Now that the startup fund for DonateWc has been fully funded, things are going to move fairly quickly. I made a quick video to thank everyone, and to talk a little about what’s going to happen now.
The take-away:
Oh my word, y’all. Thursday, 21th of September was an amazing day. Not only did WP Tavern write about DonateWC this week, we have reached the €1000 startup goal I had last Sunday. Repeat: DonateWC’s goal is fully funded. How crazy is that?!
I am beyond grateful. Not going to lie: there were some tears. Okay, maybe more than a few. The responses and feedback that have come in during the past week have been overwhelming. I can’t believe we can already move to legalizing things and actually getting things done. Lesson learned: do not spend two years thinking about something you could maybe do at some point in the future. The time is now, and it’s time to change some lives.
While I am forever grateful to each person who donated, I want to make a special mention of GiveWP. They’re offering half of the entire goal. It’s amazingly generous, and I love how they’re jumping in on this.
The startup fund is meant for a couple of things. The most important step to take is to set up an appointment with a notary. He or she will legalize DonateWC as a non-profit. That means I can open a bank account in the charity’s name, which in turn means we can actually start distributing funds. Yay!
Meanwhile, a logo is also very much needed. If you are a graphic designer and have an affinity with the WordPress community, I’d love to hear from you. This is a paid job! There are funds available for work like this – though if you are willing to donate your time, that’s also very much welcome.
A part of the funds will be used for marketing (think Twitter Facebook ads). Even charities need to get their name out there. The more people know about us, the more funds we can raise. And the more funds we have, the more people we can help get to a WordCamp.
Even though the first goal has been reached, we still need all the help we can get. Every bit helps, and even the smallest donations are going to help change some lives!
Think of your favorite WordPress person. Now imagine them not being able to come to a WordCamp, because they do not have the money to go. Would you help them? Of course you would! Please consider skipping your morning Starbucks, and donating that money to DonateWC instead.
To provide potential sponsors with insight on why it’s important to support poor and underprivileged WordPress community members, it’s super helpful if more stories are told. Stories like yours.
If so, I’d love to get in touch with you about writing a guest blog for donatewc.org. You will get to tell your story and help us help others.
It doesn’t matter if your story is one that happened a while ago, or if it has happened quite recently. What matters is that we get to know a bit more about what it means to be underprivileged. Putting a face on the underrepresented group of people who have a hard time going to these conferences really helps to show why DonateWC is an important step to take.
It doesn’t matter where you come from (folks from First World Countries can be poor too). Whether you are white or a person of color, what gender you are, or what sexuality you have. I want to give everyone a voice.
If you are currently working for a company that is sponsoring you to go to WordCamps but you have a story similar to mine, you are also free to get in touch.
Please do leave a comment if you have any questions, or if you’d just like to say something nice. I always love hearing from you.
