Strange Horizons Fund Drive Results, or, You Guys Rock
Posted on August 15, 2009 Posted by John Scalzi 35 Comments
So, yesterday, when I challenged all y’all to match donations with me and Krissy to help the online science fiction magazine Strange Horizons meet its fundraising goal for the month, the total amount of money donated to that point was $1,565, out of a goal of $7,000. And where is it today? I’ll let Strange Horizons editor Susan Marie Groppi tell you [I’ve bolded the money parts]:
So up there in Scalzi’s post when he said “What I would say would be an even better outcome, however, is an even larger pile of donations sent along to Strange Horizons, for which my and Krissy’s $500 is just the cherry on the top.” You guys far exceeded any reasonable expectations for that “better outcome.” I’ve just finished doing all the tabulating, and the grand total for the 27-hour Scalzi Challenge period came to $9590. When you add in the matching funds from John and Krissy, that’s just over ten thousand dollars raised.
I don’t think I can possibly express how much this means to Strange Horizons, and to all of our staff members. We’re going to keep the fund drive open for a while longer in case anyone else wants to donate, but we’ve totally met and passed our overall fundraising goal. I’m totally overwhelmed by the generosity all of you have shown, and totally scared for what might happen if Scalzi ever decides to use his powers for evil.
First, for the record, I will not use my powers for evil. Because that’s just too damn easy.
Second, like Susan, I am thrilled and overwhelmed by your generosity — but I’m not surprised. Not surprised for two reasons: Because I know that so many of you know a good deal and a good cause when you see it, and because Strange Horizons does what it does well and thereby legitimately deserves the support you’ve given it (and will hopefully give it again, when next they do a fund drive).
Krissy and I have of course sent in our $500; in fact, I sent it in early yesterday, before I knew the donation totals. Call it an act of faith that you guys would make us spend it all. I was not disappointed, and am delighted you matched what we had to give, and then passed it exponentially. Add it all together and there’s the inescapable conclusion that each and every one of you rock. I’m not ashamed to say it. I will proclaim it from the rooftops if necessary.
Very sincerely: Thank you.
Update, 2:20pm: Oh, look, a nice write-up in the L.A. Times (which, by the way is sporting a very nice new look).
Fan-friggin-tastic. Great job everyone, and thank you John for helping jumpstart this endeavour.
What I’ve read on the site already is worth far more than the pittance I could send in.
John, if you already sent yours before the donation totals Susan calculated, does this mean it’s already part of the $9590 and that therefore the current total on the SH site is off by $500 since she’s adding your matching $500 to the total?
Perhaps I should address that question to Susan herself.
If it is the case, we can certainly make it up. I meant to give yesterday but haven’t yet. I can do $50, and perhaps there are 9 other Whatever readers in a similar situation.
Steve Ely:
Susan would have seen my donation when it came in and set it aside when she was doing the counting, I suspect.
That said, I certainly do encourage folks who wanted to contribute but haven’t yet to go ahead and do so.
Now I am glad I donated; SH is cool, but it was also very col to be part of this. ;) Thanks.
This is so wonderful. I love being humbled by the awesomeness of all my friends.
Yay! For the hopeful unpublished, Strange Horizons is one of those bastions of maybe-they’ll-take-my-words. (I sent in my little chunk of change too. :) It’s nice to know it’ll be there for another year.
It was cool to be a part of this. Thanks for inspiring me to donate.
Best five bucks I spent this year . . .
Where’s my cake?
I made no cake-related promises this time.
John,
I wouldn’t have known about Strange Horizons without you. I donated my $10 after reading about it here. Thanks for passing along a great place to read SF. I spend much more than that on so-so games and books. So helping keep open a place for really good SF is a no brainer.
I saw the tweet about this first thing when I woke up today and it gave me such a happy tingly feeling. Nothing like seeing good things happen. Everyone’s so awesome (especially John)!
Hmm, the donation meter looks like a Hugo rocket. Coin-ci-dink?
Thanks, John, it was fun to have been a part of that.
The Other Keith @10: Taped to the bacon?
I remember something about cake.
And the bankrupt Scalzi $500 is expliciitly not part of the $9590 collected during the 27 hours. Read the bolded part of the quote and the sentence fragment between the two bold sections.
John Scalzi has a posse.
Thank you, thank you, thank you—to John and Krissy and the fantastically generous Whatever readers. You guys are amazing!
Nicely done, John. In recognition of this mitzvah, I’ve inducted you into my blog’s pantheon of “Great Human Beings.”
http://www.davidmack.pro/blog/?p=1210
@ntsc,
Yeah, thanks for insulting my reading comprehension, ntsc. I actually had read the bolded parts and the phrase in between, and, while she obviously intends the $9590 and the Scalzi donation to be separate amounts, she actually does not make explicit that she had set aside the Scalzi donation from the rest of the money collected Friday, which is why John said he suspects she did so.
Reading the comment in its original thread, it’s very easy to understand her to mean that she’s anticipating the Scalzi donation. After all, it’s not an unreasonable understanding of “the grand total for the 27-hour Scalzi Challenge period came to $9590” to think that she means ALL of the money during that 27-hour period totals up to $9590 and that she’s adding on to it the $500 she anticipates getting from the Scalzis now that she’s informed them it has indeed surpassed $500.
Meanwhile, it’s a very reasonable suspicion by John that she means “the grand total for the 27-hour Scalzi Challenge period, apart from the Scalzi donation itself, came to $9590” but that’s not at all explicit.
hooray! :)
Fantastic. I was sort of, kind of, getting around to donating and your and K’s pledge dissolved enough procastinatory goo to put my little bit in. and I guess I wasn’ the only one. Cheers, John & Kristine Scalzi!
Okay, maybe we are slavering hordes, but in a good way.
I will let my statement stand.
Let’s not get twitchy, folks.
OK, this has got to stop. My “beer budget” for the month is now even less.
Yesterday I donated to SH, today I purchased the limited edition of Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded from Subterranean Press.
Will the insanity ever end?
Blimey, good job all round! :)
*high five*
Thanks again, John, for pushing us all into action.
Thanks to John and all whatever readers. You’re making the future more tolerable.
Thank *you*.
I see on their site that they are looking to do a site redesign. Perhaps someone with those skills will offer time instead of money to help out. Sometimes a skill offered is better than money.
Oh. My. Grodd. What a spectacular development! I am so please to be part of this in a tiny way.
Actually, John, thanks for posting about this. I have seen SH off and on, but kind of forgot about it… but I’ve read several of the stories on there today and… wow, nice stuff. Well worth the money sent and then some.
John, next year at this time, I propose you offer the following: If your readers donate $5000, you will write a short story for Strange Horizons. I’d rather read another “Denise Jones, Super Booker” or “Pluto Tells All” than have you cough up another $500.
You know, I’m beginning to think you could cure all the world’s problems with this method…
Now that is a good job, Mr. Scalzi. I’ve read Strange Horizons on and off, and have been quite impressed by the quality of the work they publish, both fiction and non-fiction. It was a pleasure to make a donation. (Besides, if I didn’t make that donation, I’d have spent it on eating out and to be honest, I need to diet. I’m scandalously close to being pudgy again.)
The strange thing is, I think that Whatever has been responsible for all my donations not related to certain major non-profit organizations that I support. There has got to be some kind of weird reality distorting field here.