A hundred points to check your voter registration. Another 1,500 points to become a monthly donor with the Human Rights Campaign. Pledging to vote for pro-choice candidates? That’ll earn you 25.
What are they all for? The coveted chance to meet the Midwest Princess herself: Chappell Roan.
During the campy pop star’s meteoric rise to fame in the past few months, she’s made headlines for record-breaking crowd sizes, speaking out against fan harassment, and making her presence known as a beacon of hope for LGBTQ+ youth in some of the most unwelcoming places.
The fans registered on Propeller — an online, gamified platform that helps performing artists engage fans in social issues — are the most interested in the relationship between Roan’s art and activism.
And they’re breaking some records of their own.
On Propeller, the unofficial members of the “Pink Pony Club,” earn a point currency by taking action for the causes Roan cares about, like safeguarding reproductive rights, helping people register to vote, and expanding LGBTQ+ rights nationwide.
These actions include things like donating to charities, watching informative videos about certain topics, sharing calls to action on social media, signing petitions, and more — each assigned a certain point value.
The more actions fans take, the more points they earn, and the more they can exchange them for prizes like exclusive merch, donations for aligned nonprofits, chances to win tickets to see Roan in concert, or an opportunity to meet her backstage.
Back in 2023, Annie Flook, the head of artist partnerships and business development at Propeller, heard from another friend in the music industry who was working with Roan’s team.
“They said, ‘You really need to pay attention to this girl. She’s out on the road. Merch is selling like crazy. She stands up for what she believes in and she’s outspoken. She’s perfect for Propeller,’” Flook told Good Good Good.
And she was.
Prior to Roan’s meteoric rise — which followed her own headlining tour, opening for Olivia Rodrigo, and a number of catchy singles that took TikTok by storm — she was already using her concerts to do good.
At every show on her headlining tour, she welcomes a handful of local drag performers on stage — and fans were encouraged to Venmo performers directly, or donate funds to organizations like The Glo Center, For The Gworls, or The Trevor Project. This year, Roan also collected hand-made friendship bracelets from fans and sold them at merch tables, with all proceeds going to aid relief in Gaza.
She still touts these smaller, self-managed projects, but Propeller has leveraged her star power for bigger operations.
How Chappell Roan fans raised thousands at the behest of their fave
First, the platform ran a campaign for fans to win a VIP experience at a headlining show in Boulder, Colorado last fall.
When they realized how easy that was — for an on-the-rise artist to give just a few minutes of their time in exchange for massive social impact — they “rinsed and repeated,” as Flook calls it, offering a similar VIP experience for fans attending Bonnaroo in the summer of 2024.
By that point, Roan became a staple in the cultural zeitgeist.
“[Chappel] took our Bonnaroo campaign and just threw it into the stratosphere,” Flook said. “It became our biggest campaign on Propeller ever… at that point.”
Soon, Roan was beating her own engagement records on Propeller, with fans showing up with the same fervor for future campaigns that include a grand prize of meeting Roan at festivals like Outside Lands and Austin City Limits.
As of the writing of this article, all of Roan’s Propeller campaigns have resulted in over $160,000 generated for the Human Rights Campaign and Reproductive Freedom For All.
These funds come from more than 150,700 supporters, who have taken over 223,000 “actions” on the Propeller platform.
Considering the “HOT TO GO!” singer’s Lollapalooza crowd culminated in a record daytime turnout of 110,000 attendees, Propeller’s numbers represent a sizable chunk of her growing fan base.
“Every new fan that finds her is instantly a super fan and is instantly super engaged,” Flook said. “It just speaks to the type of fan base that she’s growing and connecting with; these fans that genuinely care about these issue areas.”
Flook saw this first-hand when she went to Bonnaroo to facilitate meet-and-greets hosted by the platform earlier this year.
“She gives so much of her time and is so genuine with her fans,” Flook said. “When she came out to do the meet-and-greet, the first thing she asked my coworker was ‘How much money did we raise? How much impact did we create?’ That doesn’t always happen.”
The fans — clearly grateful for the mere chance at a moment with the red-haired renegade — are moved by the impact, too.
“Propeller truly made a dream come true by allowing me to meet one of my top favorite artists,” Jonathan, the fan who met Roan at Bonnaroo, said. “And they do it by also making great change in our world!”
The new era of fan-driven activism
Flook acknowledged that Propeller is an entry-level approach to activism, helping introduce fans to on-the-ground organizations that are putting in the work when it comes to the issues people care most about.
“You don’t have to be an expert on this certain cause because Propeller’s not the expert either,” she said. “But Human Rights Campaign is. Headcount is. So, if we can connect those dots and get those fans directed over there — even if they were getting connected because they wanted to win a prize — we’re still getting them involved with a good cause.”
After those fans enter the databases of those major nonprofits or activism organizations, the fundraising partners get to run with it, strategizing how to maintain their newfound audience to make a difference.
“Partnering with Chappell Roan through Propeller has been incredibly impactful in our fight for LGBTQ+ rights,” Dane Grams, the vice president of membership at the Human Rights Campaign, told Good Good Good.
“Her support has not only inspired countless supporters to take action, but it has also helped us reach a younger audience and secure 2,500 new monthly donors. This has been vital in driving meaningful change and protecting the rights of all individuals.”
Funds raised on Propeller also benefit Reproductive Freedom For All, which has spent over 50 years advocating for abortion rights, access to birth control, parental leave policies, and pregnancy protections.
When it comes to Roan’s own bodily autonomy, these campaigns have a place in the conversation, as well. It’s clear the impact of her fundraising work is major for organizers and beneficiaries alike, but the format of Propeller makes it more accessible for Roan to continue advocacy work without burning out or being exposed to unsafe interactions.
Recently, Roan herself took to social media to set some clear boundaries as her career catapults.
“Please do not assume you know a lot about someone’s life, personality, and boundaries because you are familiar with them or their work online,” she wrote on Instagram.
“I embrace the success of the project, the love I feel, and the gratitude I have. What I do not accept are creepy people, being touched, and being followed… I’m not afraid of the consequences for demanding respect.”
When Propeller organizes fan meet-and-greets, they are able to vet their winners and meet with them before facilitating the interaction with artists, Flook said, which provides a safe and engaging experience for all parties involved.
“Propeller makes it very simple for her to do some good while she’s on this meteoric rise,” Flook said. “We know that she’s being pulled in a thousand different directions.”
Adding to the team of people who support the world’s most beloved celebrities, Propeller allows artists to prioritize social change in their schedules — and not at the expense of their own mental health.
“Working with Propeller has been seamless and incredibly rewarding. The platform creates the opportunity for artists to connect with their fans on a deeper level, while creating real impact on causes close to their hearts,” Roan’s manager, Ruby Anton, told Good Good Good.
“We couldn’t ask for a better partnership.”
Back in 2023, before “Good Luck, Babe!” hit the soundwaves, Roan saw this kind of do-good work as an intrinsic part of her music project.
“I find that it’s my duty to give back to the queer community that supports me. I have a platform and I have money to redistribute and I really encourage other artists to give back too,” she told Polyester Zine last fall.
While Roan’s career has changed in the short few months she’s risen to mega-stardom, her core values have not.
With Propeller, she is able to bring organizers and budding activists together on the same choreography.
This happens where young people already are: On the soggy grounds of a music festival, or scrolling their uber-personalized Instagram algorithms, accompanied by quippy lyrics and outspoken cries for freedom from the green lips of a Lady Liberty drag queen.
Header image by Lucienne Nghiem
