The Brony Thank You Fund started as a neat commercial we crowdfunded way back in the day on the Hub, and eventually went on to become a full fledged charity over the years. As things slow down, they've decided it's time to move on. Get the full press release below.
Twelve and a half years ago, the Brony Thank You Project was launched with the goal of putting a thank you ad on the Hub and supporting Toys for Tots. A bit under a year later, we became an IRS recognized 501(c)3 charity organization as the Brony Thank You Fund.
A lot has happened since then. We endowed a permanent animation scholarship at CalArts. We donated close to $150K to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. We put out nearly a dozen charity calendars featuring some of the finest professional and amature artists in the fandom (including show staff!). We personally met thousands of amazing fans at BronyCon and the regionals. It's been a long, wild, satisfying ride, but at last it is drawing to an end.
When BronyCon ended, we lost our major fundraising venue, where we sold over half our calendars every year. We soldiered on, going to more regional conventions instead, but the cost to revenue ratio just wasn't as good. The nail on the coffin was the pandemic, when we had to send over 800 calendars to the dump. For the last few years, the fund has been running on idle, taking in the occasional donation via paypal or a corporate match, but not really active anymore.
This spring, the board of directors met and formally voted to dissolve the Fund. We have been in the process of winding down operations since then, culminating with the closing of our bank account this week. The balance, a whopping $33,973.19, is being sent to CalArts to increase the balance of the Derpy Hooves Scholarship in Character Animation.
I'd like to personally thank everyone who has helped out during the years: the volunteers who sat being tables for long hours at conventions, the many artists who contributed to the calendars, our board members who helped steer the direction of the Fund, the vendors who participated in our Buck Cancer button program, and of course the creative talents who made MLP:FiM a reality in the first place. Not to mention all of you who forked over your hard-won bits to help good causes!
It has been my honor and privilege to work with so many generous and talented ponies, and I will miss the wonderful experiences that occurred along the journey.
Signing off,
James 'Coder Brony' Turner
President
The Brony Thank You Fund, Incorporated
