(Edit: Are you looking for the current Worldbuilders fundraiser? If so, I’m afraid you’re in the wrong place.
Click here for the current fundraiser.)
What’s that you say? You want 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 on Team Heifer, and donate.
When you donate on that page, 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 February 7th, we’ll have a random drawing for all the swag that’s been donated. More than a thousand books, comics, DVD’s and other cool miscellany.
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 blog full of donated books every few days, just to keep people from being overwhelmed with all the awesome.
Make sure to check back often to see the new cool.
- Signed Books [Added Dec 5th]
- Signed Books from Ireland [Added Dec 9th]
- Books from DAW [Added Dec 12th]
- Books from Dreamhaven [Added Dec 15th]
- ARCs from DAW [Added Dec 26th]
- Still More Books from DAW [Added Dec 30th]
- More Signed Books from Cool Authors [Added Jan 2nd]
- Books from Various Cool Publishers [Added Jan 13th]
- A Plethora of Graphic Novels [Added Jan 17th]
- Still More Signed Books [Added Jan 20th]
- Webcomics Galore! [Added Jan 22nd]
- A Gift from Neil Gaiman and a touching story [Added Jan 30th]
- Books from the League of Reluctant Adults [Added Feb 3rd]
- Final Donations, Final Days [Added Feb 5th]
Last year, readers and geeks of all creeds and nations donated over $190,000. It was a stunning display of generosity and goodwill.
Still, I think we can do even better this year.
But rather than set our goal too high, here’s what I’m going to do.
I’m going to set our initial donation goal at $50,000. As soon as we meet that goal, I’ll personally add a blog full of new stuff to the lottery. Then I’ll raise the bar to $100,000. We’ll repeat this in $50,000 increments until I am penniless, living on the street. Or until the end of the fundraiser on February 7th.
- $50,000 Bonus – AV Geekery [Dec 15th]
- $100,000 Bonus – Gaiman, Pratchett, and More (And Moore) [Jan 6th]
- $150,000 Bonus – Rare Books and a Chance to Game with Pat [Jan 31st]
- $200,000 Bonus – The Golden Ticket [Feb 2nd]
- $250,000 Bonus – A Taste of Things to Come
Link to the donation page is HERE.
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, we have some stuff you can just buy.
Our store, lovingly named The Tinker’s Packs, has posters, signed books, and other delicious miscellany available for purchase. All proceeds go to Worldbuilders, of course.
Last year, we printed up some t-shirts and were amazed at how much people liked them.
So this year, we’re adding something new to the mix. In keeping with our bookish theme, we’ve teamed up with artist Lee Moyer to produce a pin-up calendar with a literary theme.
Here’s the picture for May:
You can read the blog I wrote about the calendar or head over and buy it on the store.
We’ll be posting new stuff in the store over the next couple months. So stay tuned….
- Jayne Hats and other awesome geekery [Added Dec 16th]
- New Posters and Foreign Editions [Added Jan 11th]
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.
This year we have professionals who are willing to read and critique your manuscripts. We have signed art and rare books. We have the chance to win guest appearances in comics and get your name into upcoming books.
Stay tuned, as we’ll be adding new auctions all the time.
- Signed, numbered Neil Gaiman print [Finished]
- Professionals Manuscript Critiques [Finished]
- Professional Bookbinding [Finished]
- The Mighty Thor: Giant Artist’s Edition [Finished]
- Hand-knit Fourth Doctor Replica Scarf[Finished]
- Unique, handbound copy of The Name of The Wind[Ends Feb 6th]
- The Golden Ticket. [Ends Feb 7th]
For a full listing of all current Worldbuilders auctions, you can CLICK 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 of these e-mails, 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
41 Comments
Sweet! Now, I’m *extremely* psyched that today is payday! Woohoo!
Wow. Less than 15 minutes and we’re already over a thousand bucks. I think this is going to be a great year….
Donated… In, er… Multiple ways, some a tad selfish.. It was as if I gave myself Christmas, Hannukkah, Valentines, Birthday, and Cupcake day presents for the next several years all at once… And then I got to share it with all of my friends and hold a metaporical knife to their hands until they donated…. :D
Although I do have a friend who is holding out until you happen to put some of Jayne-ish hats up…. -hint- -hint-
Just donated and shared. :-)
Hey Pat!
I know in the past you’ve offered the “your request is granted” in the lottery where the winner could ask pretty much anything and get it if they won. Are you doing that again?
-Colby
Yay! Soon as Iget home I’ll be donating to this awesome cause. Who knows maybe I’ll be lucky and actually win something this go around ;)
Anywho consider this blog shared! And may we bring you lots of warm fuzzies this year!
Hey Pat,
The Subterreanean Press link in this blog is broken. It works in the RSS feed though.
Fixed.
The Heifer donation meter isn’t loading. I suspect this is because the site is so busy with people making donations it can’t be bothered witha banal thing like updating its graphics.
Once again, legions of geeks crash the Internet. Yay.
Over the past couple of years, we’ve starting having gift donations (goats, usually; we like goats) on behalf of family members come Seasonal time. Can we do that through Worldbuilders this year, and take advantage of the matching $$ to make it a goat-and-a-half? Because half a goat…
Also, as a reminder to eBay sellers: Heifer can be selected as an option to donate a portion of auction proceeds via eBay Giving Works.
Yup. Absolutely.
Hey Pat,
I think someone mentioned something about possibly getting human shipping rates to europe (25$ at the moment) from the tinker packs. Any update on that?
Sorry, that’s just how much it costs us to send a package that far. Sometimes, depending on which country we’re shipping to, we even lose money on the deal.
If you want to cut down on the per-item price of international shipping, consider teaming up with a friend and splitting the cost between the two of you….
Awww. Okay, thanks for the info. Time to round up all my friends and force them to shop so I can get my signed wise man’s fear ;-).
Hell yes! I’ve been waiting for this for a while, super duper pumped!!!
In for cash and Tinker’s Packs treasures!
What diabolical things have you done for previous “Call in a favor from Rothfuss” winners? Do you have a genie rule where they cannot wish for more wishes?
What are the odds you could get the little College Survival Guide publisher to do another run? My sister is starting college next year (as in 9ish months from now) and I’d love to get her a copy, but I can’t shell out $500 for the first edition on Amazon…
Hey Pat, one question, which might put a drop of cold water on you, but I sure hope not.
I was very careful when I put in my address for donation. It has my correct billing address, and a shipping address. Understanding that this is ending on 1/31/12, I used my business address for shipping since I’m moving at the end of March. However, my company is also moving at the end of June, so I’m just concerned that, with the incredibly large amount of donated swag you have to give away from this, it could take a while to get through it. Is this something you think would be a problem, or am I just worrying over nothing at all?
Just wanted to say that you are one of those rare people who are really and profoundly inspiring.
I love your book and what you do here with worldbuilders.
And I am extremely impressed by how you manage to do all that time and energy consuming work on your own.
I thank you for being the man you are Mr. Rothfuss.
You are one of my role-models.
Hi Pat,
I’m all about gaming the system for my (and in this case, needy families) benefit. Many employers including mine have a charity donation matching policy in place. So if I donate to Heifer via Worldbuilders through them, my goat actually becomes something like 2.25 goats when it’s all said and done.
So here’s my question. You mentioned in an earlier post that Worldbuilders is registered as a nonprofit with it’s own 501(c)(3), is that right? If so, I can direct my donation from my company to Worldbuilders and get the double dip?
Selfishly, is there a way to use this method and still get in the lottery?
Finally, do you think that there are enough readers/donors in this situation that it’s worth putting something about it in the Worldbuilders directions on the blog?
Thanks for doing this great work! Can’t wait to give some goats!
I may just be blind, but how do you give a goat? I just see the box to give money.
Is there a certain amount a donating person can donate in which they would be able to request their own return?
Liiiike a signed copy of the end of the King Killer Chronicles by Mr. Rothfuss himself (just the signature mind you, the book would already be purchased – hypothetically). After the book is released and on shelves of course, so as to not violate any sort of agreements one may have with their publisher.
Not to not be in the spirit of donating, but as there is return being offered some would rather not have their name in the hat 50 times and win books they might not read; some might rather only force the cost of your signature and ink from your pen.
That and as some rarely find themselves in English speaking countries due to their own contractual obligations (and might not find themselves in those places again for various reasons) forcing your hand might be ones only opportunity!
Also, to echo the sentiments of some posting in this blog; what you’re doing here is awesome Mr. Rothfuss. I’ve been to several countries in which poverty is a huge issue (mostly in the aseatic nations), some of these kids could desperately use a goat.
Pat,
Quick question. I wanted to do this with Worldbuilders because of the 50% matching deal, to make my donation go the farthest. I donated $200, and on the Team Heifer page it says I only donated $30 (under the name Matthew Frederickson). I just want to make sure that the whole $200 gets matched, so could you fix that, or would you be able to point out someone who can make it all better? I appreciate it.
Also, thank you for introducing Heifer International to me. It’s now my favorite charity.
I’m having some difficulty as well with the actual donation amount showing up. In my case it’s showing as zero, even though I’ve got the paypal stub to prove payment. I’m seeing others on the team list with $0.00 as well. Hopefully it’s just a screw up in the display.
Okay. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one. :D I can also show a paypal stub. I think mine shows $30 because that’s what I donated last year.
Couldn’t figure out how to donate baby ducks without going off the Worldbuilders link. =( Ah well. It’s still a very good cause!
Donated $10. Next paycheck I will donate more. We are already almost to 50% of the goal! Looking forward to seeing the stuff coming into the pot for the raffle.
Just wanted to let you know that reading about Worldbuilders a few years ago was inspiring, and I’ve been an automatic monthly donor to Heifer ever since. It’s a fantastic charity!
Worldbuilders is my most wonderful time of the year…no kidding.
Every year our boys each pick out an animal from Heifer International to donate towards. I feel that the kids can get a more tangible idea of charity when they can actually picture an animal helping a family. Plus it’s warm and fuzzy!
So nice that we can do this through world builders and get a 50% match of our donation – even more animals!
I guess I should have asked this before donating but it occurs to me that as wonderful as all the lottery prizes are we don’t really need anything, can I ask that if we win our prize goes to the next in line instead? Thanks!
Hey Pat,
If “your ten-dollar donation becomes fifteen dollars. If you donate two goats, it becomes three goats” … what happens if you only donate one goat??
Hmmm, I think I may have found the answer… http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9-jibrb-jS0/TDdS0oLbefI/AAAAAAAABvs/m171Zjl2BQI/s1600/halfgoat.jpg
I’d like to donate to Team Heifer through Worldbuilders on behalf of family and friends as Christmas presents. Is there an easy way to do this?
Hey Pat,
I would really love to donate, but somehow it doesn’t work with the Paypal link. Maybe I’m just doing something wrong, so here is what I’m doing:
1. I open your link to the Team page
2. I click “Give to this Team”
3. I write the amount of money in there and click “Checkout with PayPal”
4. I wait until my browser says, that it can’t open the site
I also tried using different browsers, but the result was the same. Please help me. I would really like to donate, but I don’t have a Credit Card and I don’t really understand the Online Check (maybe that’s because I’m from Germany).
A (hopefully) quick logistical question here… To those who have their name show up on the site, did you use the “give to this team” button, or the “join this team” button? I used the former, but my name and donation amount are not showing up on the Worldbuilders page at all. What are the differences between the two buttons on the team page? I just want to make sure my donation is going to the right place (with the 50% donation matching, and of course the extra bonus of a lottery entry).
Thank you for organizing this wonderful opportunity, Pat, and thank you also to anyone who has a moment to answer my logistical questions!
I believe they did the “join this team.” I did “give to this team” and my name did not show up either. I was a little on the worried side about this, but I think its ok (assuming you got an email from heifer saying they got your donation.) This is all speculation going here, but I think the “give to this team” was the appropriate choice to pick, considering that is what it says to do on the wordbuilder’s heifer page. In the FAQ on this blog ( ) It says to choose the “join team” if
““Can I do some fundraising of my own, then donate it and have you match it?”
By all means. Have a bakesale. Search the couch cushions. Rally your book club or church group. Show people at work the website then pass the hat.
You can also start your own fundraiser page that’s linked to Worldbuilders if you go to the Team Heifer page I set up and click “Join The Team” instead of “Give to This Team.” That’s the only way I can track donations.”
So I think we’re good!
sorry I screwed up the linky thing. It’ll still take you to the faq though.
Wonderful. Thanks, Not Cooperative; that was incredibly helpful! I did get the confirmation from Heifer, too, so I’m breathing a bit easier.
I recently donated by entering “Give to This Team”,, and today I got a confirmation letter in the mail from Heifer thanking me…but the donation was counted in their “General Fund”!! It had NO indication of Worldbuilders 2011. I called Heifer and asked for clarification…she registered my call and said that someone from their headquarters would call me back…?
made a Huge donation…
can’t wait for my goodies and goats too!
a great cause my friend and a great heart to go with it…
Made it in under the wire with a modest donation. Only thing is, I paid through the Amazon link without signing into the donation webpage. Am I still in for the lottery?