Today Bob sent me some details of a Christian charity (Christian Children’s Fund) who refused the donation of $17k “due to the fact that the money was raised partly by the sales of Dungeons and Dragons materials”. Read the full article here.
I know very little about Dungeons and Dragons but I can tell you that it’s a role-playing game, that (according to Wikipedia) 20 million people have played. Interestingly, it seems to be one of the most comprehensive Wikipedia pages I’ve come across with over 140 references - obviously this hobby has a lot of passionate supporters! Whilst it’s not my idea of a good time, I have friends who have played it (and perhaps still do!) and don’t seem to be worse off as a result. Some might argue that it’s dangerous to play games involving supernatural characters and activities - I’m not convinced, but happy to be talked out of my position.
Whilst I don’t think I’d turn down the money if my (hypothetical) charity were offered it by GenCon Indianapolis, I’d like to defend the right of charities to choose who they receive money from. I’m not suggesting that Dungeons and Dragons fits anywhere near this category, but I’d assume that a charity wouldn’t accept money from an organisation that had acquired income through stealing, manipulation, gambling profits (i.e. as a result of the suffering of others), or through activities which it felt were contrary to its beliefs (e.g. the income from an adult video store). I’m can only assume that the Christian Children’s Fund has a moral concern with Dungeons and Dragons.
I don’t see a problem with this, but would like to see that their policy be clearly communicated - this enables potential donaters to see what they are donating to and ensure that the two organisations or ideologies are compatible so that neither is donating or receiving against their principles. Does this sound reasonable?
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I think that as long as you’re ok with receiving money from the creator of D&D privately; you should be ok with receiving money from people acting in his memory, publicly.
My biggest beef was that Gyrax gave them a whole lot of money, and was fairly vocal about it being his favorite charity [citation needed] — but they never complained until a) he was dead and b) they were given the money very publically. Seems to me that they’re a little more concerned about their image than where the money actually comes from.
They’re an organisation set up to turn donations into aid for starving children, they turn down money because it would make them look bad. Seems to me to be a pretty straightforward case of ideology killing kids.
I too defend the right of charities to not accept all the cash that comes there way, and to be honest with you, without wanting to be harsh, I wish they had the guts to be a little more choosy.
It gives me the irrates that charities allow themselves to be prostituted by businesses that say things like “for every carton of cigarrettes you buy, we’ll donate 5c to a youth off the streets charity”. The only thing worse than this is companies that go the whole hog and set up charities as a clever marketing ploy (e.g. Ronald McDonald House). If McDonald’s wanted to they could put a house next to every hospital in Australia and it would only slightly eat into their gigantic profit margin, but instead they put coin boxes at cash registers to “empower” customers and hold McHappy days where they rake it in by playing the guilt/alturism card.
It could of course be argued that these kinds of corporate arrangements give charities (and the eco, societal or global problems they are trying to redress) exposure. But what if every charity in Australia said “rather than putting our brand on your product, why don’t you put yours on ours, and then a chartiy can run a TV ad with a tiny sponsors logo at the end?”
The D&D decision is awkward. Lots of Christians in the US believe D&D to be at best a recruiting tool for occultic religions. While this may be true (perhaps some groups do use D&D as a way of loosening the soil for concersations about real world spirituality) One could just as easily argue that heroine users shoot up in carparks and so we should never park our cars in one. This is a difficult discussion to have in soundbyte and the people who disagree with this position are very vocal so I can understand why CCF took the steps they did.
Where things get weird with the accepting money thing: I have some friends who bet every year on Melbourne cup - the same amount of money every year - to them it’s just like paying to go see a movie. They then give anything they win straight to church on Sunday (though I think they’ve only ever won once). What do we do with this kind of thing?
Here’s the response I got from CCF - I’m still wondering about their criteria for endorsements, and have asked if they can point me in the right direction for this.
Dear Concerned Gamer:
Thank you for writing to Anne Goddard and sharing your concerns. Anne was traveling when she received your email. We discussed your concern and she asked that I respond on her behalf Please know that we take your email very seriously.
There appears to be a misunderstanding which I would like to correct. When Gen Con contacted CCF about its auction, we were pleased to accept donations. However, we couldn’t lend our name for publication because our policies have specific criteria for endorsements. We were unaware that this had caused any problem or concern for Gen Con until we began receiving emails. This decision was in no way intended to be a reflection on Mr. Gygax, gaming enthusiasts or the game Dungeon and Dragons. We have the utmost respect for the gaming community and were touched by the generosity expressed through your auction. We were disappointed that we were not the recipients of the donation but we were pleased that another worthy organization benefited.
We realize this has become a topic of discussion in the gaming community and we hope you will help us by sharing this response.
The needs of children are great and we welcome your support. Should you wish to learn more we invite you to visit our website at http://www.christianchildrensfund.org.
Again, I thank you for taking the time to voice your concern. Your passion for gaming and your support for children are admirable.
Sincerely,
Cheri Dahl
Vice President,
International Communications and Fundraising
I sent a follow-up email to Cheri re: the criteria they use in accepting donations. This was her response:
“One of the criteria we take into consideration is whether the organization is financially sound. At the time we were contacted Gen Con was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Before we could reach consensus, Gen Con moved forward in selecting another charity. Again, we did not realize how much concern this caused within the gaming community until we began hearing from so many of you. It was never intended as a slight.
I hope this provides the needed clarification. It is my understanding that Gen Con also has posted information under “Forum” on its Web site.”
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