Young Writers Society

Hey fellow writers,

As of late it occurred to me that we number fairly high now, not merely we of the YWS, but young writers in general. I've also noted that we generally have a greater sense of social consciousness. I wonder, therefore, if any of you would be interested in participating in an online writing competition from charity. I've already begun working out the specifics myself (for example, I think it best that all donations be processed by a Facebook/Myspace cause) and designing an informational website. However, I would like to consult first with you all to determine the level of interest in the rudimentary concept, then to work out our preferences in terms of specifics.

For those of you who answer "no" to the above poll, I would be interested in your reasoning. I'm not trying to challenge any of you, of course; I just literally want to understand your reasoning or worries so that I may evaluate and refine this idea. You may also want to consider discussing this idea before rejecting it.

Thank you,
the morrow

Mod edit: Removed all-caps from title

That's a really good idea. I don't understand how it would work, though - would the contest serve to raise awareness of the charity, or would it serve to raise funds with entry fees?

Things like this are a great idea. Right now, I know there's Live Long and Marry, a marriage-equality fund raiser. Sign ups are over, but there'll be more like it. Pretty much, people sign up to donate their storytelling/writing/art/whatever, and people bid on it, only the money goes to charity instead of to them. I think they're a great idea, but I don't have the skills to sign up for one.

I do like this idea - and I adore Meep's example of Live Long and Marry. I doubt I'd be skilled enough for something like that though. But it's something I would seriously support.

xxfourthelement wrote:That's a really good idea. I don't understand how it would work, though - would the contest serve to raise awareness of the charity, or would it serve to raise funds with entry fees?

It would, I think, accomplish both. Participants in the competition would learn of the charity to which their entry fees would be going, and those fees would be raising funds for the said charity.

And as far as the charity itself, I recommend something non-controversial, which generally means humanitarian charities. One of my favorites is Heifer International, found at http://www.heifer.org/, which uses its funds to give impoverished families across the globe agricultural resources, like heifers, that can provide them with a steady source of nourishment and funds from surplus. HI also provides agricultural education for the families. Doners have the option of choosing a specific gift from a catalog--a heifer, a llama, sheep--to donate, which is useful in fundraiser because it makes our donation seem more personified, more substantiated. For more information, visit the site, or do a youtube search. However, I have a feeling that the animal rights activists on this site will have more than one qualm about this.

Meep wrote:Things like this are a great idea. Right now, I know there's Live Long and Marry, a marriage-equality fund raiser. Sign ups are over, but there'll be more like it. Pretty much, people sign up to donate their storytelling/writing/art/whatever, and people bid on it, only the money goes to charity instead of to them. I think they're a great idea, but I don't have the skills to sign up for one.

clograbby wrote:I do like this idea - and I adore Meep's example of Live Long and Marry. I doubt I'd be skilled enough for something like that though. But it's something I would seriously support.

I know many will be afraid that they won't have the skill to win, but I am hoping that people will understand that it is not about winning; its about honing our writing skills, sharing our work with others in the same boat, and helping a good cause.

Ooh! My church raises money for the heifer project every year! I would definetly be interested, but I don't have a credit card or anything, so I don't know if I could enter

thunder_dude7 wrote:Ooh! My church raises money for the heifer project every year! I would definetly be interested, but I don't have a credit card or anything, so I don't know if I could enter

Yes, participants would have to have their own credit cards and their own facebook or myspace profiles. Unfortunately, I'd don't see any way around credit cards, and it is a significant issue, as I assume most of the people here do not indeed have credit cards. The only reasonable solution I can think of is to use somebody else's credit card (a parent, perhaps) and then reimburse him/her with cash. If anyone could think of any other possible solutions, that would be great.

[Sorry for the long response time]

That's an excellent idea. The HI thing is pretty cool, too.

Another quick question, though: how will funds be raised? From entry fees? And, if it's a contest, what is the "prize"? While some writers (like me) are perfectly willing to write for awareness, some would be hapier if they had the chance to win something, like publication or some sort of recognition.

Ahhhhh. Oh dear. I don't have a credit card OR a Facebook/MySpace profile: the card I sent off for STILL hasn't arrived and it's been over two weeks, and I hate MySpace with a passion. Log onto knowmore.org, and type in MySpace: you'll soon see why I refuse to support them.

However, for those with the cash and the profiles for it, then I think this would be a fantastic idea. Thank you, also, for introducing me to this charity: it's great.

Much love 'nd huggles!

I am one hundred percent for this idea. I love the idea of writing for charities and such. But you really do have to figure out a way to pay over the internet in some other way via credit card, because a lot more people are reluctant to use their credit cards at this day in age, even with how small the fee is. You might be able to organize something with charging using the DSL phone/internet connection depending on where they live. You could also do snail mail, but that does take a long time so you would have to set it up way in advance before the charity. Make a up to date list of the people who have signed up and if somebody sent their mail. they can wait until their name is up to know if their payment got there or not. It is just something you have to plan out for people who don't have access to credit cards or anything like that.

For the Facebook/Myspace problem, you could put links up in many other websites including those so that people could sign up on another website that could be made. That way people won't have to be on Myspace or Facebook because a lot of people are iffy about those sights.

All I know is that this idea could work but would take a lot of organizing and favours asked.

~Incognito Temptation

I would NEVER give money through facebook/myspace. Check out paypal. People tend to trust that the most.

~JFW1415