What charities can learn from RuPaul’s Drag Race about building a community

If you’ve been online lately, you might have noticed that a new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars is here, and along with it, one of the most devoted fan communities in popular culture. Drag Race fans are campaigners, voters, creators, and they show up in ways that most organisations can only dream of. 

But what makes the Drag Race fanbase different from a passive audience, and what can charity comms teams learn from it? 

As part of our series on what pop culture can teach us about communications (we previously explored what charities can learn from Heartstopper), we’re turning to the werkroom for our next lesson: how to build a supporter community that genuinely shows up. 

1. Authenticity doesn’t just attract people, it keeps them

The queens who build the most loyal Drag Race communities aren’t always the ones who win. Fans of Katya or Jinkx Monsoon have stayed devoted for years, and a big part of that is because those queens have been willing to be honest about the harder parts of their lives and careers. 

In All Stars this becomes especially clear. These are queens that audiences already know, and the ones who reconnect most powerfully with their fans tend to be the ones who show up as themselves, rather than as a polished version of what they think people want to see. 

For charities, that’s worth considering. Supporters can tell the difference between an organisation that communicates honestly and one that only shares the wins. Being real about complexity, setbacks and the messy middle of doing meaningful work, builds a different kind of trust. 

Tip: Think about where in your communications your charity could be a little more human. A candid update from a team member or an honest reflection on a campaign that didn’t go as planned can build more lasting trust than a highlight reel ever will. 

2. Create a sense of belonging through shared language and consistency

Part of what makes the Drag Race fandom so sticky is that it has its own vocabulary. Fans know what it means to “read” someone, to “snatch the crown”, to be told to “shantay” or to face a lip sync for your life. These phrases work as a kind of shorthand. If you know them, you’re in. 

The RSPB’s Bird of the Week is a small but good example: a recurring content format that gives their community something to anticipate, talk about, and share. It’s not complicated, but it’s consistent, and over time that consistency creates a rhythm that supporters start to expect and look forward to.

Their Big Garden Birdwatch takes this further. Now in its 47th year, it’s one of the most recognised annual campaigns in the sector. It works because it gives the community a shared moment to gather around, every year, in the same window of time. The fact that hundreds of thousands of people are doing it at the same time is what makes it feel like something. 

Your version doesn’t have to be a huge annual campaign. It could be:

• A signature campaign hashtag that supporters recognise and use
• An annual day of action that brings your community together
• A familiar phrase or format you use in your newsletters or social content
• A recurring content series that gives people something to look forward to

These small markers help supporters feel like insiders, not just followers. And when people feel connected to a community, they’re more likely to show up when you need them.

Tip: Look back at your last six months of communications. Are there phrases or formats your audience has responded to consistently? That’s the beginning of your shared language. Build on it rather than constantly reinventing your approach. 

3. Invite participation, don’t just broadcast

Drag Race fans don’t just watch the show, they become part of it. They vote in fan polls, they organise watch parties, they create their own content inspired by the queens they love. The show actively creates space for that. There’s always something to do, to respond to, to get involved in. 

Macmillan Cancer Support’s Coffee Morning is probably the best example of this in the UK charity sector. It started in 1990 with a straightforward idea: gather over coffee and donate the cost of your drink. What made it grow into something that’s raised over £290 million is that Macmillan essentially handed the format to their supporters and let them run with it. The charity doesn’t host the Coffee Morning, thousands of individuals, workplaces, schools and community groups do – in their own way and on their own terms. That’s the difference between broadcasting a message and building a community, people show up for something they feel they own a piece of. 

But it can also be as simple as asking a genuine question and actually responding when people answer or inviting a supporter to share their story alongside yours. 

Tip: Look at your last campaign. How many touchpoints asked something of your audience rather than just telling them something? Even a small shift can start to change the dynamic. 

4. Celebrate your community as loudly as your cause

Drag Race is good at making its fans feel seen. Queens thank the people who voted for them. The show has fan-favourite awards. There’s a real sense that the audience is part of what makes it work, not just an afterthought. 

Charities are often great at celebrating beneficiaries and impact, and less practised at celebrating the people who make it possible. The donors who’ve given for years. The volunteers who come back every time. When people feel genuinely recognised, they stay. And they tell others. 

All Stars is a useful reminder of what long-term loyalty actually looks like. The queens who return have fans who never stopped believing in them, and that devotion didn’t happen by accident. It was built through consistency, through being worth showing up for over and over again. 

Tip: Make a list of the people or groups who have shown up consistently for your charity in the last year. When did you last acknowledge them publicly or personally? If you can’t remember, that’s a good place to start. 

The real lesson from the werkroom

What Drag Race has built is really about belonging. People stay because they feel seen, because there’s always something to be part of, and because the community rewards showing up. 

A strong supporter community for a charity works the same way, and you don’t need a TV budget to build it. 

Now sashay away and go build that community! 

Looking for more practical comms advice? Head to our Resource Hub or explore our upcoming training courses for affordable, practical skills for charity communicators.

Image credit: Santiago Felipe/Getty Images