wincon

The annual Wincon festivities are coming up in October, and we are on the hunt for items for our signature event- the annual charity raffle. I have been assigned a daunting task- taking over this big responsibility from teabee, who's done a fabulous job since 2006.

100% of the proceeds from our raffle go to our Kiva account, where we've successfully sponsored people (primarily women) from all over the world as they work to build better lives for themselves and their families.

If you'd like to know more about Kiva, you can find it here.

If you'd like to know what sorts of items we're looking for, keep reading! Items in the past have included, but are not limited to, the following:

~fanart works such as drawings, paintings, photo-manips
~fandom-themed trinkets/baubles/toys such as coffee mugs, keychains, mousepads, diaries, phone cases, refrigerator magnets, rub-on tattoos
~jewelry (both fandom and not)
~clothing (fannish t-shirts, socks, etc)
~fan-made craft items such as blankets, throw-pillows, scarves, socks, mittens or needlepoint
~souvenier items from other cons, like SDCC swag bags, promo posters, etc.
~Rosie the Riveter merch and other retro-themed items
~tea! And teacups, diffusers, etc.
~cosmetics and cosmetic samples (new and unopened only, please!)
~celebrity autographs
~fandom/genre books, DVDs, and soundtracks
~games and card games (i.e., cards against humanity, etc)
~art supplies
~crafting supplies (yarn, jewelry-making supplies, crochet thread, beads, etc)
~gift cards (Starbucks, iTunes, etc)

These are only a FEW of the things we've had. Basically, if it's something you think other fans might want, we probably want it for our raffle. Even if the item you have is small, don't despair. We group smaller, like items into themed baskets, and those are always hugely popular. So yes, we will happily take your Ironman keychain if that's what you want to send! :)

Think of it as a great opportunity for you to do some de-cluttering (without having to cringe and throw that autographed Lone Gunmen poster into the trash) and know that you're helping to change people's lives.

If you've got items to donate [you are my favorite!] and want to know how, OR if you have any Q's, you can answer here or msg me. And, hey, if you don't have anything to donate, but still wish you could help, you can do so just by spreading the word. You can link people to this post, or reblog this info over on tumblr.

Please feel free to leave a note about a favorite item if you've won something in the past and want to share your story!

Thanks for your help, and remember: IT'S (LITERALLY) FOR THE CHILDREN!

I'm so very excited to talk about the 2011 New Orleans Wincon Charity Auction.

Your generosity this year - from those who donated amazing prizes to those who happily purchased tickets - was overwhelming. I would like to sincerely thank each and every one of you for your enthusiastic participation in this event. You blew my expectations out of the water the very first day.

I want to particularly thank brynspikess for her huge donation - she's the reason we had additional lovely things for the raffle as well as those fun prizes at prom (just for walking in the door!) AND a donation of toys and stickers to the local Children's Hospital. THANK YOU.

Yeah, I'm sniffling too, it's okay. ;)

So let's talk about where the money went this year:

I selected a KIVA account, funded by the $565 (I KNOW) we raised this year. With KIVA (www.kiva.org), we pool our money with other donations to fund worldwide loans to enterprising women who wish to start businesses or grow their current projects into self-sufficiency for them and their families. I can't think of a better way to spread the goodwill of our attendees around the world.

You can learn more about where the money went and who each of the recipients are by going to our page: http://www.kiva.org/lender/wincon7245 . From there you can keep track of the money being repaid and loaned back out, etc. Stop by often and see the progress of your donations!

Again, THANK YOU. You are all amazing.

Now - if you made or donated something and would like to "advertise" your business below, please feel free! We want folks to have a second chance at your wares!

<3

Just a word from your sponsors.


Every year before Wincon we pick a charity, do up a raffle, and donate the proceeds from the raffle (and other ventures) to that charity. It's a way to remind ourselves that even though Wincon is about the sparkles and the cocktails, it's also about togetherness and remembering what community means face to face and person to person.

In the past the charities we chose were local to reflect the fact that every Wincon has a unique, local flavor from city to city. This year, though, we decided to do something new and different in honor of our change in focus from a monofandom Con to a panfandom one.

Our charity this year is FINCA International. If you're unfamiliar with this organization, they're a microfinance charity which specifically focuses its efforts towards women. Most of Wincon's efforts are aimed toward women (MOST), so we feel that this charity perfectly dovetails with the spirit of our Con. (If you don't know anything about microfinance, wikipedia is your buddy.)

We're hesitant to expect that we will meet the threshold to endow a Wincon FINCA Bank (this takes a minimum of $5K, way out of our ballpark), but we can choose another bank to give the charity money to, and after the Con we will poll about this.

So: come to Wincon and endow seed money for women in poverty to start businesses while talking about porn. Win/win?

Winbook (program book) ads are now for sale!

Winbook Scholarship Ad Campaign

Prices range from $12.50 to $100, so there's something for everyone. There's also a donation button towards the bottom of the page if you'd just like to contribute without placing an ad.

We have decided to see how well this new experiment goes with y'all before we start asking you to nominate people for the scholarship. If it's the success we hope it will be, we'll start asking for nominations (and you can totes nom yourself) around mid July. You can read more about that at our updated Charity Events page. Where you can also read about how we're changing up the Winprom Raffle this year to reflect our multifandomness.

For those in the US, have an awesome holiday weekend. To all my fellow vets: *fist bump* For those outside the US, have a wonderful Saturday.

Hiatus is nearly upon us. SIGH. Hiatus is the winter of our fannish hearts. But, there are things we can do to keep off the chill.

1. We changed the dates for registration prices for Wincon. The price for tickets will still go up to $125 eventually. But instead of doing that on June 1st, we've extended the current price of $100 to June 15th.

2. In the next week or two, we are going to start selling ads, High School yearbook style, for this year's program book. Why, Jenn, why? Well, I'll tell you! This year we want to raise money for a scholarship fund to bring at least one (maybe more if possible) person to Wincon who may be otherwise financially strapped for cash and unable to come. ignited is working on the graphics end of this for us and will have some templates for you guys to play with in the next week or so.

3. We will also begin a nominee process for the scholarship next week. Put your heads together! If there's someone out there in fandom (any fandom) you think would be into receiving this, we want to know. Next week, we'll ask you to tell us about them. K is working out the details about how she'll want that information from you.

Things are still tough out there for a lot of you, economically and otherwise and honestly, we understand that we may not raise enough money to bring anyone to the con, if that unfortunately happens, we will roll the money from the ads into this year's charity.

Your continued support for all things Wincon is amazing and humbling. If you haven't heard us say it lately, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Jenn and Kassie