelihood, pursue another career, or simply, to be rewarded for doing what you love.

We are excited to continue seeing the engaging and inspiring content that the TikTok community has been known and celebrated for. Congratulations to the following:

  • @acooknamedmatt - Matt Broussard is a Seattle Zagat 30 under 30-awarded chef who shares his passion for cooking through his video creation and pop up dinners. Matt educates people on how to make his favorite recipes in addition to showing off his impressive knife-cutting skills. 
  • @alex.stemp - Alex Stemplewski is a Los Angeles photographer best known for his impromptu public photoshoots. Many of his videos depict him approaching a stranger in public and offering to photograph their portraits in unique ways, which he shares with them and in his videos.
  • @avani - Avani Gregg, passionate about beauty and makeup, has built a following of nearly 24 million followers who love her makeup tutorials. Avani brings characters she’s sketched in books to life, using colorful palettes and unusual techniques. As she continues to build a career as a creator, she is also exploring her interests in fashion, dancing and acting.
  • @brittany_broski - Brittany Tomlinson is an iconic example of a TikTok creator success story. Initially known as "Kombucha Girl" for the viral video of her trying kombucha for the first time, Brittany has grown her platform on TikTok to five million loyal followers over the course of the past year. 
  • @cheyennejazwise - Cheyenne Jaz Wise, a cosplay creator from Las Vegas, NV, is currently on furlough, due to COVID-19, from one of her seamstress jobs and children’s theater program. She has turned to TikTok to share her passion for sewing creative costumes.
  • @daviddobrik - David is a digital entertainment personality known for his high-energy videos consisting of pranks, cute animals, and fun with friends. His humorous and entertaining content has amassed more than 20 million followers. 
  • @doctor.jesss - Jess Andrade is a pediatric resident who wants to make healthcare and health-related information accessible to all. Many of her videos show a day in the life of her as a doctor, or give helpful information about hot topics in healthcare.
  • @dreadknotwoodshop - Darryl Jones is a woodturner from Deltona, Florida and the founder of Dread Knot Woodshop. He teaches classes in person and online and appears at trade shows. Show cancellations due to the pandemic have heavily affected his business. The silver lining has been being able to continue to bring his work to people through TikTok.
  • @feelgoodfoodie - Yumna Jawad joined TikTok by word of mouth from her close-knit food community. She believes food shouldn't only taste good, it should make you feel good. Yumna food vlogs on TikTok. 
  • @heyeliza - Chance Moore and Kate Hudson are parents to Eliza, an amazing and beautiful 10-month old girl battling cancer. Chance and Kate share videos about their lives as a family dealing with a very tough situation. Their videos of family positivity and optimism have amassed nearly 3 million followers. 
  • @justmaiko - Originally dancer and now full time creator, Michael Le is widely known in the TikTok community for starting trends and creating memorable choreography. He recently hit 35M followers and is continuing to grow with his fun and exciting dance content.
  • @lgndfrvr - Justice Alexander has a passion for entertaining those around him and putting smiles on their faces with his comedic and family-friendly approach. Better known as LGND, he is based in Los Angeles and is known as one of the top Latino creators on the platform. 
  • @lifeofadoctor - Dr. Fayez, a healthcare professional, has quickly gained over 500K followers since starting his TikTok journey in fall of 2019. Many of his videos depict him mythbusting common misconceptions within healthcare, or giving his audience a glimpse on his everyday life as a doctor.
  • @marstruck - As a proud Asian American, Marissa Ren uses her platform to educate viewers about Asian influences on global fashion while also sharing videos about her current favorite fashion trends.
  • @mattgresia - Matt Gresia is an entrepreneur and business guru. He uses topics that followers would find relatable for his entertaining "Did You Know" and informational videos.
  • @onlyjayus - Isabella Avila recently graduated with a degree in computer science and math and moved to Los Angeles to take her creator career to the next level and pursue it as a full time job. Her videos surrounding facts and psychology erupted on the platform, and she was one of the inaugural 2020 LGBTQI+ TikTok Trailblazers. 
  • @rosssmith - Ross Smith is a veteran digital entertainment personality from Westerville, Ohio known for his hilarious videos filmed with his Granny. The iconic duo never fails to entertain their loyal follower base with original skits and comical pranks. Ross has been an active creator on TikTok for several years and is continuing to grow every day.
  • @spencerx - Spencer Polanco Knight is a Beatbox artist from Manhattan whose growth on TikTok over the past year has been explosive, receiving support from almost 40 million followers. Spencer is particularly passionate about spreading awareness of beatboxing as a mainstream music medium. 
  • @tonyyounmd - Dr. Anthony Youn is a board-certified plastic surgeon known as America's Holistic Plastic Surgeon™.  Tony uses his TikTok presence to educate people about holistic beauty and empowers them to look and feel the best version of themselves.