Does your convention help non-profit entities?

[SakuraRico]

I just saw the topic on the Cosplay for a Cure, and it gave me this idea for the post. As the title say, do the conventions you attend have a table or activity to raise funds for a non-profit organization?

On Kaisen 6 on December 2009, we had a table pro-benefit of a friend's mother, who was in need of medical attention in the U.S.A., for she suffers for Lung Hypertension. I think that's the proper name in english. So she and her friends sold on the spot drawings and paintings, had a donation can, plus they also sold raffle tickets for various items... A Gian homemade Prinny plushie, a Hellsing poster, a giant painting...

That and the convention itself donated I believe 600 dollars for the cause! Thanks to this effort, her mom was able to go to NY and get the medical aid she needed, and is still alive and kicking, although she needs to keep her air tank and tubes with her at all times.

I told the organizer I like the fund-raising idea, and I told him to keep it up. He said about next kaisen (last month) it would be an abused children home. I don't know if it was actually done though, as it actually needs to follow a process and protocol...

So, what about your cons?  

[La Ahna]

Momocon does a lot of donating to the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation. They sell limited edition pink versions of their annual T-shirt and the proceeds go to the foundation, and last year they had a ball separate from the convention that cost $10 to get in and each $10 went just to the charity.

Also, a lot of the cons around here are starting to have LifeSouth or other blood donation vans on-site so that you can donate blood at the con. I've never done it, though, because I'm afraid that running around a con plus losing part of my blood would almost guarantee I'd pass out. x__X

 

[Tsuki Nushi]

Unfortunately after the Anime FF con scam of '07, not many conventions or anime organizations are willing to do non-profit work for fear of being ripped off.  

[tattahitotsuyakusoku]

The main con in my city does have a blood donation station. And a new one in December is donating canned food, it's 6 dollars regular price to get in but you pay 5 if you bring canned food. I think it's really sweet ^w^
Most people I know think of people who like anime as selfish cause some of us spend a lot on merchandise, but I actually find most anime likers to be really nice.(please ignore my grammer problems) DX  

[SakuraRico]

Tsuki Nushi

Unfortunately after the Anime FF con scam of '07, not many conventions or anime organizations are willing to do non-profit work for fear of being ripped off.

Hmm... I'm trying to google such event, I can't find anything but a news site that announces theotaku.com reporting it, but that site doesn't give any info.

Can you explain it to me how they did it or find an article that covers it? I find such acts to be... well... "Off with their heads" >.<  

[La Ahna]

SakuraRico

Tsuki Nushi

Unfortunately after the Anime FF con scam of '07, not many conventions or anime organizations are willing to do non-profit work for fear of being ripped off.

Hmm... I'm trying to google such event, I can't find anything but a news site that announces theotaku.com reporting it, but that site doesn't give any info.

Can you explain it to me how they did it or find an article that covers it? I find such acts to be... well... "Off with their heads" >.<

Took me a little bit, but I found it also named "Anime Tour for the Cure." Google that and you'll get a variety of blogs and forum posts. From just reading quickly, seems like an roaming anime con was put together in Vegas where the proceeds would go to breast cancer research. But the con fell apart, with dealers being scammed, and then the head director ran off with the money mid-Saturday. All the while this was filmed by MTV.

Looks like a big deal. ._. And I can see how that would turn the dealer community off of "for the cure" type cons. But I think as long as the con just promises to devote a portion of their proceeds to charity, they can still be trusted. :/

One thing about Momocon is that it's free to attendees and the tables for artists and dealers are relatively cheap. So the money it donates to the Komen foundation comes from sales of shirts, pocky, ramune, and donations, which is more trustworthy.

 

[SakuraRico]

Thanks for the google search terms ^^

This is an interesting case. Unfortunately, all too common for people to say they're doing charity and then just keep the money. Happens all the time here, specially with the politicians.

But as they say in spanish around here "Pagan justos por pecadores" (The Just pay for the Sinner), so that one man ruins the name of cosplayers worldwide. And not just cosplayers, but any of us "geeks".

I shall take what I read and apply it to see how we can do our Cosplay for a Cure group (I already posted a topic on the Paquines forum, the convention community here). It's not easy to build a name, even harder it is to keep it.  

[Tsuki Nushi]

La Ahna

SakuraRico

Tsuki Nushi

Unfortunately after the Anime FF con scam of '07, not many conventions or anime organizations are willing to do non-profit work for fear of being ripped off.

Hmm... I'm trying to google such event, I can't find anything but a news site that announces theotaku.com reporting it, but that site doesn't give any info.

Can you explain it to me how they did it or find an article that covers it? I find such acts to be... well... "Off with their heads" >.<

Took me a little bit, but I found it also named "Anime Tour for the Cure." Google that and you'll get a variety of blogs and forum posts. From just reading quickly, seems like an roaming anime con was put together in Vegas where the proceeds would go to breast cancer research. But the con fell apart, with dealers being scammed, and then the head director ran off with the money mid-Saturday. All the while this was filmed by MTV.

Looks like a big deal. ._. And I can see how that would turn the dealer community off of "for the cure" type cons. But I think as long as the con just promises to devote a portion of their proceeds to charity, they can still be trusted. :/

One thing about Momocon is that it's free to attendees and the tables for artists and dealers are relatively cheap. So the money it donates to the Komen foundation comes from sales of shirts, pocky, ramune, and donations, which is more trustworthy.

Well unfortunately, it was more than just the dealers that got hit. Several big sites like ANN and theotaku.com and several other influential people like (podcasters and con heads) in the anime community were really touched at the thought of using anime to help people and went all out to help the con.

(I think the venue and hired staff were also unpaid, but it's been a while since I listened to that episode of anime pulse.)

Free advertisement and promotion, art contests, all types of media coverage, you name it. And when they found out they'd been had, they were crushed. Not only had they been tricked, but they were sort of relying on this con to show the world that otaku were not the aggressive basement dwelling nerds that they'd been labeled as.

Since that, almost none of the people who were scammed have ever put the effort to try and help another con for fear of being tricked.  

[tattahitotsuyakusoku]

I hate the fact that it Anime FF happened in my hometown. But December Supercon just passed here and I heard they collected 400 cans, and this was only a one day con ^^
I heard that for May Supercon, the maid cafe will donate all their earnings.  

[Dweezal]

Our convention is going to be nonprofit. Since it's run by a nonprofit organization. xd And the money will be going towards the 4-H center, where the con will be hosted. The center has needed a new roof for the last few years, so that's probably where most of the money is going to go. xd

People may be wary of nonprofit cons, but I think it's safe to say that 4-H is trustworthy. biggrin

In fact, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say anything negative about 4-H...not even on the internet! eek Now I'm curious, and I'll probably spend half the day searching to see if anyone is trolling 4-H out there.... xd  

[SakuraRico]

4-H... Is that a school program with the logo as a 4 leaf clover? I think the school I used to study enrolled in it after I left.  

[Dweezal]

4-H is a nonprofit youth education organization. We have clubs for everything from sheep to model rockets, from archery to astronomy, from...well, you get the idea. xd

Most people view 4-H as being strictly agricultural, but that's not true at all! biggrin There's something for everyone. smile  

[livingfairie]

I donated a dollar to help the Japanese at AB '11  

[Lady Cecilie]

Connichiwa set up a table for Japan and then some of their vendors made it where their product profits was going to Red cross