Worldbuilders 2012

(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 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. Heifer promotes education, sustainable agriculture, and local industry all over the world.

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.)

Pay attention now, you’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. You’ll move us closer to our stretch goals (shown below).

2. You’ll be entered in the lottery.

After the fundraiser is over, we’ll have a random drawing for all the swag that’s been donated. Thousands of 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 to post them all up at once. So I’ll be putting up a blog full of donated books every day or so, just to keep y’all from being overwhelmed.

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

Last year, book-lovers and geeks from all over the world helped us raise more than $310,000 for Heifer International. It was a stunning display of generosity and goodwill.

Still, I think we can do even better.

In order to encourage people to donate, we have some stretch goals this year. Every time we raise another 50K, something new and cool will be added to the fundraiser.

I’ll go into more detail about some of these stretch goals as they get closer. But the first of these is a request that’s come from the regular readers of my blog. Over the years, I’ve had countless requests that I explain the details about the calendar and the currency system of the Four Corners.

We’re currently on the road to our 350K stretch goal. If we hit it, the people at Geek Chic will design and produce a functional Lockless Box.

You can donate over here on our Team Heifer Donation Page.

Note: Worldbuilders ends January 21st, 2013 at 11:59 pm CST.  All donations must be in before then to qualify for the lottery.

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 t-shirts, posters, and other coolness available for purchase. We also have a slew of foreign editions donated and signed by the authors. Portuguese, German, Spanish, Japanese…. These editions are really hard to find if you live here in the US, and we have a *lot* of them.

All proceeds from the store go to Worldbuilders, of course.

Additionally, this year we’ve produced a Fantasy Themed Pin-Up Calendar. Every month showcases a different fantasy author, either featuring a character from a book (Like Cersei Lannister from Martin’s Game of Thrones) or an homage to the author’s work (Like the Fahrenheit 451 inspired pin-up of Bradbury’s.)

You can click on the image below to see the author’s names, and get glimpses of the illustrations.

If you’re interested in seeing some full images and the classic pinups that inspired them, I highly recommend checking out the blog Lee Moyer wrote on the subject.

N.K. Jemisin posted up her page along with a fascinating blog talking about how she worked together with Lee on the painting of Oree. You can also see Neil Gaiman’s page over on his blog. It’s one of my favorites. His wife, Amanda Palmer, posed as the model for Media from American Gods.

And, of course, there’s more images on the order page in The Tinker’s Packs.

We posted a lot of new stuff in the store this year.  There were Jayne Hats, Cthulu cards, Pottery Steins, and so much more.

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.

For a full listing of all current Worldbuilders auctions, 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 all going to raise some money, make the world a better place, and end up with big warm fuzzy feelings.

But the more emails my assistants get about missing addresses, wrong sizes, or forgotten personalization requests, the more likely they are to cry. You don’t want that, 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

P.S. Below are this year’s lovely sponsors. They have donated, books, services, and cold hard cash to make Worldbuilders what it is today.

You should show them some love. They deserve it.

This entry was posted in baby ducks, calling on the legions, Worldbuilders 2012By Pat33 Responses

33 Comments

  1. Jen-cha
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 4:26 PM | Permalink

    Who’s excited? THIS GIRL!!!

  2. Mojojojo449
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 4:28 PM | Permalink

    Just a random question: will there ever be a male pin-up version of the calendar?

  3. AndyB
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 4:40 PM | Permalink

    We’ll have it sorted in a day or so. But for now, if you want to see how much we’ve raised, you’ll have to click over there to have a look at it.

    I think this text was left in your post by mistake.

  4. Kelly
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 4:41 PM | Permalink

    Hooray! Statistically, if I give money to Worldbuilders every year, someday I might win something AWESOME. And if not, at least I’ve done some good.

  5. Anna
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 4:47 PM | Permalink

    PAT! You totally missed an opportunity to use the word thrice!

    “If you donate thirty bucks, your name goes in three times.”

    My disappointment is heavily outweighed by my all-out excitement for this year’s fundraiser. I have no doubt that we’ll hit the $500,000 goal and give some SERIOUS help to families in need.

    Yaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy!

  6. bremon
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 5:15 PM | Permalink

    Saw this, freaked out, was telling my friends…and then lost all words completely when I saw the Portal Gun in the Auction.

    Can’t even.

    What.

    I need a better job so I can get more money. Obviously.

  7. nsokeland
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 6:05 PM | Permalink

    Are donations being matched again this year?

    I like to promote this fundraiser every year, and the big draw among my friends is that their money goes further because the donation is matched. I assume that donations are matched, because that’s just the amazing person you are, Pat. But it doesn’t say it in the post and I don’t need a fact checking friend inquiring as to when my trousers will combust due to the falsehoods I spread.

    Regardless, I will donate. It’s been a holiday ritual for me since 2008.

  8. duke7883
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 6:17 PM | Permalink

    Just saw in my e-mail that Sub Press is selling a copy of that hand-bound edition of Name of the Wind that is numbered 1 of 2 for $7500. Is worldbuilders seeing any of that action or is it just a coincidence?

  9. Socks in Sandals
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 7:50 PM | Permalink

    So, there seems to be a teeny problem with donating for us non-US citizens. When donating from a country with no states the site still requires you to fill in the “State” field, which is impossible. Please fix this so I can throw my money at you.

    • Amanda
      Posted November 15, 2012 at 8:41 PM | Permalink

      It’s fixed! Thanks for letting us know!

      • j3lps
        Posted November 16, 2012 at 5:36 AM | Permalink

        Nearly fixed – but county is still needed for the billing address part of the form… So we still can’t give away our money! :(

        • Amanda
          Posted November 16, 2012 at 6:36 PM | Permalink

          The folks at Heifer are working on it. Keep checking!

  10. Posted November 15, 2012 at 11:51 PM | Permalink

    Just a quick daft question, but won’t the $100,000 donation at the $400,000 point automatically trigger the $450-500,000 stretched goal rewards and meet the target goal?… not that this would be a bad thing…

  11. Hxlgg
    Posted November 16, 2012 at 12:49 AM | Permalink

    Every year I try to get the amount for a goat to donate. ‘Cause goats are awesome. Going to be another great year!

    Looking forward to seeing some of the upcoming posts. Thank you Pat (and Pat’s growing horde of assistants) for your tireless efforts every year.

  12. Sandhya
    Posted November 16, 2012 at 1:40 AM | Permalink

    It feels so goooooooooooood!! I have been donating to Heifer for years..just makes sense! And, now, to have the possiblity of winning things..I am very happy. Thanks Pat and World builders. You rock!

  13. Aaron R
    Posted November 16, 2012 at 3:41 PM | Permalink

    This is awesome. It’s not every day I can tell my friends I bought a sheep!

  14. Cear
    Posted November 16, 2012 at 4:25 PM | Permalink

    Hey Pat! I’m the leader of the blog team for a group called the Harry Potter Alliance. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of us, but we’re a literary-social-activist group. Anyways, Worldbuilders is one of my favorite things ever, and I think our readers will love it too, so I just wrote a blog about it for our site: <a href="http://thehpalliance.org/2012/11/worldbuilders-2012-the-nerd-activists-paradise/&quot;. I hope you don’t mind me using the Worldbuilders logo, but if you do, I’m more than happy to remove it.
    I hope you enjoy it, good luck with the fundraiser, and thank you so much for the hours and hours of happy reading!

  15. SMantzoros
    Posted November 16, 2012 at 9:42 PM | Permalink

    Pat & Co,

    I noticed some items in The Tinker’s Pack were sold out, notably the Japanese editions of The Name of the Wind. At any point during Worldbuilders are we going to see some type of restock along with the Jayne hats and other swag or are foreign editions a sort of “once they’re gone, they’re gone” type of thing?

    Also, do the purchases from The Tinker’s pack during the non-fundraising part of the year go directly to worldbuilders or save up and tally into our 500k goal?

    • Amanda
      Posted November 19, 2012 at 12:17 PM | Permalink

      Our most recent blog shows some of the new additions to the store, as well as the restock of the Jayne Hats. Any others will be announced here as well.

      Purchases from The Tinker’s Packs go to Worldbuilders year-round, so it’s safe to buy anytime :)

  16. brian1121
    Posted November 16, 2012 at 11:36 PM | Permalink

    I’m dreaming of Pat’s books in Russian (although Kyrillic, Bulgarian isn’t the same) for my fiancee. I only did a quick check of the internet to see that I couldn’t find them myself. Getting them and donating at the same time would make me feel all creamy inside!

  17. Kat
    Posted November 17, 2012 at 7:32 AM | Permalink

    So excited to see Worldbuilders 2012 is well underway and already we’ve cross the $20,000 mark. Really proud to be part of the team that makes this happen and of everyone that contributes to it. Well done, well done.

  18. Beej
    Posted November 19, 2012 at 9:05 AM | Permalink

    Your arch-nemesis, Anton Strout, is a silver sponsor???? Daaaamn. That’s almost as impressive as when Dick Cheney shot his friend in the face…and had said friend apologize to him!

    I have, again, told my friends and family that all I want for Christmas is donations to Worldbuilders in my name. Unfortunately my in-laws (with whom I’ll celebrate Christmas) insist that those aren’t real gifts. Sigh. I often wonder how my wonderful, caring, giving wife can be related to her family.

  19. jayh
    Posted November 20, 2012 at 12:06 PM | Permalink

    Did my bit. Hoping to end up with some new reading material that I may not have come across in my normal book buying regimen.

  20. Karissima
    Posted November 21, 2012 at 4:02 AM | Permalink

    How very exciting!

  21. Holmelund
    Posted November 21, 2012 at 4:43 AM | Permalink

    Just donated :)
    Now I cross my fingers. Perhaps the third year will be the lucky one where my name is drawn out of the hat :)

    • RowdyTheDog
      Posted November 21, 2012 at 8:24 AM | Permalink

      Yeah, three years ago was when I first donated too, and I won with an ashamedly small donation.
      Now I’m hooked for life!

      It’s a good thing.

  22. RowdyTheDog
    Posted November 21, 2012 at 8:22 AM | Permalink

    Hi, love this charity and what you’re trying to do Pat!

    Just something small I noticed: the link to the Reader-Donated Books blog is just a link to your Goodreads review of Shades of grey, :)
    Can’t wait to see how much we can all raise for this!

  23. Kate@LivingTheFrugalLife
    Posted November 27, 2012 at 6:11 PM | Permalink

    Hey, so cool! I just tore through the first two Kingkiller books, and came here sniffing around for details on the next one. I’m as eager as any fan. And what do I find here but a lovely shoutout for my favorite charity. Heifer donations have been taking over more and more of the exchange of Christmas gifts (both given and received) for several years now. So I’d be delighted to donate through your link and get a chance at a few trinkets at the same time. One question though, and I don’t see it on the FAQ or here in the comments.

    Can I print out a Heifer greeting card after making a donation through the Worldbuilders portal? I’m referring to the ones Heifer offers so that one can let people know what their “gift” is. Or, if the Worldbuilders path is going to prevent that, do you know if I could still print one out at Heifer without making an additional donation? I mean, I love Heifer, but I only have so much to donate, you know?

    I’ll donate through WB either way, but it would be nice to know if/how that will work. Thanks!

  24. ashley_capes
    Posted December 22, 2012 at 7:22 AM | Permalink

    Finally ordered a t-shirt, can’t wait to get it – really glad to support WB again!

  25. juicy_beetle
    Posted December 22, 2012 at 6:14 PM | Permalink

    Nice promoting this.
    However, you could encourage them to allow other payment options than credit card – not everybody does own one, especially outside the US (paypal work work for me).

  26. Posted January 17, 2013 at 1:15 AM | Permalink

    I received a donation to Heifer for Christmas from my family, but they didn’t associate the donation with Worldbuilders. Does anyone know if it’s possible to have it associated after the fact? Thanks!

    • Amanda
      Posted January 17, 2013 at 10:04 AM | Permalink

      I’m not sure if that’s possible or not, as YOU didn’t make the donation. I would contact the folks over at Heifer by clicking here to find out.

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