GalaCon 2018 raised a record sum of almost €27,000 for Animal Equality, exceeding even the highly successful year 2016 despite having only one auction.

Our table – run by Velvet Wings, Wilhelm Stahldecker, and me – continued the trend of underperforming the previous year, one possible reason being that fewer and fewer people don’t already have our comic book. Our new addition this year – physical copies of our eight music albums and the four contributed ones on a USB drive – didn’t entirely compensate the downward trend even though they were highly coveted.

The auction, on the other hand, was a resplendent success. Possible reasons include increased pooling of funds in bidding wars, extra time, and acceptance of electronic payments. Winners still paid about €16,000 in cash but also about €7,000 through credit card, debit card, or PayPal. The PayPal transactions will have incurred additional fees, which I have only estimated below. I’ll update the post when I have more precise data.

Statistics

Donations

Top Items at the Table

Top Items in the Auction

GalaCon and Bronies for Good History

Art by Velvet R. Wings

Saturday, December 16, 2017
5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. EST
(10:30 p.m. – 12 a.m. UTC)

on PonyvilleFM 

Each year, Bronies for Good’s Seeds of Kindness albums  gather the pony community’s top music creators musicians, artists, and brony media organizers to kick off their charity drive with a bang.

In just a few days, our new album will be released. With 14 songs from various genres, A Healing Touch presents the united effort and dedication of many talented musicians in their hopes of making the world a better place.

Now, it’s your chance to help. The Seeds of Kindness fundraising projects have been an enormous success, raising over $200,000 for worthy causes over the past six years, and it’s all thanks to the altruism and generosity of you, the fandom.

Come join us in celebration as we kick off another fundraising season with our release party for Seeds of Kindness: A Healing Touch!

Stream and group chat enabled by Ponyville FM!

There will be an online fundraiser, accompanied by a stream of the album.

When you donate, you can download A Healing Touch, and all of Bronies for Good’s previous albums!

The Theme

This year, the theme of the album is healing.

It’s a tumultuous period in human history that we live in. In these hard times, we could all use a little bit of healing.

While there may not be any easy answers to our troubles or to the world’s, we can still reach out and extend a healing touch to those who need it most.

That’s what Seeds of Kindness is all about – lending a helping hand by connecting the fandom with charitable organizations that make every penny count.

The Charity
The Against Malaria Foundation https://www.againstmalaria.com/default.aspx is ranked as one of the most effective charities in the world.

They have a strong track record and a commitment to efficiency, program monitoring, and transparency.

Over 200 million people contract malaria every year, and many who survive are locked in poverty due to expensive treatments. It is a permanent catastrophe.
It is also easily preventable.

As malaria-infected mosquitoes mostly bite at night, it can be prevented with cheap, long-lasting insecticidal nets. As little as $3 buys a net that will protect two people for three to four years and contribute to the permanent elimination of the disease. The efficiency of this form of intervention has been thoroughly proven.

Online Release Party and Fundraiser

Saturday, February 11, at 4 p.m. EST (9 p.m. UTC)

on Ponyville Live

Each year, musicians, artists, and brony media organizers come together from all across the fandom to make sure Bronies for Good’s annual Seeds of Kindness drive kicks off with a bang.

In just a few days, our seventh charity album drops. With 14 songs, over an hour of music, and genres spanning from orchestral, to folk, to several different subgenres of EDM, A Change of Heart is the culmination of months of work from talented, and diverse musicians, all united in their dedication to making the world a better place.

After that, it’s up to you. The Seeds of Kindness fundraisers have been an enormous success, thanks to the altruism and generosity of you, the fandom.

Come join us in celebration as we kick off another fundraising season with our release party for Seeds of Kindness: A Change of Heart! Stream and group chat enabled by Ponyville Live!

On Saturday, February 11, at 4 p.m. EST (9 p.m. UTC), Ponyville Live will host an online fundraiser, complete with a stream of the album, and a public group chat with musicians.

When you donate, you can download A Change of Heart, and all of Bronies for Good’s previous albums! You can already donate, and you’ll be able to download all past albums right away as well as A Change of Heart upon the start of the release party.

The Theme

A Change of Heart continues to promote the theme of last year’s album: global empathy. The concept of global empathy is oft misunderstood because it is a very dry term for a profoundly personal and emotional process. Humans are instinctively compassionate; upon witnessing the suffering of sentient beings, we are motivated with a desire to help alleviate said suffering. Regardless of race, background, or country, we care and seek to do our best to help those in need.

However, everyone’s awareness has limitations. The modern world is fast-paced, and the suffering of others can all too often seem abstract, especially when it is very far away. It takes work to both remain aware, and to keep one’s heart from becoming jaded.

A Change of Heart is all about overcoming those obstacles, as individuals, and as a people.

The Charity

It is important for any charitable enterprise to back a trustworthy and effective cause. Seeds of Kindness benefits the Against Malaria Foundation – an organization that saves thousands of lives by helping to improve health conditions in less-developed nations.

GiveWell has rated it one of the best charities in the world.

Over 200 million people contract malaria every year, and many who survive are locked in poverty due to expensive treatments. It is a permanent catastrophe.

It is also easily preventable.

The Against Malaria Foundation stands out because of its strong track record and commitment to efficiency, program monitoring, and transparency. As malaria-infected mosquitoes mostly bite at night, it can be prevented with cheap, long-lasting insecticidal nets. As little as $3 buys a net that will protect two people for two or three years and contribute to the permanent elimination of the disease.

Calling all musicians!  Bronies for Good is pleased to announce its sixth Seeds of Kindness charity album, A Change of Heart.

Since our conception, Bronies for Good has raised over $200,000 for various impactful charity projects.  We could not have accomplished this without the creative contributions of the fandom’s many talented musicians and artists, and the generosity of thousands of fans who want to make the world a better place.  Thank you.

Our new fundraiser will launch in February, along with the album, and funds will benefit the highly effective prevention program of the Against Malaria Foundation.  

The Music

The Seeds of Kindness albums showcase the work of producers who have contributed their time and skills towards creating music for the pony community.  These albums encompass genres from dance, to orchestral, to ska, to rock, to 80s metal, to hip-hop, and include contributions from musicians such as EileMonty, Feather, Forest Rain, So Great and Powerful, Cyril the Wolf, Rhyme Flow, and Carbon Maestro. You can download our previous releases from our fundraiser page.

The Theme

Our new album continues to promote the timeless theme of last year’s album: global empathy.  The concept of global empathy is oft misunderstood because it is a very dry term for a profoundly personal and emotional process. Humans are instinctively compassionate; upon witnessing the suffering of sentient beings, we are motivated with a desire to help alleviate said suffering.  Regardless of race, background, or country, we care and seek to do our best to help those in need.

However, everyone’s awareness has limitations.  The modern world is fast-paced, and the suffering of others can all too often seem abstract, especially when it is very far away.  It takes work to both remain aware, and to keep one’s heart from becoming jaded.

A Change of Heart is all about overcoming those obstacles, as individuals, and as a people.

The Charity

Over 200 million people contract malaria every year, the death toll is equivalent to half a dozen plane crashes every day, and many who survive are locked in poverty due to expensive treatments.  It is a permanent catastrophe.

It is also easily preventable.

The Against Malaria Foundation stands out in particular because of its strong track record and commitment to efficiency, program monitoring, and transparency.  As malaria-infected mosquitoes mostly bite at night, it can be prevented with cheap, long-lasting insecticidal nets.  As little as $3 buys a net that will protect two people for three to four years and contribute to the permanent elimination of the disease.  The efficiency of this form of intervention has been thoroughly proven.

Instructions for Musicians

The Timeline

Soft deadline: 15th December 2016

Hard deadline: 15th January 2017

Release date: 11th February 2017

What to Submit

1. Pony and non-pony songs are equally welcome.
2. No copyrighted material can be used, and we cannot accept entries that remix, sample, or cover the show, either.  (Sorry!)
3. Submitting a remix requires the permission of whomever owns the rights to the original material.
4. Collabs are encouraged!
5. Tone.  There is no genre restriction besides common sense.  Don’t make anything angry, creepy, or overly depressing, (but emotional is fine), and your song should have no problem fitting in.
6. Length.  There is no set length restriction.  Long songs are just as welcome as shorter pieces are.  However, the length of the song must be appropriate to what your song is seeking to accomplish.  Don’t stretch or loop your song solely to fit a given length.  This was perhaps the most common issue with submissions to previous albums.
7. Number of Submissions.  You can submit as many songs as you want (within reason).  Two songs from the same artist can get in without any problem, but over that number (not counting collabs), we might only take the best two of them.

How to Submit

Please use this submission form  to submit your song.  If you have any trouble, please email us at [email protected], and we will help you out (Please don’t include attachments in the email, thanks).  

Things You Should Know

1. For the sake of musicians who submit their songs early, there is a set release date.
2. We recommend that you submit before the “soft deadline” so we can still give feedback on tracks that are close to making the cut.
3. You may release your song as soon as the album is out, but please link the fundraiser instead of a direct MP3 download.
4. We will continue to trust our fans to donate to download the album.
5. You can upload your song on YouTube when the album is released, but please do not make your song public until the release date, (thank you).  However, feel free to upload previews or ask for feedback!

If you have any questions, you can email us at [email protected] or join our official Skype group using the following link: https://join.skype.com/J0yuJVfJyRpm