RPG Sales for Black Lives Matter

If you would like to give something to the Black Lives Matter movement, there are some great RPG-related options!

• DMs Guild has a Black Lives Matter spotlight. You can buy D&D material from people of color. There are 11 items in the spotlight, including a couple of bundles. One of them, a Black Lives Matter bundle, has nearly 30 D&D supplements heavily discounted.
• DriveThruRPG (DMs Guild's sister site) has a spotlight page too. This includes some awesome products like the Cyberpunk Red Jumpstart Kit, and a bunch of bundles which include Rocket Age and Shadows Over Sol.
• Itchio's MASSIVE bundle has raised nearly $5M so far, and contains over 1,000 products for just $5! They're not all tabletop RPGs, but there's a whole bunch in there including Lancer, a mech pilot RPG I've been meaning to pick up for ages!

As a side note, as I've said elsewhere on EN World, if you feel the burning need to declare that hearing about the suffering of others infringes on your gaming pleasure in some way, or that fundraisers for charity are somehow bothering you, I'd suggest you find somewhere else to say it. It's not welcome here.

 

[Ovinomancer]

So - I have to ask.

The description on DriveThruRPG states "Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose missi... " This is patently false. Black Lives Matter Foundation is a Santa Clarita-based charity foundation. BLM Global Network is the organization being described in the DriveThruRPG description. It is not a legally-recognized charity, as previously mentioned in this thread.

So - which is it? Which foundation are people actually donating to? Is it BLM Foundation, a legally-recognized charity? Or is it BLM GN, which sits behind ActBlue and Thousand Currents because it is not a legally-recognized charity? Are fraudulent representations and/or deceptive practices being made to dupe people into donating into a different organization than they think they are donating to? Where are donator's monies actually being sent to?

I could care less which of the two BLM organizations anyone may want to donate to, but it just illustrates my earlier point - donate locally.

BLM GN Foundation hasn't received IRS approval as a 501(c)3 nonprofit charity, but you don't need that to act as a 501(c)3 charity. IRS approval is one of those 'safety' things were you get vetted prior to filing tax statements. BLM GN Foundation will (and does) file tax statements yearly as a 501(c)3, which anyone can do without approval. The catch is that if you aren't acting properly, the full weight of the IRS falls on you.

US charity tax law is structured so that you don't have to wait for approval, but it's much safer if you do. Some charities never bother. Some don't start until they get approval. Some start and apply at the same time. I don't know which method BLM GN has chosen, but they have a very competent mentor organization assisting with the books, so they're unlikely to cross the line and get in trouble. In the meantime, it's a valid charity, folks.

 

[3catcircus]

BLM GN Foundation hasn't received IRS approval as a 501(c)3 nonprofit charity, but you don't need that to act as a 501(c)3 charity. IRS approval is one of those 'safety' things were you get vetted prior to filing tax statements. BLM GN Foundation will (and does) file tax statements yearly as a 501(c)3, which anyone can do without approval. The catch is that if you aren't acting properly, the full weight of the IRS falls on you.

US charity tax law is structured so that you don't have to wait for approval, but it's much safer if you do. Some charities never bother. Some don't start until they get approval. Some start and apply at the same time. I don't know which method BLM GN has chosen, but they have a very competent mentor organization assisting with the books, so they're unlikely to cross the line and get in trouble. In the meantime, it's a valid charity, folks.

Doesn't change my question - which BLM are these donations going to? Donators need to know if their money is going where they think it is going.

The NAACP LDF and NPAP charities are straightforward - there is only one of each of them.

 

[Ovinomancer]

Doesn't change my question - which BLM are these donations going to? Donators need to know if their money is going where they think it is going.

The NAACP LDF and NPAP charities are straightforward - there is only one of each of them.

No, it doesn't. They are both charities, but I'm pretty sure only one of them will be audited this year.

Goodness, can you even imagine if the IRS tried to audit BLM GN? I mean, even if they (extremely hypothetically) had a reason to?

 

[Tun Kai Poh]

One of my friends in Malaysia who has experience with charities and nonprofits is asking the same question about Black Lives Matter Foundation - it doesn't seem to have any activities that it funds. I would hold off on touching that bundle until more info is forthcoming from Drivethru.

 

[Bohandas]

As for re-editing CoS (ToA was mentioned also), I dont think it will happen, but I think the demand is legit. The demand, though, is not about removing the Vistani or Chultans, is more about editing the book to present Vistani in a better light without the ''drunken, child-stealing, thieves, all of 'em!''

I'm thinking they should replace them with carnies. That would allow the same sketchy itinerant fortune-teller vibe without closely mapping to a specific real-world ethnicity

 

[Lem23]

I wonder if we look back at previous charity drives, whether the same posters now suggesting we have to look very closely at charitable status were equally vocal then about doing so. And if not, I wonder what possible reasons there are for doing so with this particular charity now all of a sudden.

 

[3catcircus]

I wonder if we look back at previous charity drives, whether the same posters now suggesting we have to look very closely at charitable status were equally vocal then about doing so. And if not, I wonder what possible reasons there are for doing so with this particular charity now all of a sudden.

Maybe because for previous charity drives, people were able to confirm that the charity they thought they were donating to was the one that actually received the money? The other two bundles (NAACP LDF and NPAP) aren't in question.

The description of the BLM Foundation in the bundle doesn't match the actual BLM Foundation. It describes the BLM GN Foundation. Which one of them is the money actually going to? It's a simple question with what should be a simple answer.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

The description of the BLM Foundation in the bundle doesn't match the actual BLM Foundation. It describes the BLM GN Foundation. Which one of them is the money actually going to? It's a simple question with what should be a simple answer.

I suggest contacting them (DTRPG) if you are concerned.

The logo and description match the website for #Blacklivesmatter (also called Black Lives Matter, but technically BLM GN Foundation), but you are correct that there is a .... sketchy organization called Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc. that was set up by some guy in Santa Clarita in 2017 and appears to be ... not legit. It is my understanding that GoFundMe, etc. has suspended the sketchy organization until further notice.

All of this is to say- people suck. Always have, always will.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

More info on the two different BLMs:

GoFundMe froze $350,000 in contributions after Black Lives Matter supporters mistakenly donated to an unaffiliated group with the same name

The Black Lives Matter Foundation attracted $4 million in donations to its mission for "unity with the police department," BuzzFeed News reported.

news.yahoo.com

 

[Eltab]

• Nobody can explain where all the money donated to help earthquake-shattered Haiti went.
• Some cash donations for Hurricane Katrina victims never made it to the disaster zone.
• Even a former head of the United Way got busted for diverting funds into his comfy lifestyle (spawning the spoof rock song lyrics "Shot through the wallet / And you're to blame / You gave our charity a bad name ... We did our part / While you played golf games / You gave our charity a bad name.")

When fraud is caught early on and the money being offered in good faith is protected from being diverted into somebody else's pockets, that is a good thing.