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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/3921-Fundraising-for-Contests-and-Activities.html
Contests & Activities: August 25, 2010 Issue [#3921]

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Contests & Activities


 This week: Fundraising for Contests and Activities
  Edited by: NaNoNette Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

There was a day, last week or nearly a decade ago, that you typed "writing" into your search engine. You wanted to show off some of your poems, short stories, or maybe even get feedback for a whole novel. You found Writing.com.
On this site you found all that you had searched for: Portfolio space, helpful reviewers, encouraging groups, style and grammar lessons from peers. But nothing had prepared you for the amazing bounty of: Contests & Activities


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

Fundraising


All contests and activities on WdC require gift points to be run. Whether the reward is a merit badge, a ribbon, or gift points all of these prizes get funded by those who run those activities. Only the official contests "Good Deeds Go NoticedOpen in new Window. "Quotation Inspiration: Official ContestOpen in new Window. "Short Shots: Official WDC ContestOpen in new Window. and seasonal official contests are funded through WdC.

In order to run successful review groups or tantalizing contests with plenty of incentive for writers, the founders have to come up with substantial amounts of gift points to keep an activity going over months or even years. In my newsletter "Long Running ContestsOpen in new Window. I listed contests that have been around for at least one year. Most of those are fully funded by the member who runs the contest.

In some cases, the contest host offers a merit badge for a donation of a certain amount of gift points. An excellent exchange, in my humble opinion. The contest keeps going strong with engaging prizes, and the donor gets to sport a merit badge that announces their generosity to the world.

Auctions and raffles are another way that members use to fundraiser for their activities. The majority of fundraisers are run for review activities, but a small amount of raffles are dedicated to the support of contests.


Editor's Picks

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1695090 by Not Available.
In the short time I’ve been a WDC member I’ve noticed several problems with contests. One of the most frustrating is when the contest proctors don’t have enough GPs to pay the winners in a timely fashion. Some lower the prizes, or just close the contest with no awards at all. So I thought of holding a raffle to help fund contests. 80% of GPs in this my first raffle will be donated to those wonderful people who sponsor contests for us all. Ends August 29th.

FORUM
NHWAU Revival Fundraiser Open in new Window. (E)
CLOSED! THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE WHO SUPPORTED THIS! PRIZES SLOWLY GETTING DISTRIBUTED!!
#1558856 by mARi☠StressedAtWork Author IconMail Icon
Donates a portion to 'upgrade-giving' groups around here in this site. Ends October 15th.

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1460918 by Not Available.
The Sr. Mods are all excited about their third field trip of returning to school scrunched in the backpack of a student or teacher who will be returning to a classroom, home office, or the kitchen table for the 2010/2011 school year.

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1693176 by Not Available.
This is a fund raising raffle, so the funds raised will be distributed among the GP winner, and five groups. Ends September 10th.

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1662504 by Not Available.
Tickets need not be bought with GPs, for they can bought here with your words and thoughts on the people you would like to send them to! Ends August 30th.

The Creative Detailing Contest  Open in new Window. (13+)
A contest to hone your detailing skills.October 2012 Round is on..
#1665098 by Prof Moriarty Author IconMail Icon
Be Detailed. Be Imaginative. Have Fun. And be awarded a merit badge of thanks for donating to the contest.

Dreamer's Sanctuary Open in new Window. (ASR)
LOOK! New and improved ! Prompts and awards. Compete and Win!
#1688395 by ~SilverMoonCranberry~ Author IconMail Icon
The proceeds from this contest are returned to the WDC writing community, and go toward rewards here and also other groups Dream Team interacts with. Sometimes it helps provide upgraded memberships, Merit Badges, Awardicons, or signature items. This contest requires an entry fee, which is but a tiny fraction of the prizes that await the winners.

FIVE STAR POETRY CONTEST:editor's choice Open in new Window. (E)
A monthly contest to reward the best poem out of 5-star poems.
#1471096 by Dr M C Gupta Author IconMail Icon
Donations are requested to enable me to keep my poetry contests going. I spend 240,000 GP in a year for my contests and need support.Be a patron of the arts for all to see!

 
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Ask & Answer

Answers to my last newsletter "Motives to write for contestsOpen in new Window.

Jeff Author Icon: Great NL, Giselle! It's always challenging (and fun) to try writing something new and outside one's comfort zone. *Smile*

Thanks for the praise. Yes, I need to take my own advice. Maybe I will one day write a mystery. *Laugh*

Adriana Noir Author Icon: Great advice, Giselle! It's never a bad idea to stretch those wings and expand your style. *grins* Thank you so very much for featuring my contest too! *Heart*

Ah, see. Your contest would be one that would really stretch my writing wings. Maybe even rip them out. *Shock* *Laugh* I'm too scared to write scary stories.

Mara ♣ McBain Author Icon: Thank you for the shout out to Erotic Tales of Pleasure and Pain!

My pleasure. *Bigsmile*

atwhatcost: Your column today reminded me how far I've come. On 2/28/09, I wandered back to another site and found a writing prompt I decided to join in. That was a life-changing moment. One that had me later join WDC, and changed me from a blogger to a short story writer, and now? Now, I'm working on my first novel. One tiny prompt turned me into a serious writer, even if I didn't see it happening at that time.

That is totally amazing! Keep it up. When your book is on the shelves I will be able to say: "I knew them back when..."

pitbull Author Icon: As a new WDC member, I'm still learning my way around the site, which includes the contest arena as well. I look at the results from previous contests to determine whether the winners make sense, which reflects on the caliber of the judging. As for the awards, I would personally rather receive gift points, although it is kinda cool to have a blue ribbon hanging beside a piece. Why can't we have both? Why do the ribbons have to have ANY financial value assigned to them in the first place? A 25K ribbon has no actual value, other than visually, right?

I HATE contests that end and are STILL UNJUDGED after the NEXT contest has also ended one month later! I'm in one of these LIMBO situations now and am reluctant to inquire because I don't want to influence the sponsor one way or the other. It's very frustrating. My entry piece is indefinitely tied up. I halfway wonder if the contest's sponsor has forgotten altogether!


So many questions ... I like it! *Smile*
*Right* If you would prefer to receive gift points, you will find most contest hosts to be happy to oblige. I have sent out GPs instead of ribbons before. Just for the last round of one of the contests I run, I gave out a merit badge, a ribbon, and a "cash" prize of 10k points. A great daily contest where you can win gift points is "The Writer's CrampOpen in new Window.
*Right*The ribbons have values because it helps in contests to differentiate between the different spots. I think it's neat to see that another member found an item worth an amount large enough to decorate it with a higher priced ribbon or even a trophy.
*Right* Unjudged contests ... maybe I shouldn't say anything about that. *Laugh* OK, there are ways to approach a contest host and ways not to do it. Sending a polite email, asking what's going on, and asking if you can edit your story since the contest has been over for a while is perfectly fine. If you don't get an answer at all, it may be the member isn't around a whole lot and you can safely assume that your story is "free" for you to edit.
*Thumbsdown* Do not post in the contest forum with snide remarks or go trashing the host among your friends. Not only does this pretty much guarantee the host will not want to award your story even if it is worth of the top spot, you may find that the host disqualifies you for it.


sarahreed: Since I'm trying to focus on revising my novel, I only write for contests lately because I make the "mistake" of looking at a contest and getting inspired by the prompt. The idea starts burning a hole in my head until I let it out. So my reason lately is to keep my sanity. lol.

I know those "burning a hole in my head" stories. I wish there were more prompts for the stories that burn holes in my head.

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