How do I arrange a charity event in SL?

[Jen Waddington]

Hi,

I'd like to arrange a charity event to raise money for the Vulcan To The Sky trust...a trust that helps to keep the worlds only airworthy Avro Vulcan flying. The trust depends purely on donations and I'd like to do my bit by holding an "air show" in Second Life and have donations made to the Vulcan. How would I go about that? 

[steph Arnott]

KarenMichelle Lane is the best person to ask.

[KarenMichelle Lane]

From the thread for the Wounded Warrior Charity Event. Substitute your Charity for the references of the Wounded Warrior Foundation. If you are in the UK then please reference the appropriate Tax Reporting Requirements for Charity Events per your local/national taxing agency.

http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Everything-Else/How-to-start-a-charity-event/qaq-p/1535283

In your case... http://www.vulcantothesky.org/donate.html

 

Aiden,

Good for you. The Wounded Warriors Project is a worthy one indeed.

Step One: Contact The Wounded Warriors Project  http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/  first! Call them at their local office but better yet email them at their Fund Raiser link page http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/contact-us/fundraiser-email.aspx and include a synopsis of your ideas and how you plan to execute them via the Second Life Community and your presence here in it. You will need their support and acknowledgement to continue. This is required in order to use their name, brand and any and all logos. You should also register with TWW Project as a Fund Raiser and get a copy of all their regulations and reporting requirements.

Step Two: You need to be an authorized fundraiser with means to prove your legitimacy to those you would collect Lindens from for conversion to dollars and donation to TWW Project. You also need to become/create a registered 501.c(3) Charitable Organization in order to do this legally.

http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/

Note: Don't be afraid of the IRS, this is easy to do and will keep you out of trouble income wise. Setting up a charity checking account is easy and you'll need this not only for you to keep the collected monies separate but also for the Bank account information for the Registered SecondLife Avatar Account authorized to accept payments/donations on behalf of the charity. [Your Legal Name of course will be on the bank account] - Be prepared to offer this tax status information on request or better yet, make it publicly available as a part of the process where you provide the Kiosks for businesses and associations to collect donations at on your charity's behalf.

Step Three: Once you have the endorsement and tax status, you need to find a legitimate scripter/builder to assist you with your collection Kiosks builds and TWW Project logo branded goodies to either sell or give away at donation time.  Look for the creator of the ACS - Relay for Life Kiosks as a reputable source of certified objects for the purposes of fund raising in SecondLife. The registration system these use allows us to make donations with 100% confidence that this is a qualified Donation Kiosk and charity.

Step Four: Get a proper parcel set up focusing on the charity with the approval and blessing of TWW Project board of Directors. Then go door to door / club to club with your goals in mind and start making a difference. [Note: Yes, a % of the donations received can go towards the upkeep of the Charity's in-world presence, but if I were you, I'd make my personal donation equal to or more than the cost of the tiers to maintain the parcel for the charity.]

Good Luck!

{Note: I do accounting and office support support for several Charitable Organizations in RL}

 

P.S. If you are thinking along the lines of hosting a single event, converting the lindens collected and then donating the proceeds to TWW Project, I still recommend all the above steps. Why? If you are going to go through this effort to do it right, why not do it continuously afterwards. IM me when you are all set up. I'll donate.

 

[Rolig Loon]

Very cautiously.  RL charities are always glad to have donations but can easily get a black eye with the public when scam artists set up "charity events" that claim to support them.  For that reason, those charities usually have strict guidelines about how you are allowed to use their name, logo, and promotional materials, to be sure that you are not misrepresenting them. 

Even when you have worked closely with an organization, you'll find that many potential donors are skeptical about your motives.  That can be especially true in a place like SL, where we are all anonymous.  There's no way for anyone to know whether you are really collecting for the charity that you claim to represent. 

Finally, Linden Lab itself can have worries about whether fund-raising activity is legitimate. For example, the annual SL Birthday celebration guidelines typically include a section that reads, "While we appreciate the efforts Residents make to inform, educate, and encourage support of charitable causes, this Linden-sponsored event cannot be used as a vehicle for the procurement of donations for charity. Allowance of such can be misconstrued as a public endorsement would require legal intervention. While within your exhibit you may provide external links and landmarks to locations that provide an avenue for donations to be made, they may not be made directly from the event fairgrounds in any respect. It is impossible for us to verify the legitimacy of every organization participating."

So, you should proceed cautiously, making sure to work closely with the organization you want to support, checking with Linden Lab to be sure of any legal issues, and doing a lot of homework to build and assure credibility.  There are several well-established charities in SL (Race For Life is perhaps the best-known), so it can be done.