Tinder sponsors book clubs as local groups trade independence for cash

Local community groups across the United States are increasingly accepting corporate sponsorship to cover operating costs. On a Saturday in October, more than 80 people attended a book crawl at Corner Bookstore on the Upper East Side of New York City. The event was organized by Lit Club NYC and sponsored by the dating application Tinder.

The partnership was facilitated by Offline, a platform that links event hosts with advertisers. Andrew Roth, the 28-year-old founder of Offline, stated that the goal is to help advertisers achieve strong media performance while allowing hosts to maintain financial sustainability. Roth launched the company in September 2025 after a previous venture, DCDX, was acquired by Visible Ventures. He noted that the idea originated from a 2024 advertising campaign that took place at in-person community events.

Kelly Chervin, 35, founded Lit Club in March 2025 to create a space for Latina readers. She earns $20 for every attendee who joins the sponsored events. In exchange for the payout, she must provide specific deliverables, including social media posts promoting the sponsor. One recent Instagram post from the club read, "You can now discover events like these on the @tinder app!"

Offline currently lists more than 900 communities on its platform. Hosts of various groups, including run clubs and mom groups, create profiles that detail their meeting frequency and typical turnout. Brands then match with these events based on target audience data. Roth said that hosts typically earn between $2,500 and $3,000 per event. He described the business model as "intimacy at scale."

Michael Lombardo, 43, leads the McGolrick Bird Club in Brooklyn. The free group, named for the local park, draws about 100 people to the park every Saturday morning. Lombardo connected with Offline earlier this year and remains open to a partnership. He emphasized that any deal must benefit the community. "I do need to support my family," Lombardo said. "I have two children."

Academic experts offer mixed views on the impact of commercial funding on organic groups. Amit Kumar, an assistant professor at the University of Delaware, said there is potential benefit if the money allows people to continue connecting. Benjamin Cornwell, a sociology professor at Cornell University, argued that a community ceases to be organic once a profit-motivated company funds it. Cornwell predicted that members may lose faith in the group's original purpose and eventually drop out.

Reactions at the sponsored book crawl were divided. Some attendees liked the Tinder association, while others felt the gathering was a tactic to find romantic partners. Chervin experienced friction earlier in the year when she promoted an AI tool for Meta. Although she did not lose any paid subscribers, she reported that a few members told her they felt they could not return to the group. Roth maintains that the model is successful if it allows organizers to remain in business. "If 10 years from now people look at us and say, 'Oh, these are the evil guys that bastardized IRL,' so be it," Roth said.

He added that he would view the model as a success if the platform pays out a billion dollars to organizers and supports the creation of numerous new events.