Worldbuilders 2010

[Edit: This is the Worldbuilders Fundraiser for 2010. The current Worldbuilders for 2013 is here.]

What’s that you say? You’d like to make the world a better place while simultaneously winning fabulous prizes?

Well today is your lucky day.

Heifer International is my favorite charity. It helps people raise themselves up out of poverty and starvation. All over the world Heifer promotes education, sustainable agriculture, and local industry.

They don’t just keep kids from starving, they make it so families can take care of themselves. They give goats, sheep, and chickens to families so their children have milk to drink, warm clothes to wear, and eggs to eat.

(Are you ready? I’m so ready. Let’s do it.)

This year we’ve got a couple different options for donating.

Option 1: The Lottery.

This is the option most people will want. It’s simple. You hop directly over to the page I’ve set up at Team Heifer, and donate.

When you donate using my page at team Heifer, two things happen.

1. Worldbuilders will match 50% of your donation. That means your ten-dollar donation becomes fifteen dollars. If you donate two goats, it becomes three goats. And so on.

2. You’ll be entered in the lottery.

After the fundraiser is over on December 13th, we’ll have a random drawing for all the swag that’s been donated over the last couple months. More than a thousand books, comics, DVD’s and assorted cool miscellany.

[Edit: The end of the fundraiser is now noon on Dec 17th (12:00 PM, pacific standard time.) If you want to know why, you can read the explanation here.]

For every 10 bucks you donate, your name will get entered into the drawing once. If you donate thirty bucks, your name goes in three times. Think of it as buying tickets, if you like.

We’ve had *way* too many books donated for me to post them all up at once. So I’ll be putting up a new blog full of donated books pretty much every day or two, just to keep people from being overwhelmed with all the awesome.

Make sure to check back often to see the new cool.

Last year, readers and geeks of all creeds and nations donated over 125,000 dollars to Heifer International on our team page. With help from a few sponsors, Worldbuilders matched 50% of that, bringing our total for the year to over 190,000 dollars.

Personally, I think we can do even better this year.

Nov 13th – Worldbuilders begins.
Nov 17th – $10,000 raised.
Nov 23rd – $25,000 raised.
 
Dec 1st  – $50,000 raised.
Dec 9th – $100,000 raised.
Dec 14th – $128,926 raised. (Last Year’s Total Beaten! Woo!)
Dec 16th – $150,000 raised.
.

Our last goal, the goal that I really don’t know if we’ll be able to meet, is going to be 166,700 dollars.

Again, it’s a rather odd number. But if we raise that much it means that after Worldbuilders makes its matching donation, we will have raised a quarter million dollars this year.

I don’t know if we’ll be able to make it. But I’m excited to try…

[Edit – The donation thermometer doesn’t work any more, but in the end we raised more than $192,000.  It was awesome….]

 
 
 
 
 
 

You can use this link to check out the Team Heifer page and make a donation.

Option 2: The Sure Thing.

Or, as I like to think of it, the Christmas Present Option.

For those of you who aren’t interested in the lottery, I have some stuff you can just buy. All the proceeds go to Heifer International.

Here’s a link to our new store. Lovingly named The Tinker’s Packs.

Option 3: Auctions.

Last year we did a few auctions and they seemed to work out pretty well. So this year we’re continuing in that fine tradition, auctioning off some of the rarer and more specialized services people have donated.

We’ve got industry professionals willing to read your fledgling manuscript and give you feedback. We’ve got a limited edition Stardust ARC signed by Neil Gaiman and a copy of The Gathering Storm signed by Brandon Sanderson and the production team at Tor. We’ve got rare manuscripts, computer software, a signed Brett Favre Jersey, and much more. Stay tuned for details.

You can see all current Worldbuilders auctions here.

A Plea For Sanity

Lastly, I’d like to ask everyone to please read the instructions/directions carefully before they donate.

I know you’re excited. I’m excited too. We’re going to raise some money, make the world a better place, and end up with big warm fuzzy feelings.

But here’s the problem. If you’re *too* excited, you’ll end up clicking buttons all higgledy-piggledy, forgetting vital steps and leaving things out. (Especially when buying things with Paypal) Then you’ll send me an e-mail that says something like: “I’m sorry, but I forgot to include my shipping address/t-shirt size/signing instructions. Could you please fix it for me?”

I know I’m bound to get one or two e-mails like this. No biggie. But each one is like a cold drop of water eroding my warm fuzzy feeling. If I get, say, a hundred, I’ll have no warm fuzzy left at all. I’ll be left with nothing but a cold prickly feeling.

You don’t want to give me a cold prickly, do you?

I’m sure you don’t. And I’m sure that you’ll read the instructions carefully.

FAQ.

Have questions? Most of them are probably answered over in the FAQ. (Even if your question isn’t answered, I talk about Batman a bit, so it won’t be a complete waste of your time.)

Lastly, just in case you missed it, here’s one more link to our Team Heifer donation page.

Let’s do this thing.

pat

This entry was posted in calling on the legions, Heifer International, Worldbuilders 2010By Pat36 Responses

36 Comments

  1. Posted November 13, 2010 at 6:29 AM | Permalink

    Woo! I haven’t even finished posting the starting blogs yet, and we’ve already got a donation!

    I’m so excited to launch this year’s fundraiser. I look forward to it all year long…

  2. kenevins
    Posted November 13, 2010 at 6:29 AM | Permalink

    Looks like I timed it right and am your first donor! Woohoo! Anyway, don’t know if there is a way to do this, but what if you created a way to recognize people who got the most other people to participate in this effort. I traditionally post this on FB when you launch and I’m sure other people do too. What if, for every 5 people who we brought on that donated, we got another chance at the lottery? Might require an extra line on your donation page at Worldbuilders to say “who did you hear about this fundraiser from?” Just a thought. Good luck in reaching the goal and thanks for being a do-gooder!

    • Posted November 13, 2010 at 6:40 AM | Permalink

      That would be cool. Unfortunately, I don’t have that much control over the donation page.

      Thanks for jumping onboard early, and thanks for helping to spread the word….

  3. dimensionallyT
    Posted November 13, 2010 at 6:52 AM | Permalink

    The second prize link (•Hundreds of Books from Subterranean Press
    ) doesn’t work. Thought you might like to know.

    Good luck with the fund-raising!

  4. Snall
    Posted November 13, 2010 at 6:56 AM | Permalink

    Well I donated $50 first time- sadly I just bought a Kindle so I can only throw $30. :-( Well- that might be a chicken or something…

  5. Mism
    Posted November 13, 2010 at 7:15 AM | Permalink

    Just want to let you know that the link to the FAQ in this article is broken. Worldbuilders is awesome.

    • Posted November 13, 2010 at 7:21 AM | Permalink

      Good lord. Can you tell that haven’t had enough sleep lately?

      Thanks much. I’ve fixed it.

      • Mism
        Posted November 14, 2010 at 8:52 AM | Permalink

        Sorry, If that came across as too critical, it wasn’t supposed to. Everything that you are doing is really great! Good luck finding some sleep, I think you deserve it.

  6. Deborah Wolf
    Posted November 13, 2010 at 7:58 AM | Permalink

    Hooray! I love you, Santa!

  7. Dave Ince
    Posted November 13, 2010 at 9:08 AM | Permalink

    I’m 0 for 2 in the drawing, maybe this will be my lucky year. Or not. Either way works for me. It’s nice just to be able to donate to a worthy cause. Having a chance to win something cool is an added bonus. It’s so cool what you do here Pat!

  8. krb2g
    Posted November 13, 2010 at 9:32 AM | Permalink

    I feel like half a jerk even asking this, but here goes. My father is well-nigh impossible to shop for, so it’s occurred to me that I might like to give a Heifer donation in his honor for Christmas (and he’s a veterinarian, so it feels like an appropriate charity). If I donate through Worldbuilders, is it possible to get a card or whatever Heifer does that says it’s in his honor?

    • Posted November 13, 2010 at 6:09 PM | Permalink

      Yeah. We have those cards, and can send them out to you.

      Let me think for a bit, and I’ll figure out the best mechanism for getting people these cards. Maybe we’ll put them in the store or something….

      I’ll post up our solution in a future blog. So keep your eyes peeled.

  9. DShannon
    Posted November 13, 2010 at 9:56 AM | Permalink

    Huzzah! My family has been waiting for this! The first year, we could only donate bees. Last year, I struggled with unemployment, but scrounged up for some rabbits. This year, with my sweet job as an Army civilian, we’re donating a goat! Next year… A heifer!

  10. Wren
    Posted November 13, 2010 at 2:43 PM | Permalink

    Another huzzah! I was just talking about this the other day. I help moderate a community forum for a game and last year the forum administrator and moderators sponsored a holiday raffle where folks could enter to win a prize if they made a post showing they had donated to a charity. I always like to list worldbuilders in our suggested charities because then folks get two chances to win something (making them more likely to participate) and you get more donations (the real bonus). Good luck this year, we’ll do our best to send more donations your way :)

  11. spikyc
    Posted November 13, 2010 at 2:43 PM | Permalink

    I’m enjoying sitting here, refreshing the page every 20 or so minutes, and watching the amount donated grow :) It’s grown by around $30 every 20 minutes so far. Awesome job, everyone! :D

    I’ve just placed my own order in for a College Survival Guide. Can’t wait to read it! It’s the only published work of yours that I don’t yet have.

    • Posted November 14, 2010 at 5:59 AM | Permalink

      Pat,

      I love that you chose Heifer International. It is one of the NGOs that actually helps people raise their standard of living in a small yet concrete way. I’ve seen a lot of NGOs that create dependence in the country especially here in Haiti (where I’m at now).

      I love the fact that you promote building people up rather than just giving them food, money, or houses.

      Without giving it too much word diarrhea, you rock and it I love the fact that you promote a NGO with consideration. Heifer is my favorite and if I had a top 10 list it would be one there.

      A huge fan,

      • Posted November 14, 2010 at 4:05 PM | Permalink

        That’s so nice to hear. I always get a handful of messages from people saying, “Meat is Murder!” Or “Animals damage the environment!”

        It’s really disheartening. Thanks for reminding me that people out there do get why Heifer is the best at what they do.

  12. eurydice
    Posted November 14, 2010 at 8:42 PM | Permalink

    i am sooo happy you are doing this again. and i have a job this year so i am so going to donate. ^_^

  13. LaMiss
    Posted November 14, 2010 at 9:26 PM | Permalink

    You’re doing a great job, Pat!!

    This is the first year I am able to participate (didn’t read you’re blog last year) and as soon as I get my paypal stuff working, I’m going to donate! I am sooo excited!

    • spikyc
      Posted November 15, 2010 at 9:13 PM | Permalink

      Hey LaMiss,

      Unfortunately, Pat says in the FAQ that he doesn’t accept paypal. You can use a credit/debit card, or mail him a check. It’s awesome you’re willing to donate :) I don’t want you to get everything all set up, and then wind up with a cold prickly (to use Pat’s language!). Cheers!

  14. chuckles73
    Posted November 16, 2010 at 12:30 AM | Permalink

    So, not only am I planning on donating through your page, your page from last year got me to look into this charity, deem it worthy, and pass some money to it through my company’s annual charity drive this year(they match 100%, so yay for doubled donations).

    You’re a good man, Mr. Rothfuss.

  15. BrianCO
    Posted November 16, 2010 at 12:37 AM | Permalink

    I think it’s awesome that you are doing this! When I got married, we set up a charity registration and registered for animals from Heifer (along with some other charities). We were very excited to get some goats and chicks! :) We’ve also gifted animals in the past. Great charity!

  16. LaMiss
    Posted November 16, 2010 at 11:28 PM | Permalink

    You keep mentionning, Pat, that you and Jim Butcher have some kind of huge issues…I’m getting more and more curious. What did he(/you) do that there is such a “hateship” between you? I went through all of your archives and didn’t find any explanation – or did I miss it?!

    Of course, if you can’t or don’t want to tell, that’s understandable, too.

    Keep up the amazing work!

  17. molsen
    Posted November 17, 2010 at 5:02 AM | Permalink

    I was happy to read about this charity happening again when I just checked out your blog, as I donated last year and will donate again this year.

    Regarding the books that get donated as prizes, can people who are not based in the US win the prizes? As I am over across the pond in Aus.
    Either way I will donate but I was curious.

    Anyway keep up the good work and I look forward to your next book :-)

  18. adam
    Posted November 18, 2010 at 4:13 PM | Permalink

    Seems like a pretty rad charity to me. Thanks for turning me onto it!

  19. Slamadoca
    Posted November 23, 2010 at 12:10 AM | Permalink

    Looks like we’ve made it past the $25k goal. Honestly, just thinking about that kind of money floors college-student me a little bit. I may be paying the thousands to be in school, but it’s still a hard number to think about raising for something.

    On a separate note, awesome call on the extra T-shirts, pushed in for one as soon as I saw the post this morning.

  20. noregsson
    Posted November 24, 2010 at 10:16 PM | Permalink

    So there I was, just finished entering my details and the amount to donate, and all I could think was “I wish I could donate more”. So I doubled my contribution. Thank you for reminding me that I can do more with my money than just buy stuff I don’t need.

  21. CDerico
    Posted November 25, 2010 at 5:49 AM | Permalink

    I would love to donate, but finances are unusually tight this year. I do have a couple questions though.

    With the Tinker’s Pack items, are they going to be available for an extended time? (I would think so, but am asking to be sure)
    I realize this question is not as financially stable, but if I bought a shirt in the early part of next year, cold the funds be set aside for next years fundraiser? (the idea of a slow trickle of continued donations throughout the year)

    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

  22. Phaz
    Posted November 27, 2010 at 1:59 PM | Permalink

    Is there a way to specify what you want your gift to be? If I remember last year you could choose a dollar amount, or you could select that you wanted to donate a chicken or goat or whatever. Is that option gone?

    • Posted November 27, 2010 at 3:27 PM | Permalink

      I posted a followup but didn’t hit the Reply button, so this is actually Part II. :) Here is a link to their financial reporting page where you can see for yourself where the money goes. As I said, this charity really does put most of the donation directly into aid. Better than most.

      http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.201468/

  23. Posted November 27, 2010 at 3:25 PM | Permalink

    @Phaz, in all truth, you don’t actually get to pick an animal. You specify how much you want your gift to be, and you can think of it as corresponding to a goat, or chicks, or whatever. But you are not actually buying one specific goat for one particular family. You are paying administrative fees (remarkably low – this is a very lean charity) and other maintenance stuff too.

    Just go ahead and think of it as furry creatures, though. It’s more fun that way.

  24. denizb33
    Posted December 2, 2010 at 12:40 PM | Permalink

    Just donated! I’m so glad I followed Sam Sykes’ link through to here…

  25. Posted September 4, 2011 at 2:00 PM | Permalink

    I think it’s impressive that you! When I married, we set a record for registered charities and fresh animals and other charitable organizations. We were very happy to have a goat and several chickens get! We also have a talented pet in the past. Sounds great!

    Medical Health Information Resources
    http://medical-helpful-info.blogspot.com/

  26. chat
    Posted February 26, 2012 at 3:32 AM | Permalink

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