Pinterest tops off its creator fund with $700K, calls for applications from marginalized creators

Pinterest has topped off its creator fund with an additional $700,000, and is making changes to the program that shepherds recipient creators.

The fund launched in April 2021, and over the past year has shelled out $500,000 in cash, ad credits, and equipment stipends to an undisclosed number of creators in the U.S.

In a company blog post, Pinterest touted the program’s results, saying that on average, creators gained 60% more followers after receiving their grants and completing a four-week course provided by Pinterest. It specifically highlighted creators Wendy Traylor and Chesca Ortiz (pictured above, left to right).

Traylor, a health and fitness creator, gained 75% more followers between September 2021 and March 2022, Pinterest said. She has 7.1K followers at press time and brings more than 623K views per month. Ortiz, meanwhile, had her monthly views increase by 47%; she has 47K followers and brings 2.6 million views per month.

Changes Pinterest is making to the program start with expanding it from four weeks to five, something the platform says will allow creators to “dig into how Pinterest trends can help [them] create the most inspiring—and timely—content.”

Pinterest is also shifting to a quarterly approach. Every three-month “cycle” will focus on a new content area, with the goal of “giving even more creators access to financial resources and training” and providing “more personalized training and community building,” it says.

The fund’s first cycle will focus on fashion and beauty, and is sponsored by L’Oréal USA.

Creators accepted for this cycle will receive cash grants of $25,000 along with “Pinterest training and deep industry insights from experts in the field,” including people from L’Oréal, Pinterest says.

Applications for the fashion and beauty cycle are open specifically to marginalized creators—so, creators of color, disabled creators, and LGBTQ+ creators. Creators must be based in the U.S. (though Pinterest says it plans to accept creators from the U.K. and Brazil later this year) and have between 1,000 and 10,000 followers on Pinterest or on other platforms. They also must not have monetized their content on Pinterest or other platforms yet, and are required to have made at least one short-form video “Idea Pin.”

Pinterest says content areas for future cycles will be announced in the coming months.