Fundraising
We believe that people will always help others when given the chance. It’s our aim to give everyone that chance.
Worldbuilders is a non-profit that does one thing: we raise money for charities we respect that might otherwise get overlooked by the geek community. The Worldbuilders team is full of geeks, gamers, and book nerds, and people like us tend to respect intelligent solutions–whether it’s a rock-solid magic system in our favorite fantasy series, or an airtight game mechanic that’s easy to learn and offers amazing variety.
With the support of our community of awesome geeks, Worldbuilders has raised over $9.67 million for various charities since we were established in 2008.
The charities we support all feature brilliant strategies for helping people in need. Our flagship charity is Heifer International, who has been managing smart, sustainable programs for over 70 years, and working tirelessly to pull communities out of poverty worldwide. Heifer isn’t the only group we work with, though–you can learn more about some of our favorite charities below:
Heifer International provides long-term solutions to give people a hand up so they can pull themselves (and ultimately, their whole community) out of poverty. Heifer’s programs start with education, feature a common sense approach at a local level, and have a proven track record of sustainability and a far-reaching ripple effect of people helping others to thrive.
Mercy Corps focuses on more immediate issues involving refugees from war and natural disasters, bringing not only basic needs but also making sure people have the normalcy and safety they need to survive. They think of things most of us don’t, like establishing playgrounds in shanty towns and supporting community moderators to help settle disputes.
GlobalGiving is a Charity Navigator four-star charity who has programs all over the world that focus on both immediate disaster relief as well as long-term recovery. They work with local organizations and non-profits in stricken areas to make sure the people who live there have the resources they need to take charge of their own recovery.
First Book promotes literacy by making sure communities without access to books and learning material actually get the educational resources they need. By distributing books to disadvantaged families and schools, they ensure that kids–and some adults–are armed with one of the most valuable skills: literacy.
Follow the links below to find out what we do and why.
End-of-Year Fundraiser (November/December)
During our End-of-Year Fundraiser, all the money we raise goes right to Heifer International. In addition to helping Heifer achieve their mission around the world, everyone who donates during our End-of-Year Fundraiser gets entered into a lottery made up of books, games, jewelry, collectibles, and more. We also run auctions for more specialized items, we post random videos of folks doing silly things, and we bring in a variety of geek celebrities to encourage donations.
Our 1-week summer store event is a way for us to debut great geeky goods. Rather than donating for a chance to win something, like in our End-of-Year Fundraiser, you can guarantee you’ll get exactly what you want! By shopping on Worldbuilders Market during the Geeks Doing Good event, you can get a whole bunch of new products we’re so excited to share, as well as deals on some of your favorite existing goods. By contributing to Geeks Doing Good, you join a community of wonderful people all looking to make the world a little bit better. You get to do good, and in return, you get something awesome! As always, all proceeds from Worldbuilders Market go to Worldbuilders to support our mission of uniting the geek community into a massive force to fund education, opportunity, and sustainable self-sufficiency for families and communities worldwide.
Con Events (March – September)
Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of conventions during the Pandemic, as you may have noticed. We have been able to be a part of some online conventions, like sponsoring FIYAHcon 2021. When it’s safer and more easy, we plan to hit a few conventions so we can chat with supporters, meet new sponsors, and generally spread the word about how to make the world a better place. We usually have a booth with some of the cool stuff from the Worldbuilders Market, and whenever we can, we host a Worldbuilders Party: an evening of games, food, drinks, and mingling with some awesome authors, game designers, podcasters, and creators.
The Worldbuilders Market (All year!)
Our online store is where you can find officially licensed merchandise from The Kingkiller Chronicle, Rat Queens, The Iron Druid Chronicles, Holly Black, The Dresden Files, Bitch Planet, Sex Criminals, and more! All proceeds go to Worldbuilders to help us make the world a better place, as well as keeping the lights on and allowing us to fundraise throughout the year.
We work with authors, publishers, game companies and designers, artists, and a host of other creative folks in the fantasy/sci-fi/gaming industry. A lot of them donate items and services for our lottery and auctions, some of them create exclusive add-ons and products to raise money for us, and some of them organize events for us. One way or another, our sponsors step up to help us raise money for Heifer, Mercy Corps, GlobalGiving, and First Book. The Worldbuilders team is literally eight people–we couldn’t do all this without our partners!