Couple of quick things -
1. I'm working with Courtney at GKTW to set up how to handle all of this. Donations will be made directly to them on a private fundraising page - so the money goes straight to GKTW and they can use it at their discretion. This site will also provide donors with receipts for tax purposes (aka why most places petition for a 501(c)3 designation), for those of you who care about those kinda things come tax time.
This is an example of what our Fundraising Page will look like.
2. NONE of this money raised will go towards any of the DATW Shenanigans. Since I'm the one being such a beating about face painting,
*I* will personally pay for the face-painting for
@rteetz and any others who are willing to do it in effort to raise money for this very worthy cause and as part of our celebratory fun during DATW. #PutItOnMyMagicBand.
3. We've also discussed things like buttons, shirts, etc., for people that donate at certain levels - again, any assumed cost for these items will come out of
*MY* pocketbook - not a single dime will be taken from the fundraising. Also, the only information that myself or anyone else visiting the Fundraising page will be able to see is what YOU make visible - your real name, your handle, your donation amount, etc.
4. Donating is not a requirement to participate in DATW or any other event the group is planning during the weekend. Want to donate? Awesome! Don't want to? No worries. It was just a fun idea that Ryan and I came up with
5. Someone mentioned personal impact - for those not familiar with GTKW or haven't had a personal experience with the group yet, Courtney passed this along to share:
Again, thank you for thinking of Give Kids The World. Your generosity is helping kids like Alex, whose mom had this to say about their trip to GKTW,
“When you have a child with cancer, you come to find that the little things you grasp onto because you really aren’t promised anything. You put thoughts of vacations and special experiences in a box and you put that box somewhere in a closet where it’s difficult to find so that you can forget about a life you believe you won’t be fortunate enough to have. Throughout this journey we have often times wanted to fast forward through life and treatments to get to the finish line and just put the past behind us. On this trip we wanted to bottle it all up and just freeze time.”
Anyway. That's all I've got. I didn't expect a simple idea to raise money for a very worthy cause would turn into such a #HotTake discussion, but here we are.