When Los Angeles wildfires rip through neighborhoods, the gap between sympathy and actual help feels painfully wide. Milana Vayntrub decided to bridge it using a fundraising method that raised eyebrows and more than $500,000.
Vayntrub, 38, best known as AT&T’s longtime “Lily,” revealed this week that her project, Only Philanthropy, crossed the half-million-dollar mark. The concept is simple and intentionally strange. She offers “flirty and tastefully risqué” photos of herself in exchange for donations, with the proceeds going directly to wildfire survivors.
“I had this full-on crazy idea for an experiment,” Vayntrub wrote on Instagram. “After the LA fires this year, I saw that what people really needed was some cash. So I wondered if you and me could try something ridiculous and team up to help the people affected.” She later called the project “the best thing I’ve ever been part of.”
AT&T Girl Raised $500K for LA Wildfire Victims Selling Flirty Photos
The first campaign centered on a GoFundMe for Bridget Bradley, a single mother who lost her East Altadena home in the Eaton wildfire. Within four days, donations hit roughly $170,000. The money helped Bradley cover housing, medical expenses, and transportation for her family, including her young son with cerebral palsy.
Vayntrub made it clear from the start that nudity was off the table. Donors would receive exclusive photos that leaned playful rather than explicit. The hook worked. According to Only Philanthropy, roughly 3,500 people donated across the first two campaigns, averaging about $120 each. The images are digitally watermarked with donor emails to discourage leaks, and higher donation tiers unlock bolder content. A $1,000 contribution includes a chance to receive a signed Polaroid from the shoot.
Encouraged by the response, Vayntrub launched a second drive over the summer that raised about $350,000 in a week. Those funds went to My Tribe Rise, an Altadena-based nonprofit supporting elderly, disabled, and underinsured residents rebuilding after the fires. The money was distributed as direct grants.
“Only Philanthropy trades exclusive content for real-world impact,” the project’s website states. “We raise money for urgent causes quickly, by offering our generous supporters something a little flirty, a little silly, and with a whole lot of heart.”
Vayntrub says she plans to expand the model next, inviting other creators and supporting causes ranging from justice reform to climate resilience. “We’ve raised over half a million dollars together this year,” she wrote. “Now let’s grow this into something bigger, stranger, more powerful.”
Attention turned into dollars, and dollars turned into housing, care, and time to recover. That’s the part that counts.
