Gamer Charity...

[Technocrat]

The Bake Sale's been going delightfully well, and it has such a good goal - who can argue with charity? It's going towards Child's Play, but something I've noticed is that this decision has roused a bit of inexplicable bile from people ("WHY IS IT ALWAYS CHILD'S PLAY RARGH RARGH I HATE KIDS IN HOSPITALS RARGH") on websites like RPS. This led me to think - what if there were other gamer-focused charities? So, my question is essentially this: what kind of charity would you, as gamers,

a) agree to support
b) feel is sufficiently in line with your position as a gamer?

so, here are a few ideas.

i) Political advocacy - a lobbying organisation aimed at putting the voices and opinions of gamers into the ears of politicians around the world (SOPA, age rating systems, etc). Or, providing legal advocacy and assistance to people in trouble over games/internet related matters (people brought up on bogus piracy charges, opposing whoever the new Jack Thompson turns out to be, etc). Maybe even issues like freedom of information/communication, goodness knows that's topical right now!

ii) War Relief - For a group with so many activities revolving around casual destruction, from a direct or a strategic perspective, we know that war is a ghastly affliction upon society. So, the aim of this charity would be the general relief of symptoms, working with other groups like the UN, Red Cross, Refugee organisations and such to show that gamers understand the impact these things have on the real world.

iii) Developing Countries - Many parts of the developing world, from South America to Asia to Africa, are unable to sustain themselves currently, and have problems with even finding basics like water and power. These development groups work toward constructing infrastructure like pumps and generators, enabling poor rural communities to reach a better standard of living.

iv) There are many people with the ideas and skills to make the next big things in independent gaming, but unable to without starving to death in the short terms, or need funding grants for their education in game development. A grants charity would provide funding to those who can demonstrate that they have something worthwhile to pursue, and would lead to an increased quality of independent games being produced.

v) Animals. Everyone loves animals, whether it's Dogmeat, or ponies. This concept would strive for various animal-related goals, such as vetinary assistance, care, prevention of cruelty and rehoming.

vi) Got a better idea for a gamer charity? TELL US NOW

[selmiak]

If the money raised by the bakesale would have gone towards better forum servers or even for paying a coder to port the runtime engine to mac and portables I would have given more money than for the kids. It's just like that. I don't know these kids but I know what AGS needs.
But that's just me, I guess people drawn in on the bakesale by reading this someplace on the internet are completely the other way round and give more for kids they don't know than for an obscure gameengine they probably heard of the first time in their life.

[Ponch]

To be fair, we wanted to buy a new server for CJ. We were shocked to learn that he didn't want one. So Child's Play seemed like a good compromise. Maybe next time, we can host one here in the forums to raise money for Peder and the archives that so many of us use. But at the time, Child's Play was the one thing we could all get behind when CJ spurned our love. 

Also, I've read some of the comments out there on the webs about us and how either this charity is stupid/overused or how they just know we're not really giving all the money to the kids, and all that crap. What can I say? It's easier to hate on something than it is to actually do something. And we're doing a surprisingly good job of raising money with this -- much better than we expected to, honestly.

When the next bake sale happens (and it will. I know Calin Leafshade was talking about doing something similar down the road), then maybe we as a community can vote on what we want to raise the money for. But this time around, when CJ dropped the bomb on us, it was a mad scramble behind the scenes to get our kitchen back in order, let me tell you.

Heck, I know Peder has something special planned for this summer. Maybe a few of us in these forums could bake up a little something for him and his super-duper secret event. Now that we AGSers have seen what we're capable of as a community, I don't see why we can't use our superpowers for good.  8)

[Technocrat]

Certainly, I'm not saying that the server idea was a bad one, nor do I think Child's Play was a bad choice for where we were pointing our collective energy in the end. Having seen just how much gamers can produce in terms of effective charity though, I wonder if there are other potential directions for the charitable efforts of gamers beyond kids in hospital. I think if I were to start something, it'd probably be the political activism idea.

[miguel]

Well I must say that knowing that the money was going to children in hospitals made me buy the bundle.
There's nothing more sad than a sick child. Starving kids in Africa would be a good target as well.

If a bake sale was raised for improving AGS (new server, coders, etc...) I would of course buy it. But as it was said before, it wouldn't be so popular to people outside AGS.

Any bake sale destined to raise money for political reasons would be ignored by me.

[Mati256]

http://www.ryanswell.ca/ is pretty interesting too.

[Stupot]

What Miguel said, basically.

Knowing that the money is not going to the developers means it is essentially free, so anything I pay is basically a donation of whatever sum I deem worthy for the cause, and not a payment for the bundle itself.  I have little interest in giving any money to any political cause, and would have not paid half as much as I ended up paying.  I coughed up a little more because I like what Child's Play are doing and I hadn't donated anything to them before.

I would have probably coughed up a similar amount had the money been going back into the community somehow, but as Miguel says, if the purpose of the Bake Sale is to raise money for the community, a lot of people outside AGS would probably pay less, or not buy it at all.  And anyway, I think this enterprise doubles as a way to promote AGS and her games to a wider audience, so maybe it is better to spend the money on a charity or something outside the community.

As for grants funding... Not sure.  It's a nice idea, but it would depend on the individual cases.  I think if people have an idea that's good enough, they should be able to get enough interest through Kickstarter or Indiegogo.

[Wyz]

vii) Natural disasters relief - this does not necessary have to be themed around a certain natural disaster, it could be a fund that is used whenever one hits. There are no politics involved with natural disasters it seems to me so that would mean less discussion.

viii) a Community fund - Not only there to buy new servers and what not but also as a general fund for whatever comes up. For instance someone from the AGS community is subject to a natural disaster, or in acute financial trouble, the fund could be used in the form of a loan. There might be people who love to attend the mitten and have been trying to do so for years but just lack the money, or maybe there is another event that we all love to realise that needs funding. Only requirement should be it is something that is beneficial to the community. Yes also buying new server when that would ever be the case. Of course such fund needs a treasurer and there will be a lot of debate and in the end it will not work, but hey I still have to name this one.

[Ponch]

I realize that a fundraiser aimed at this community would probably draw zero attention from the outside world, but there's no reason we couldn't raise a decent amount of money (a few hundred bucks, at least) from within our ranks.

It wouldn't have to be "AGS Bake Sale II: This One Is For Greece", but why couldn't we have AGS Bake Sale 1.5? Maybe bring in the other bakers who weren't able to finish their games in time. Then we shovel the money at Peder so he can buy cocaine and prostitutes bandwidth and prostitutes.

Just a thought.  8)

[Stupot]

Yeah, or maybe the "Bake Sale" could be the annual charity fundraiser and then a separate event aimed at raising money for the community could be held at a different time of year under a different name, such as "AGS Blood Drive" or "AGS Harvest Festival".

[Ponch]

"AGS Leather Pants Spectacular"

"Two Weeks, One Cup" (which only works if the sale lasts for two weeks)

"Peder Needs Booze!!"

Feel free to offer your own suggestions.  8)

[mukk]

The Humble Bundle folks offer the option to split the price you pay as you like it. A preset like 5% to the community and 95% to the charity wouldn't seem greedy and most people probably wouldn't oppose. If thats not too complicated anyway.

I dont think anything political is a good idea as that will probablay always offend somebody.

Charity-wise I like Heifer but they have nothing to do with gaming besides toppling cows and chasing chicken.

[Mati256]

maybe the "Bake Sale" could be the annual charity fundraiser

Having a Bake Sale every year for a different (or the same) charity seems like a great idea.