For the first time ever we’ve been to Pony Congress 2016 in Elbląg, Poland. The organizers have been extremely welcoming and helpful, and even provided us (i.e. me) with a comped room to stay. Thank you greatly! Thanks also to Rico, who helped me out at the table and enabled my travel back by changing money for me!
Even though the con was unfortunate enough to see few attendees (despite having Michelle Creber on their guest list!), the extreme cost-effectiveness of our charity, Animal Equality, that makes every bit count many-fold, produces a result that we can be proud of.
Donations
PLN
EUR
Table Saturday
zł 228.00
about € 51
Table Sunday
zł 155.84
about € 35
Auction
zł 1,980.00
about € 443
Total
zł 2,353.84
about € 527–529
(The con will transfer all funds directly to Animal Equality. Depending on the exchange rate to euro, the euro total may still change slightly.)
If the cost-effectiveness estimates for Animal Equality that have been compiled by Animal Charity Evaluators are even roughly correct, that boils down to over 7,000 animals spared great suffering! And even if the estimates are high by an order of magnitude (they might just as soon be low by an order of magnitude), that’s still an amazing impact that the organizers and all donors can be proud of!
One year ago, the thousandth person took the Giving What We Can pledge, promising to donate 10% of their income to the most effective charities in the world – for example our recommended charities – all throughout their life.
We want to celebrate the anniversary of this milestone by offering free shipping on our comic book Bound Together for all orders on May 25, 2016 (according to EDT). You can subscribe to our newsletter for a timely reminder!
The donations benefit the Against Malaria Foundation that just finalized plans for the largest distribution of mosquito nets in its history – a milestone that is also your achievement!
AMF has signed an agreement with Uganda’s Ministry of Health to fund 10.7 million long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) for distribution in Uganda’s upcoming universal coverage campaign (UCC). The nets … will protect 19.3 million people. … Every donation, large and small, has made this possible.
Malaria is one of the primary health issues in Uganda, with high incidence levels seen across many districts. These nets have the potential to play a major part in reducing deaths and illness.
Of course you can also order your Bound Together right away.
About Bronies for Good
The show has taught us that a pony’s compassion is wide – it transcends country borders and races, and Fluttershy’s compassion has room for all species of critters, whether bear, squirrel, or chicken. We of Bronies for Good implement this message in the real world, where we run fundraising campaigns and rely on comparative research – such as that of GiveWell and Animal Charity Evaluators – to always find and support the best charities in the world.
Equestria, Griffonstone, or Crystal Empire; Winona, Elizabeak, or Mooriella – ponies have taught us that every feeling individual counts, no matter who or where. Many of us have made it our goal to find those who suffer the worst hardships in the world, to find the best ways to help them, and when we do, to buckle down and get it done.
Pony Congress 2016
If you attend Pony Congress, then you have two chances to join us: the convention will run a charity auction in which you can bid, and for the charity auction to be a success, you can now also contribute in-kind donations!
Pony Congress will take place on June 25–26, 2016, in Elbl?g, Poland. The convention team is accepting contributions through:
The show has taught us that a pony’s compassion is wide – it transcends country borders and races, and Fluttershy’s compassion has room for all species of critters, whether bear, squirrel, or chicken. We of Bronies for Good implement this message in the real world, where we run fundraising campaigns and rely on comparative research – such as that of GiveWell and Animal Charity Evaluators – to always find and support the best charities in the world.
About the Animal Equality
When animals are abused or suffer, Animal Equality is there to defend them. The international organization has offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Venezuela, and India, from which it conducts investigations to bring to light cases of animal abuse and educate the public about them. Animal Charity Evaluators estimates that it saves multiple animals for every dollar donated and recommends it as one of the best animal charities in the world.
A pony’s compassion wide – the cutie map has shown us that the well-being of every feeling individual matters never mind where he or she lives. And from the first day, Fluttershy has been the symbol of compassion for all animals, ungulate or not.
Many of us have made it our goal to find those individuals that suffer the worst hardships in the world, to find the best ways to help them free themselves, and when we do, to buckle down and get it done.
GalaCon 2016
Today we invite you to become one of us – or to welcome you back if you are a reliable supporter already: GalaCon is accepting in kind donations for the charity auction!
GalaCon (July 30–31, 2016) will again dedicate its charity auction to the Seeds of Kindness fundraiser of Bronies for Good – it will be the fifth successive year the convention has supported us. A silent auction and a super speedy Saturday sale will allow potential buyers to bid on their coveted items throughout most of the convention, and the live auction on Sunday will determine who gets the most valuable ones.
To donate in kind to the auction, please fill in this form for every item, even if you plan on bringing it to the convention rather than mailing it. Having more time to plan the auction helps us handle the items more efficiently and sell more of them. Plus you will know whether your donation meets the requirements before you carry it to the convention. If you have any questions, please email GalaCon at [email protected].
About GalaCon
The weekend of July 30–31, 2016, will mark the fifth anniversary of the GalaCon convention and the fourth consecutive year for it to take place in the Forum am Schlosspark in Ludwigsburg near Stuttgart, Germany. On two levels, GalaCon provides space for over 1,200 attendees, vendors, and panels with guests such as Amy Keating Rogers, Rebecca Shoichet, and Anneli Heed, as well as charity programming for Bronies for Good–recommended charities: a silent auction, the super speedy Saturday sale, and the grand live auction on Sunday. Tickets are available on the website.
About Bronies for Good
The show has taught us that a pony’s compassion is wide – it transcends country borders and races, and Fluttershy’s compassion has room for all species of critters, whether bear, squirrel, or chicken. We of Bronies for Good implement this message in the real world, where we run fundraising campaigns and rely on comparative research – such as that of GiveWell and Animal Charity Evaluators – to always find and support the best charities in the world.
About the Animal Equality
When animals are abused or suffer, Animal Equality is there to defend them. The international organization has offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Venezuela, and India, from which it conducts investigations to bring to light cases of animal abuse and educate the public about them. Animal Charity Evaluators estimates that it saves multiple animals for every dollar donated and recommends it as one of the best animal charities in the world.
Brony Fair 2016 again generously provided us with a comped booth for our charity fundraising. (The auction was completely separate from us.) We – Moontune and I – used it on both days to accept donations and give out thank yous to our donors including our comic book Bound Together.
We even underestimated the demand and had to restock on copies of Bound Together for the second day. Below the totals raised. All funds have been transferred to the Against Malaria Foundation in full.
For us the convention season 2015 is over and we still have a few copies of our Bound Together comic anthology left, so for the first time ever we’re opening online sales!
Are you looking for the perfect Christmas present for a brony friend or for future you? Have you not had the chance to score a copy of Bound Together at a convention near you? Then order now, because now we can still get it to you in time for the celebration! We ship worldwide, so you can give it to anyone anywhere on the globe.
As always, 100% of the proceeds go to the Against Malaria Foundation where they will buy mosquito nets to protect people from malaria and other diseases.
Some artists have posted samples of their contributions, which you canfindhere. That’s just a taste, as you can only see all of the comics and artwork by donating for the book.
About the Charity
True to its theme of teamwork and togetherness, all buyers are also collaborators on our joint effort to combat malaria. The revenue generated by Bound Together goes towards the Against Malaria Foundation’s outstanding prevention program. Each copy of Bound Together helps provide multiple insecticide-coated nets to thwart the spread of malaria, one of the best charity programs in operation.
Giving What We Can
On the topic of charity: There is a community of over 1,300 people who have pledged to donate at least 10% of their income throughout their lives to the most effective charities in the world, the Giving What We Can community. Last December a record number of people joined this community in response to a Facebook event that went viral.
Please invite all your Facebook friends to this years event and consider signing up yourself so that we can repeat last year’s success, because if even a single one of your friends takes the pledge in response to your invitation, you’ll have influenced donations that can save hundreds of lives!
Our new charity album, Building Bridges, has premiered and our new Seeds of Kindness fundraiser for the 2015 Christmas season and most of the year 2016 was launched with a bang: within just a few days, you have contributed over $3,000, including matching funds! Thanks to your efforts, the Against Malaria Foundation will save a person’s life with this contribution!
When you donate, you can download the latest album, Building Bridges, as well as all our eight previous albums. Now is a great time to donate because the Against Malaria Foundation needs to fund several new campaigns against the disease in 2016!
Below are a few questions about our program that many have asked about. If you have other questions that are not answered here feel free to ask them in the comments on our website.
Why the Against Malaria Foundation?
That is an excellent question, because where you donate is usually much more important than what you donate. Analyses of the impact of charities – for example those graphed below – have found that with the same donation some charities can produce 100, sometimes 1000 times as much value for the world. Few people wonder whether they’ll donate $100 or $100,000 today, but everyone has to decide which charity to support.
Conducting these impact analyses and comparing them is a lot of work. That is why Holden Karnofsky and Elie Hassenfeld have founded the charity evaluator GiveWell. GiveWell’s goal is to find the best charities in the world – the charities that will create the greatest positive impact in the world for every dollar donated. Eight years of research from several dozen research analysts have gone into GiveWell’s recommendations, and the Against Malaria Foundation has been a regular among their top charities. This year they went so far as to state that “we simply recommend giving to the top-ranked charity on the list, which is AMF.”
What about the overhead costs of a charity?
How can a charity achieve extreme cost-effectiveness like that? It’s mostly owed to the organization’s rigorous self-evaluation of their program, and the flexibility to draw hard conclusions from the results of said self-evaluations. Neither would be possible without highly qualified staff and substantial investment into the monitoring of the program. These are all investments that don’t typically count into the program budget, but they can easily be the most valuable investments a charity can make.
So this so-called “overhead” has nothing to do with a charity’s effectiveness. Moreover, it is usually negligible. One charity may spend 60% of its budget on its program and another 90%, but this is only a difference of a factor of 90% / 60% = 1.5 – vanishingly small compared to the differences of factor 100 to 1000 in the cost-effectiveness of a charity’s program.
Then donation matching is pretty pointless in most cases, isn’t it?
When an average charity provides donation matching, their cost-effectiveness from the perspective of one of the matching partners may increase from 0.01 to 0.02 times that of a top charity. That’s not a difference that should influence your donations decision. But if you’ve come to the conclusion that the charity that is providing the matching is one of the most effective charities in the world, then donation matching can be significant. You also need to make sure that the matching partner wouldn’t donate anyway, irrespective of whether you donate.
Malaria is such a huge problem. Do our efforts even make a difference?
The Against Malaria Foundation needs up to $75 million in 2016 to combat malaria, and $3,000 is a small fraction of that. However, it is our absolute impact that counts – and our absolute impact is tremendous.
The achievement of saving a person’s life, for example, is tremendous. Most people who die of malaria die at ages under five years, so you are gifting them almost their complete life! Just imagine the decades you’ve lives so far, and the decades that still lie ahead of you. This achievement is in no way diminished whether the person would’ve succumbed to a disease that affects ten people or, like malaria, millions.
I missed the Bound Together preorder! When can I order it again?
Now! The 2015 convention season is over for us, and we still have a few copies left. We will issue an official announcement soon, but since you’ve proven that you’re reading our news releases attentively, we think you should get first dibs! You can order your copy here.
We hope these answers have given you a better insight into our thinking about helping people maximally. Please learn all you can about our charity of choice to inform your donation. If you are convinced by what you find, please join the fight against malaria, because a lot depends on your donation:
Friends, lend me your eyes, for your ears will soon be rewarded. Since 2011, countless musicians have pooled their efforts into six Bronies for Good charity albums and have helped make the world a better place. In just a few days, we will continue this legacy with the premiere of Building Bridges.
Come and join us in celebration as we kick off another fundraising season with our Building Bridges release party, enabled by Ponyville FM and Canterlot Hill!
During the time of the stream, an anonymous donor will match all donations raised up to $1000. Make sure to use this amazing opportunity!
Building Bridges Release Party
Sunday, November 22, 2015, at 3 p.m. EST (8 p.m. UTC)
The Album. Building Bridges is the culmination of months of work from talented musicians dedicated to making the world a better place. Its 19 tracks comprise more than an hour of rock, dubstep, gospel folk, orchestral music, and much more. Anyone who has been keeping up with pony music should recognize some of these generous musicians! Above, below, or on YouTube you can watch a preview of the album.
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 manages to save thousands of lives by helping to improve health conditions in less developed nations. It is one of the best charities in the world.
“I wasn’t just sick, with fever and a headache, I felt detached from myself. … I was gasping for air. I couldn’t breathe. I was dying.” This is how Ann Paisley Chandler describes her malaria attack. She survived, but many others are less fortunate. Now we have the power to save them!
Malaria is a terrible disease, but a treatable and preventable one. It is uncommon in developed nations; therefore, it might be difficult for some to understand its severity. However, we are in a perfect position to fight it. For only $3, you can provide a long-lasting insecticide treated net (LLIN) that will help protect people from mosquitoes, which are the primary contagion vector for malaria.
This year’s album theme is global empathy, and we welcome you to join us in the celebration of its release, and the virtues of reaching out across boundaries and borders. Together we can help make the world a better place.
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 weeks, our sixth charity album drops. Building Bridges is the culmination of months of work from talented musicians dedicated to making the world a better place, but after that, it’s up to you. The Seeds of Kindness fundraisers have been an enormous success thanks to the incredible altruism and generosity of the fandom.
Come join us in celebration as we kick off another fundraising season with our Building Bridges release party, enabled by Ponyville FM and Canterlot Hill!
Building Bridges Release Party
Sunday, November 22, 2015, at 3 p.m. EST (8 p.m. UTC)
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 manages to save thousands of lives by helping to improve health conditions in less developed nations. It is one of the best charities in the world.
“I wasn’t just sick, with fever and a headache, I felt detached from myself. … I was gasping for air. I couldn’t breathe. I was dying.” This is how Ann Paisley Chandler describes her malaria attack. She survived, but many others are less lucky. Now we have the power to save them!
Malaria is a terrible disease, but a treatable and preventable one. It is uncommon in developed nations; therefore, it might be difficult for some to understand the severity of this health problem. However, we are in a perfect position to fight it. For only $3, you can provide a long-lasting insecticide treated net (LLIN) that will help protect people from mosquitoes, which are the primary contagion vector for malaria.
This year’s album theme is global empathy, and we welcome you to join us in the celebration of its release, and the virtues of reaching out across boundaries and borders. Together we can help make the world a better place.
Last year’s Czequestria was a life-changing experience for me. This year’s Czequestria will become a life-changing experience for hundreds of people who will be spared an infection with malaria.
This time the table was run mostly by Sara and me, but during the time that Ashley took over, supported by catra, they raised significant koruny too.
Again Stable-Tec Studios will contribute their complete profits to our invaluable cause. Thank you!
The total of almost €4,000 is enough to save about two lives in expectation and avert easily 300 times as many nonfatal cases of malaria that would’ve meant treatment costs and lost income for many of the poorest of the poor.
