Table of Contents
LETTER FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
- Archive of Our Own
- Fanlore
- Legal Advocacy
- Open Doors
- Transformative Works and Cultures
- Fundraising and Outreach
- Communication and Public Relations
- People and Planning
- Statement of Financial Position
- Statement of Activities
- Statement of Functional Expenses
- Statement of Cash Flows
- Program Expenses
- Notes to the Financial Statements
ABOUT THE OTW / MISSION, VISION, VALUES
- Our Mission
- Our Vision
- Values
- Board of Directors
- Emerita Board Members
- Committees
Letter from the Board of Directors
Dear OTW donors, supporters, and volunteers,
It’s difficult to find words to adequately sum up a year like 2020.
In February, as the world was already being gripped by the Covid-19 pandemic, we were saddened and frustrated as users in China lost access to the Archive of Our Own (AO3) due to the site being blocked in their country. Not long afterwards, lockdowns in many parts of the world brought day-to-day life to a grinding halt, and pageviews on AO3 rose by an unprecedented amount as fans turned to fanworks for comfort, distraction, or as a creative outlet.
The Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) has worked hard to continue being there for fans amidst these horrific circumstances, with the Accessibility, Design & Technology committee implementing code releases to update AO3, and the Systems committee installing new hardware and upgrading firewalls to ensure the OTW’s projects could stay online with minimal disruption, particularly as AO3 surpassed 7 million published works and 3 million registered users. The OTW’s Legal Advocacy project continued to defend fannish interests, scoring an important win at the beginning of the year when courts ruled in favour of arguments they had made in the case of Smith v. Drake, and Open Doors continued the critical work it began in 2019 to archive Yahoo Groups in the wake of the service’s shutdown. Transformative Works and Cultures published three issues, and Fanlore continued its work to record fandom’s past and present, ending the year with just shy of 1 million edits.
However, 2020 also brought renewed attention to ways in which the OTW has not been serving fans and protecting their interests as effectively as it should, particularly Black fans and fans of color. In June, the OTW Board of Directors, Chairs and Leads published a statement acknowledging our shortcomings with regard to making the OTW and AO3 a welcoming and safe environment for Black fans and fans of color, and outlining measures that we plan to take to address them. We thank all of the fans who continue to hold the OTW to account on these issues, and we remain committed to the work that will be required to make all of these improvements, and more, a reality.
The OTW would not be where it is today without the continued and tireless support of countless volunteers, fans, donors and other supporters who continue to lend their free time, commitment, brainpower and fannish creativity to this organization. More than ever this year, we are grateful for every fan that has continued to engage with and build the OTW’s projects. Thank you all.
With gratitude and best wishes,
The Board of Directors
Kati Eggert
Natalia Gruber
Lex de Leon
Rebecca Sentance
Alex Tischer
Jess White
Kirsten Wright
Projects
Archive of Our Own
The Archive of Our Own (AO3)’s eleventh year was full of growth and improvement. AO3 leapt from 5 million posted works (in 2019) to over 7 million, and surpassed 3 million registered users. Traffic jumped considerably over 2020, with a sharp rise in late March and early April when many countries began to lock down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the usual rise at the beginning and end of the year. This culminated in 419 million page views in the last full week of December, compared to 265 million at the end of 2019. This large amount of growth came with new tags as well—tag wranglers processed approximately 4.1 million tags (2019: 2.7 million) and added around 5,900 canonical fandoms.
Despite the huge amounts of growth that the site experienced, the Accessibility, Design & Technology (AD&T) and Systems committees managed to keep pace with traffic, ensuring that AO3 was up and running as usual throughout the year. AD&T updated AO3 with 29 releases in 2020. These fixes and upgrades included rewriting the code that handles including works and bookmarks in the appropriate filters, upgrading the Archive to Rails 5.2, differentiating permissions for AO3 admin accounts depending on the account-holder’s role in the OTW, and migrating kudos to a larger database table so that AO3 users can continue leaving kudos on their favourite fanworks. A few new features were also added, most notably the ability for work creators to turn off comments.
Systems did its part to keep AO3 online by installing new servers, updating firewalls, and renting a third rack for some of the more than 30 servers that the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) maintains. Systems also changed the IP address used for outgoing mail from AO3 and worked with Support and AD&T to keep users aware of the change and troubleshoot any mail issues that occurred.
Volunteers on both AO3’s Policy & Abuse and Support committees resolved a record number of user queries over 2020. Policy & Abuse received approximately 19,000 tickets (2019: 15,000), and Support received more than 18,000 (2019: 16,000), collaborating with other committees as needed to see each through to completion. Users were also aided by the AO3 Documentation committee’s six new FAQs and tutorials—the Collections FAQ, Gift Exchange FAQ, Prompt Meme FAQ, Tutorial: Creating a Collection, Tutorial: Running a Gift Exchange on AO3, and Tutorial: Running a Prompt Meme on AO3—and by updates to AO3’s Glossary and Invitations FAQ.
Fanlore
Fanlore announced a new logo in 2020, its first redesign since the site launched in 2008. This was only one of the many updates for the fan wiki across the year as volunteers worked on Fanlore’s policies and documentation. Notably, Fanlore made changes to its policy on Pre-1995 Fan Name Use in order to bring it in line with their broader Identity Protection policy, updated their Cheatsheet for editors, and overhauled their Frequently Asked Questions page.
The wiki grew as well, with over 3,500 new articles and 84,000 new edits made. This growth was bolstered by several challenges throughout the year, including the IFD Fanlore Challenge, which commemorated International Fanworks Day in February with a week of daily editing challenges; the Bingo Challenge in June, which allowed participants to earn badges for completing bingo cards; and Stub September, which encouraged users to create and expand stub pages. In total, Fanlore ended 2020 with over 54,000 articles and 995,000 edits exploring the history, culture, people, and artifacts that make up fandom.
Legal Advocacy
Legal started off the year with a great result: courts ruled in favor of arguments it made in the case of Smith v. Drake, for which it had filed an amicus brief in 2019. Legal also cooperated with the Board of Directors to add the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW)’s support to savedotorg.org, a petition to stop sale of the .org domain, used by most non-profit organisations.
Legal took several actions regarding the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Team member Rebecca Tushnet testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and chair Betsy Rosenblatt met with committee staff to discuss the act as well. Legal also submitted comments to the committee regarding their ongoing assessment of section 512 of the DMCA at two points throughout the year. Finally, Legal filed a petition to renew the “vidders’ exemption” to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s anti-circumvention provisions, part of a process it does every three years.
Besides their work on the DMCA, members of the Legal team met with the U.S. Copyright Office to continue their work on future legal advocacy testimony. Legal also joined allies in sending letters to Congress opposing U.S. legislative proposals that would have harmed online free expression and fan interests.
Several news posts were released by Legal in collaboration with Communications to educate fans about various legal matters. One post addressed apps monetizing fanworks or monetizing access to fanworks posted on the AO3 without the authors’ consent. Another explained changes in the terms of service for Disney apps and platforms. Julia Reda guest-authored a post on Legal’s behalf with an update on Article 17 of the EU Copyright Directive. Legal released a post explaining the dangers of some fan-unfriendly proposals in the U.S. Senate to fans and what Legal has been doing to try to stop the proposal from passing. Additionally, Legal worked with Communications to create social media posts encouraging U.S.-based fans to contact their representatives regarding the inclusion of the CASE Act in a U.S. COVID-19 relief bill.
Open Doors
Open Doors began working in earnest on import preparations for Yahoo Groups. After finalizing privacy considerations with Legal for the Yahoo Groups Rescue Project in February, Open Doors began reconnecting with Yahoo Groups moderators who had originally contacted it after the Yahoo Groups data deletion was first announced the previous year. Of these upcoming Yahoo Groups imports, two were announced in 2020: Angel: the Series group DoyleCordy and Rawhide group Rawhide-fic. Open Doors also released a final post in honor of the closure of Yahoo Groups, which shut down all functionality in December.
In addition to the Yahoo Group imports, three other upcoming imports were also announced: one Watchmen LiveJournal community, Watchmen Kinkmeme, and two Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: the Series archives, Octaves of the Heart: Sublime Archives and I Will Remember You Marathon Archive (2005-2009).
Four imports were completed in 2020: Tolkien archive Least Expected, Star Wars (Obi-Wan Kenobi/Padmé Amidala) archive Obidala Network, X-Files (Fox Mulder/Alex Krycek) archive TER/MA, and Star Trek: The Original Series zine Side By Side.
Transformative Works and Cultures
The OTW’s international peer-reviewed online journal of academic fan studies, Transformative Works and Cultures, released three issues in 2020: No. 32, “Fandom and Politics,” edited by Ashley Hinck and Amber Davisson in March; No. 33, “Fan Studies Methodologies,” edited by Julia E. Largent, Milena Popova, and Elise Vist in June; and No. 34, a general issue, in September. All were released on schedule—a hallmark of TWC’s publication since the start—and production is well underway for its 2021 issues.
Fundraising & Outreach
Development & Membership held two membership drives in 2020, the first of which became the most successful drive to date for the OTW. The April drive raised US$458,501 from 14,905 donors in 96 countries, and the October drive, which focused on memberships rather than funds, registered a total of 2,660 members across 69 countries with a fundraising total of US$89,688.51. For each drive, Development & Membership worked with Communications to produce two news posts, and Finance provided a budget update outlining the OTW’s current expenses and revenues. The Translation committee translated the April posts into 36 languages and the October posts into 30 languages.
On top of preparing the OTW’s budget, Finance has supported the OTW by paying the bills, completing the 2019 financial audit, and ensuring that standard accounting procedures have been met.
Communications and PR
Communications continued to maintain the OTW’s social media presence throughout 2020, welcoming a moderator for the OTW’s existing LinkedIn account and launching a new Instagram account. Of particular note is the OTW’s Weibo account, which saw the most growth in 2020 with a nearly 1300% increase in followers over the course of the year. This has made it the OTW’s most followed account by over 120,000 followers! In 2020, the Weibo moderators made 168 posts, receiving 1.08 million reactions (reposts, comments, and likes) and 150 million views.
Communications continued several series of monthly posts during 2020. These included the internal and external OTW Newsletters and the Five Things a Volunteer Said series, which helps familiarize readers with committee activities and what a volunteer’s experience is like. OTW Guest Posts continued to feature fandom-related activities by individuals outside of the OTW. These shed light on the breadth of fandom activities to visitors, and helped provide fandom-related original content for the OTW website. Communications also replaced the weekly This Week in Fandom series with a new monthly series, OTW Signal, which reports on stories that connect to the OTW’s mission and projects. Communications also assisted other committees such as Elections, Development & Membership, Open Doors, Volunteers & Recruiting, Board, TWC, and Legal in releasing content that included organization announcements and information for fans.
In terms of event planning, Communications celebrated International Fanworks Day in February with a variety of activities including a mini fanworks fest and online games. In September, Communications celebrated the OTW’s 13th anniversary with a news post and an anniversary graphic. Communications also released posts marking various OTW milestones and recognitions, including International Volunteer Day, SysAdmin Day, and Copyright Week.
In addition, Communications handled queries from fans, website visitors, and the press throughout the year, either responding directly or referring questions to other committees. In particular, Communications recorded 48 media mentions of the OTW and its projects, ranging from news articles to podcasts, some of which involved interviews with Communications staff or other OTW volunteers.
People & Planning
The OTW held its sixth consecutive contested election for the Board of Directors, fielding six candidates (one of whom later withdrew) for three open seats. Each provided a biography and platform, which were translated into 31 languages by the OTW’s Translation committee, and participated in a series of Q&As and live chats. In the end, 2,858 ballots were cast, representing a turnout of 21.4% of eligible OTW members, who chose to elect Alex Tischer, Jess White, and Kati Eggert.
The Volunteers & Recruiting Committee recruited for 25 roles throughout the OTW throughout the year, processing 1,263 applications and completing 336 inductions and 227 removals. At the end of the year, the OTW had 913 volunteers.
OTW 2020 BY THE NUMBERS
Timeline 2020
January
- The Archive of Our Own saw 281 million page views in the first week of January (2019: 219 million).
- Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed seven releases (0.9.268 – 0.9.274).
- Board and Legal cooperated to add the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW)’s support to savedotorg.org, a petition to stop sale of the .org domain, used by most non-profit organisations.
- Communications co-chair Janita Burgess stepped down.
- Open Doors announced the upcoming import of Watchmen Kinkmeme.
- Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,200 tickets.
- Strategic Planning celebrated the end of the OTW’s 2017-2020 strategic plan, its first ever.
- Support received approximately 1,400 tickets.
- Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 266,000 tags.
February
- Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed three releases (0.9.275 – 0.9.277).
- Communications celebrated International Fanworks Day (IFD) with several activities, including a feedback fest, online games, and an IFDrabble/IFDrawble challenge.
- Fanlore hosted its annual IFD Fanlore Challenge, including a week of daily editing challenges.
- Courts ruled in favor of arguments made by Legal in the case of Smith v. Drake, for which they had filed an amicus brief in 2019.
- Legal released a post addressing apps monetizing fanworks or monetizing access to works posted on the AO3 without the authors’ consent.
- Legal team member Rebecca Tushnet testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
- Open Doors finalized privacy considerations with Legal for the Yahoo Groups Rescue Project and began reconnecting with Yahoo Groups moderators to continue import preparations.
- Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,300 tickets.
- Support received approximately 1,900 tickets.
- Systems began work on installing new servers and updating firewalls.
- Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 252,000 tags.
- Translation translated and uploaded several news posts into 29 languages for International Fanworks Day.
- Translation named a new co-chair, Natalia Gruber.
March
- The Archive of Our Own saw a drop in page views at the beginning of the month, shortly after users in China became unable to access the site. This was followed by a rise near the end of the month to levels not seen since AO3’s usual busy January period, with 279 million page views the week of March 16 to March 22, and 298 million page views the week of March 23 to 29.
- Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed five releases (0.9.278 – 0.9.282), including a major change to how kudos are recorded and stored.
- Accessibility, Design & Technology introduced emergency measures to help AO3 manage its increased traffic, including caching works for logged-out visitors.
- Board hosted a public open house including a Q&A about its work.
- Board released a post summarizing some of the effects of COVID-19 on the OTW.
- Elections named two new co-chairs, Emma Lloyd and Marion McGowan.
- Fanlore made changes to its policy on Pre-1995 Fan Name Use in order to bring it in line with their broader Identity Protection policy.
- Open Doors co-chair Michelle Dong stepped down.
- Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,500 tickets.
- Support received approximately 1,700 tickets.
- Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 261,000 tags.
- Transformative Works and Cultures released issue No. 32, “Fandom and Politics.”
April
- Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed four releases (0.9.283 – 0.9.286).
- Development & Membership raised US$458,501.00 from 14,905 donors in 96 countries in the April membership drive—the OTW’s most successful membership drive to date.
- Finance posted the Organization for Transformative Works’ 2020 Budget.
- Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,700 tickets.
- Support received approximately 2,300 tickets.
- Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 343,000 tags.
- Translation translated and uploaded content for the April membership drive in 36 different languages.
May
- The Archive of Our Own celebrated reaching six million posted works.
- Accessibility, Design, & Technology released a statistics post discussing site traffic, posted fanworks, comments, and kudos, and the effect that COVID-19 lockdowns have had on AO3’s numbers.
- Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed one release (0.9.287).
- Elections announced the 2020 election timeline and membership deadline.
- Legal released an educational post explaining changes in the terms of service for Disney apps and platforms.
- Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,400 tickets.
- Support received approximately 1,700 tickets.
- Systems, with the help of Accessibility, Design & Technology, changed the IP address used for outgoing mail from AO3. As part of the transition, AO3’s invitation queue and account creation were temporarily suspended.
- Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 375,000 tags, and canonized AO3’s 37,000th fandom.
June
- Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed three releases (0.9.288 – 0.9.290).
- The Board of Directors, along with OTW committee chairs and leads, released a statement clarifying the OTW’s position against racism and summarizing upcoming changes to the AO3 and the OTW meant to help users curate their own experience on AO3 and to implement more tools to prevent and combat harassment.
- Development and Membership committee organized a mini-drive for anyone wanting to become a member by June 30th, the deadline for voter eligibility.
- Elections announced six candidates (one of whom later withdrew) for the 2020 Board election and posted their biographies and platforms.
- Fanlore concluded a Bingo Challenge event which saw lots of participants taking part to complete their bingo cards and earn badges.
- Fanlore announced its first new logo for their site since the project was launched in 2008.
- Legal submitted comments to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee as part of the Senate’s ongoing assessment of section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
- Members of the Legal team met with the U.S. Copyright Office and continued work on future legal advocacy testimony.
- Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,200 tickets.
- Support received approximately 1,500 tickets.
- Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 333,000 tags.
- Transformative Works and Cultures released issue No. 33, “Fan Studies Methodologies.”
- Translation translated and uploaded Board election biographies and platforms into 31 different languages.
July
- Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed two releases (0.9.291 – 0.9.292).
- AO3 Documentation uploaded some changes to the AO3’s Invitations FAQ.
- Communications celebrated SysAdmin Day by recognizing Systems in a public post.
- Communications replaced This Week In Fandom with a new monthly series, OTW Signal, focused on connecting OTW projects and activities to outside events.
- Elections published Board candidate Q&A responses.
- Julia Reda guest-authored a public post for Legal with an update on EU Article 17.
- Legal filed a petition to renew the “vidders’ exemption” to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s anti-circumvention provisions, part of a process they do every three years.
- Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,300 tickets.
- Support received approximately 1,400 tickets.
- Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 381,000 tags.
- Translation added a new language team, Sinhala, to its roster.
August
- Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed one release (0.9.293).
- Accessibility, Design & Technology introduced the option for AO3 users to turn off comments on their posts.
- Elections held two public chats with the Board candidates.
- Elections ran the 2020 Board of Directors election. New Directors-Elect Alex Tischer, Jess White, and Kati Eggert were scheduled to take office October 1, 2020.
- Legal chair Betsy Rosenblatt met with U.S. Congressional Judiciary Committee staff to discuss the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
- Policy & Abuse received approximately 2,000 tickets.
- Support received approximately 1,200 tickets.
- Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 421,000 tags.
- Tag Wrangling’s Fast Track process for wrangling small freeform synonyms that aren’t associated with any particular fandom went live, marking an important step towards opening the new process for No Fandom freeform canonicals.
September
- The Organization for Transformative Works celebrated its 13th anniversary.
- Communications made the OTW’s 2018 and 2019 Annual Reports publicly available, along with an OTW 2019 By The Numbers infographic.
- Fanlore completed their annual Stub September challenge, which encourages users to create and expand stub pages.
- Fanlore made updates to their Cheatsheet for editors.
- Legal submitted comments to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee in connection with a hearing on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
- Open Doors completed the imports of Tolkien archive Least Expected, Star Wars (Obi-Wan Kenobi/Padmé Amidala) archive Obidala Network, and X-Files (Fox Mulder/Alex Krycek) archive TER/MA.
- Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,600 tickets.
- Strategic Planning co-chair Elliot Oberholtzer stepped down.
- Strategic Planning named a new co-chair, Arly Guevara.
- Support received approximately 1,200 tickets.
- Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 351,000 tags.
- Transformative Works and Cultures published issue No. 34, a general issue.
- Volunteers & Recruiting named a new co-chair, Cyn.
October
- Claire P. Baker, Jessie Casiulis, and Danielle Strong completed their term on the OTW Board of Directors.
- Rebecca Sentance replaced Natalia Gruber as OTW President, and Kirsten Wright replaced Lex de Leon as OTW Secretary.
- Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed two releases (0.9.294 – 0.9.295).
- Development & Membership raised US$89,688.51 and registered 2,660 new members in 69 countries in the October membership drive.
- Fanlore finished a major overhaul of and update to their Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).
- Finance posted an update to the 2020 budget.
- Legal joined allies in sending letters to Congress opposing U.S. legislative proposals that would have harmed online free expression and fan interests.
- Open Doors announced the upcoming import of Angel: the Series Yahoo Group DoyleCordy.
- Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,900 tickets.
- Strategic Planning co-chair Amy Shepard stepped down.
- Support received approximately 1,200 tickets.
- Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 387,000 tags.
- Translation translated and uploaded content for the October membership drive in 30 different languages.
November
- The Archive of Our Own celebrated reaching three million registered users.
- AO3 Documentation updated their Glossary and released six new FAQs and tutorials: the Collections FAQ, Gift Exchange FAQ, Prompt Meme FAQ, Tutorial: Creating a Collection, Tutorial: Running a Gift Exchange on AO3, and Tutorial: Running a Prompt Meme on AO3.
- Communications launched the OTW’s new Instagram account.
- Development & Membership revealed new exclusive gifts designed to commemorate three, five, and ten years of consecutive membership.
- Open Doors announced the upcoming import of Rawhide Yahoo Group Rawhide-fic.
- Open Doors completed the import of the Star Trek: TOS archive Side By Side.
- Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,800 tickets.
- Support received approximately 1,400 tickets.
- Tag Wrangling celebrated reaching the milestone of 40,000 fandoms on Archive of Our Own with a public post explaining more about the ways that our Tag Wranglers organize the tags that make AO3 easy to navigate.
- Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 341,000 tags.
- Translation named a new co-chair, Ioana.
December
- The Archive of Our Own celebrated reaching seven million posted works.
- Archive of Our Own traffic rose again at the end of the year with 385 million page views in the week from December 21 to 27.
- Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed one release (0.9.296).
- Accessibility, Design & Technology announced a change in how AO3 displays images, so that by default they will not be wider than the user’s full screen width.
- Accessibility, Design & Technology released a post announcing an update to how audio and video embeds work on AO3 following the end of Flash.
- Communications celebrated International Volunteer Day with a public post.
- Working with Legal, Communications encouraged U.S.-based fans to contact representatives regarding the inclusion of the CASE Act in a COVID-19 relief bill.
- Legal released a post explaining the dangers of some fan-unfriendly proposals in the U.S. Senate to fans and what Legal has been doing to try to stop the proposal from passing.
- Open Doors announced the upcoming imports of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: the Series archives Octaves of the Heart: Sublime Archives and I Will Remember You Marathon Archive (2005-2009).
- Open Doors released a post in honor of the closure of Yahoo Groups.
- Policy & Abuse received approximately 2,100 tickets. Its annual total number of tickets reached approximately 19,000 (2019: 15,000).
- Support received approximately 1,400 tickets. Its annual total number of tickets reached more than 18,000 (2019: 16,000).
- Systems expanded to a third rack in their main data center to hold some of AO3’s 30+ servers.
- Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 435,000 tags, bringing the annual total number of tags wrangled to approximately 4.1 million (2019: 2.7 million). Approximately 5,900 canonical fandoms were added in this year.
Finances
Statement of Financial Position
As of December 31, 2020
2020 | 2019 | |
ASSETS | ||
Current Assets | ||
Cash & Cash Equivalents | ||
Operating Cash | 846,914.44 | 396,245.78 |
Operating Reserves | 904,416.59 | 904,237.47 |
Certificate of Deposit | 10,180.79 | 10,173.65 |
Donations Receivable | 3,193.62 | 10,355.59 |
Prepaid Expenses | 10,833.33 | 10,634.00 |
Total | 1,775,538.77 | 1,331,646.49 |
Property, Plant, & Equipment | ||
Servers & Equipment | 691,514.64 | 524,424.33 |
Less: Accumulated Depreciation | (418,441.67) | (326,769.48) |
Total | 273,072.97 | 197,654.85 |
Other Assets | ||
Deferred Expenses | 22,500.00 | 3,333.33 |
Total | 22,500.00 | 3,333.33 |
TOTAL ASSETS | 2,071,111.74 | 1,532,634.67 |
LIABILITIES | ||
Current Liabilities | ||
Accounts Payable | – | 447.34 |
Total | – | 447.34 |
TOTAL LIABILITIES | – | 447.34 |
Net Assets | ||
Without Donor Restriction | 2,070,513.02 | 1,532,186.93 |
With Donor Restriction | 598.32 | – |
Total Net Assets | 2,071,111.34 | 1,532,186.93 |
TOTAL LIABILITIES & NET ASSETS | 2,071,111.34 | 1,532,634.27 |
All currency amounts are presented in USD.
Statement of Activities
As of December 31, 2020
2020 | 2019 | |||||
Without Donor Restrictions | With Donor Restrictions | Total | Without Donor Restrictions | With Donor Restrictions | Total | |
REVENUE | ||||||
Direct Contributions | 850,176.94 | – | 850,176.94 | 687,358.73 | – | 687,358.73 |
Donations from Matching Programs | 43,658.80 | – | 43,658.80 | 45,888.11 | – | 45,888.11 |
In-kind Revenue | 186,587.50 | – | 186,587.50 | 190,422.50 | – | 190,422.50 |
Total | 1,080,423.24 | – | 1,080,423.24 | 923,669.34 | – | 923,669.34 |
OTHER INCOME | ||||||
Interest Income | 186.26 | – | 186.26 | 395.49 | – | 395.49 |
Miscellaneous Income | 275.13 | – | 275.13 | 430.28 | – | 430.28 |
Total | 461.39 | – | 461.39 | 825.77 | – | 825.77 |
RESTRICTED CONTRIBUTIONS | ||||||
HPEF Grant for F. Coppa Vidding Book | – | 5,161.62 | 5,161.62 | – | – | – |
Total | – | 5,161.62 | 5,161.62 | – | – | – |
TOTAL REVENUES | 1,080,884.63 | 5,161.62 | 1,086,046.25 | 924,495.11 | – | 924,495.11 |
EXPENSES | ||||||
Program | ||||||
Archive of Our Own | 278,850.57 | – | 278,850.57 | 183,437.13 | – | 183,437.13 |
Open Doors | 2,884.57 | – | 2,884.57 | 8,871.96 | – | 8,871.96 |
Transformative Works & Cultures (TWC) | 1,831.00 | – | 1,831.00 | 1,775.00 | – | 1,775.00 |
Fanlore | 9,447.32 | – | 9,447.32 | 7,615.88 | – | 7,615.88 |
Legal Advocacy | 91,302.50 | – | 91,302.50 | 111,952.50 | – | 111,952.50 |
Con Outreach | – | – | – | 1,475.00 | – | 1,475.00 |
HPEF Grant for F. Coppa Vidding Book | – | 4,563.30 | 4,563.30 | – | – | – |
Fundraising | 64,148.37 | – | 64,148.37 | 47,401.38 | – | 47,401.38 |
Management & General | 94,094.21 | – | 94,094.21 | 103,589.10 | – | 103,589.10 |
Total | 542,558.54 | 4,563.30 | 547,121.84 | 466,117.95 | – | 466,117.95 |
Change in Net Assets | 538,326.09 | 598.32 | 538,924.41 | 458,377.16 | – | 458,377.16 |
Net Assets, beginning of year | 1,532,186.93 | – | 1,532,186.93 | 1,073,809.77 | – | 1,073,809.77 |
Net Assets, end of year | 2,070,513.02 | 598.32 | 2,071,111.34 | 1,532,186.93 | – | 1,532,186.93 |
All currency amounts are presented in USD.
Statement of Functional Expenses
As of December 31, 2020
– | Archive of Our Own | Open Doors | Transformative Works & Cultures | Fanlore | Legal Advocacy | Con Outreach | HPEF | Program Total | Fundraising & Membership Development | Management & General | TOTAL |
In-Kind Expenses | 52,215.00 | 2,065.00 | – | – | 91,302.50 | – | – | 145,582.50 | 2,950.00 | 38,055.00 | 186,587.50 |
Server Hardware | 1,118.08 | – | – | 62.12 | – | – | – | 1,180.19 | – | 62.12 | 1,242.31 |
Server Hosting | 69,092.51 | – | – | 3,706.43 | – | – | – | 72,798.94 | – | 5,290.98 | 78,089.91 |
Hosted Provider | – | 110.00 | – | – | – | – | – | 110.00 | – | 594.49 | 704.49 |
Licenses & Support | 15,177.06 | – | – | 843.17 | – | – | – | 16,020.23 | – | 843.17 | 16,863.40 |
Website Domains | 317.00 | 475.77 | – | 252.00 | – | – | – | 1,044.77 | – | 3,037.57 | 4,082.34 |
Website Monitoring | 8,439.00 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8,439.00 | – | – | 8,439.00 |
Website Hosting | – | 97.75 | – | – | – | – | – | 97.75 | – | 513.21 | 610.96 |
Contractor Services | 37,386.25 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 37,386.25 | – | – | 37,386.25 |
Professional Services | – | – | 1,831.00 | – | – | – | 4,563.30 | 6,394.30 | – | 13,815.34 | 20,209.64 |
Plug-ins | – | 16.17 | – | – | – | – | – | 16.17 | – | 32.83 | 49.00 |
Admin & Management | 12,600.70 | 119.88 | – | – | – | – | – | 12,720.58 | – | 4,694.39 | 17,414.97 |
Transaction Fees | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 31,933.20 | – | 31,933.20 |
Banking Fees | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 477.83 | 477.83 |
Premium Merchandise | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11,381.51 | – | 11,381.51 |
Postage & Shipping | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 13,419.66 | 2,733.36 | 16,153.02 |
Membership Tracking Software | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3,840.00 | – | 3,840.00 |
Ticketing Software | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 624.00 | – | 624.00 |
Auditing | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10,500.00 | 10,500.00 |
Tax Filing | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 96.32 | 96.32 |
Insurance | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8,764.00 | 8,764.00 |
Total Expenses Before Depreciation | 196,345.60 | 2,884.57 | 1,831.00 | 4,863.71 | 91,302.50 | – | 4,563.30 | 301,790.68 | 64,148.37 | 89,510.60 | 455,449.65 |
Depreciation | 82,504.97 | – | – | 4,583.61 | – | – | – | 87,088.58 | – | 4,583.61 | 91,672.19 |
Total | 278,850.57 | 2,884.57 | 1,831.00 | 9,447.32 | 91,302.50 | – | 4,563.30 | 388,879.26 | 64,148.37 | 94,094.21 | 547,121.84 |
Statement of Cash Flows
As of December 31, 2020
2020 | 2019 | |
Cash Flows from Operating Activities | ||
Increase in Net Assets | 538,924.41 | 458,377.16 |
Adjustments to reconcile change in net assets to net cash flows provided by operating activities | ||
Depreciation | 91,672.19 | 73,628.48 |
Subtotal | 630,596.60 | 532,005.64 |
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents due to changes in operating assets and liabilities | ||
Donations Receivable | 7,161.97 | (3,673.47) |
Prepaid Expenses | (199.33) | – |
Deferred Expenses | (19,166.67) | 10,634.00 |
Accounts Payable | (447.34) | 447.34 |
Total | 617,945.23 | 539,413.51 |
Cash Flows for Investing Activities | ||
Cash paid for purchase of property and equipment | (167,090.31) | (118,988.94) |
Net increase in cash | 450,854.92 | 420,424.57 |
Cash, beginning of year | 1,310,657.57 | 890,233.00 |
Cash, end of year | 1,761,512.49 | 1,310,657.57 |
All currency amounts are presented in USD.
Figure 1: Program Expenses
As of December 31, 2020
Allocated | Pastesource | 2020 | 2019 | |
Program Services | ||||
Archive of Our Own | ||||
Server Hardware | 1,118.08 | – | 1,118.08 | 998.90 |
Server Hosting | 69,092.51 | – | 69,092.51 | 60,692.76 |
Licenses & Support | 15,177.06 | – | 15,177.06 | 9,570.60 |
Website Domains | 317.00 | 317.00 | 76.00 | |
Website Monitoring | 8,439.00 | 8,439.00 | 8,439.00 | |
Contractor Services | 37,386.25 | 37,386.25 | 15,250.00 | |
Training | – | – | – | 19.00 |
Admin & Management | 12,600.70 | 12,600.70 | 11,357.74 | |
In-Kind Expenses | 52,215.00 | 52,215.00 | 10,767.50 | |
Depreciation | 82,504.97 | – | 82,504.97 | 66,265.63 |
Total | 167,892.62 | 110,957.95 | 278,850.57 | 183,437.13 |
Open Doors | ||||
Website Domains | 475.77 | 475.77 | 237.58 | |
Website Hosting | 97.75 | – | 97.75 | 108.33 |
Hosted Provider | 110.00 | 110.00 | 130.00 | |
Plug-ins | 16.17 | – | 16.17 | 16.17 |
Admin & Management | 119.88 | 119.88 | 119.88 | |
In-Kind Expenses | 2,065.00 | 2,065.00 | 8,260.00 | |
Total | 113.92 | 2,770.65 | 2,884.57 | 8,871.96 |
Transformative Works & Cultures | ||||
Professional Services | 1,831.00 | 1,831.00 | 1,775.00 | |
Total | – | 1,831.00 | 1,831.00 | 1,775.00 |
Fanlore | ||||
Server Hardware | 62.12 | – | 62.12 | 55.49 |
Server Hosting | 3,706.43 | – | 3,706.43 | 3,290.26 |
Licenses & Support | 843.17 | – | 843.17 | 531.70 |
Website Domains | 252.00 | 252.00 | 57.00 | |
Depreciation | 4,583.61 | – | 4,583.61 | 3,681.42 |
Total | 9,195.32 | 252.00 | 9,447.32 | 7,615.88 |
Legal Advocacy | ||||
In-Kind Expenses | 91,302.50 | 91,302.50 | 111,952.50 | |
Total | – | 91,302.50 | 91,302.50 | 111,952.50 |
Con Outreach | ||||
In-Kind Expenses | – | – | 1,475.00 | |
Total | – | – | – | 1,475.00 |
HPEF Grant for F.Coppa Vidding Book | ||||
Professional Services | 4,563.30 | 4,563.30 | – | |
Total | – | 4,563.30 | 4,563.30 | – |
Program Services Total | 177,201.86 | 211,677.40 | 388,879.26 | 315,127.47 |
Fundraising | ||||
Fundraising Related Expenses | ||||
Transaction Fees | 31,933.20 | 31,933.20 | 26,348.79 | |
In-Kind Expenses | 2,950.00 | 2,950.00 | – | |
Total | – | 34,883.20 | 34,883.20 | 26,348.79 |
Premiums | ||||
Premium Merchandise | 11,381.51 | 11,381.51 | 6,389.12 | |
Postage & Shipping | 13,419.66 | 13,419.66 | 9,807.47 | |
Total | – | 24,801.17 | 24,801.17 | 16,196.59 |
Membership | ||||
Membership Tracking Software | 3,840.00 | 3,840.00 | 4,040.00 | |
Ticketing Software | 624.00 | 624.00 | 816.00 | |
Total | – | 4,464.00 | 4,464.00 | 4,856.00 |
Fundraising Total | – | 64,148.37 | 64,148.37 | 47,401.38 |
Management & General | ||||
OTW Website | ||||
Server Hardware | 62.12 | – | 62.12 | 55.49 |
Server Hosting | 5,290.98 | – | 5,290.98 | 4,268.99 |
Hosted Provider | 594.49 | 594.49 | 554.88 | |
Website Domains | 3,037.57 | 3,037.57 | 76.00 | |
Website Hosting | 513.21 | – | 513.21 | 568.75 |
Licenses & Support | 843.17 | – | 843.17 | 531.70 |
Plug-ins | 32.83 | – | 32.83 | 32.83 |
Depreciation | 4,583.61 | – | 4,583.61 | 3,681.42 |
Total | 11,325.91 | 3,632.06 | 14,957.97 | 9,770.07 |
General Administration | ||||
In-kind Expenses | 38,055.00 | 38,055.00 | 57,967.50 | |
Professional Services | 13,815.34 | 13,815.34 | 14,301.50 | |
Auditing | 10,500.00 | 10,500.00 | 11,275.00 | |
Insurance | 8,764.00 | 8,764.00 | 3,240.51 | |
Banking Fees | 477.83 | 477.83 | 468.24 | |
Postage & Shipping | 2,733.36 | 2,733.36 | 2,607.96 | |
Tax Filing | 96.32 | 96.32 | 16.32 | |
Admin & Management | 4,694.39 | 4,694.39 | 3,942.00 | |
Total | – | 79,136.24 | 79,136.24 | 93,819.03 |
Management & General Total | 11,325.91 | 82,768.30 | 94,094.21 | 103,589.10 |
Total Expenses | 188,527.77 | 358,594.07 | 547,121.84 | 466,117.95 |
All currency amounts are presented in USD.
Notes to the Financial Statements
December 31, 2020
Note 1 – Description of Organization
Organization for Transformative Works, Inc. (“the Organization”) was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation in the State of Delaware on September 5, 2007, and has 501(c)(3) nonprofit status under the Internal Revenue Code. The OTW was established by fans to serve the interests of fans by providing access to and preserving the history of fanworks and fan culture in its myriad forms. The OTW is a collaborative effort initiated and driven by fans for fans. Over 900 volunteers contribute to the OTW’s five major projects (Archive of our Own; Open Doors; Fanlore; Legal Advocacy; Transformative Works & Cultures) as well as fundraising, membership development, and internal management and administration.
Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Accounting
The financial statements of the Organization are prepared on the accrual basis of accounting in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”).
Financial Statement Presentation
The Organization utilizes Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 958, Not-for-Profit Entities. Under FASB ASU 2016-14, the Organization is required to report information regarding its financial position and activities according to two classes of net assets: net assets without donor restrictions and net assets with donor restrictions.
Net assets and changes therein are classified and reported as follows:
- Without donor restrictions – Net assets that are not subject to donor-imposed stipulations
- With donor restrictions – Net assets subject to donor-imposed stipulations that will be met either by actions and/or the passage of time or net assets subject to donor-imposed stipulations that will be maintained permanently.
The Organization has net assets with donor restrictions of $598 as of December 31, 2020.
Donations Receivable
The Organization considers receivables from donors to be fully collectible; accordingly, no allowance for doubtful donations is currently required. If donations receivable amounts should become uncollectible, they will be charged to operations when that determination is made.
Contributed Materials and Services
Contributed materials and services are reflected in the financial statements at the estimated fair value of the materials and services received. The contributions of services are recognized if the services received either: (a) create or enhance non-financial assets or (b) require specialized skills that are provided by individuals possessing those skills and would typically need to be purchased if not provided by donation. This is in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 958.
Contributed services of $186,589 and $190,423 were recorded as operating contributions during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The contributed services consist of legal services donated to the Organization by the volunteers of the Legal Committee.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Cash
The Organization maintains cash at one financial institution which may exceed federally insured amounts at times.
Investments
Investments in marketable securities with readily determinable fair values and all investments in debt securities are reported at their fair values in the statement of financial position. Unrealized gains and losses are included in the change in net assets. Investment income and gains restricted by donors are reported as increases to unrestricted net assets if restrictions are met, either by passage of time or by use, in the period of reporting in which the income and gains are recognized.
The Organization accounts for investments in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures. FASB ASC Topic 820 includes a fair value hierarchy that is intended to increase consistency and comparability in fair value measurements and related disclosures. The fair value hierarchy is based on inputs to valuation techniques that are used to measure fair value that are either observable or unobservable. Observable inputs reflect assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability based on market data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect a reporting entity’s pricing based on their own market assumptions.
The fair value hierarchy consists of the following three levels:
- Level 1: Inputs are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
- Level 2: Inputs are quoted prices for similar assets in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable, and market corroborated inputs which are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data.
- Level 3: Inputs are derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or value drivers are unobservable and require the entity to make its own assumptions.
Property and Equipment
Donations of property and equipment are recorded as in-kind contributions at their estimated fair value at the time of donation. Such donations are reported as unrestricted support unless the donor has restricted the use of the donated asset to a specific purpose. Assets donated with explicit restrictions regarding their use are reported as restricted support. Absent donor stipulations regarding how long those donated assets must be maintained, the Organization reports expirations of donor restrictions when the donated or acquired assets are placed in service as instructed by the donor. The Organization reclassifies temporarily restricted net assets to unrestricted net assets at that time.
Property and equipment are depreciated using the double declining balance methods over the estimated useful lives of the assets, which are 5 years. Maintenance and repairs of the assets are charged to operations as incurred. Significant improvements or renewals of assets are capitalized.
Contributions
Contributions received are recorded as contributions with donor restrictions or contributions without donor restrictions depending on the existence and/or nature of any donor restrictions. Contributions which have any restrictions satisfied in the same period they are received are recorded as increases in net assets and are reflected as without donor restrictions.
The Organization received a contribution with donor restrictions of $5,162 during the year ended December 31, 2020. The contribution came from HP Education Fanon, Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to promoting the benefits of reading, and is to be used only to support Francesca Coppa’s book on the history of fan vidding. $4,563 has been spent on copy editing and graphic design for the book as of December 31, 2020.
The Organization did not receive any contributions with donor restrictions during the year ended December 31, 2019.
Functional Allocation of Expenses
The costs of providing program services, fundraising, and administrative functions are summarized on a functional basis in the statement of activities.
See Figure 1 for a summary of Program Expenses.
Income Taxes
The OTW is a 501c3 organization exempt from Federal income and State franchise taxes under provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and Section 1902(b)(6), Title 30 of the Delaware State Taxation Code respectively. As such, no provision for income taxes has been provided in these financial statements.
Note 3 – Investment Assets
The Organization’s investments are valued as follows:
Level 1 Investments | ||
Asset | 2020 | 2019 |
Certificates of Deposit | $10,180.79 | $10,173.65 |
Total | $10,180.79 | $10,173.65 |
Note 4 – Fixed Assets
2020 | 2019 | |
Servers | $644,009.96 | $487,540.96 |
Server Hardware & Upgrades | $44,099.33 | $33,478.02 |
Firewall | $3,405.35 | $3,405.35 |
Total Assets | $691,514.64 | $524,424.33 |
Accumulated Depreciation | $(418,441.67) | $(326,769.48) |
Fixed Assets, Net of Accumulated Depreciation | $273,072.97 | $197,654.85 |
About the OTW / Mission, Vision, Values
OUR MISSION
The Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) is a nonprofit organization established by fans to serve the interests of fans by providing access to and preserving the history of fanworks and fan culture in its myriad forms. We believe that fanworks are transformative and that transformative works are legitimate.
The OTW represents a practice of transformative fanwork historically rooted in a primarily female culture. The OTW will preserve the record of that history as we pursue our mission while encouraging new and non-mainstream expressions of cultural identity within fandom.
OUR VISION
We envision a future in which all fannish works are recognized as legal and transformative and are accepted as a legitimate creative activity. We are proactive and innovative in protecting and defending our work from commercial exploitation and legal challenge. We preserve our fannish economy, values, and creative expression by protecting and nurturing our fellow fans, our work, our commentary, our history, and our identity while providing the broadest possible access to fannish activity for all fans.
OUR VALUES
- We value transformative fanworks and the innovative communities from which they have arisen, including media, real person fiction, anime, comics, music, and vidding.
- We value our identity as a predominantly female community with a rich history of creativity and commentary.
- We value our volunteer-based infrastructure and the fannish gift economy that recognizes and celebrates worth in myriad and diverse activities.
- We value making fannish activities as accessible as possible to all those who wish to participate.
- We value infinite diversity in infinite combinations. We value all fans engaged in transformative work: fans of any race, gender, culture, sexual identity, or ability. We value the unhindered cross-pollination and exchange of fannish ideas and cultures while seeking to avoid the homogenization or centralization of fandom.
About the OTW / Who We Are
The Organization for Transformative Works is run for fans by fans. The directors of OTW’s Board are all active in fandom, as are the more than 200 other staffers serving on our committees, and our many volunteers.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Kati Eggert works in project management, predominantly in cross-departmental projects with a focus on IT and Digitalisation. She fell in love with science fiction and fantasy shortly after she learned to read. She joined organised fandom in the era of printed zines and monthly paper newsletters after stumbling over an ad for a Star Trek fan club in the back of a novel. She enjoys cosplaying and volunteering at conventions, especially small fan-run cons. While Kati is still into Star Trek, she has also branched out to a multitude of other fandoms and enjoys reading meta about fandom and fanworks. Kati followed the development of the OTW from its beginnings in 2008. She finally joined the Policy & Abuse Committee in 2015, followed by Translation (Team German) in 2019.
Natalia Gruber discovered her first fanfiction by accident while waiting for the last Harry Potter book to come out, and thought for the longest time that it was a wonderful, but isolated idea. Thankfully, she eventually found out that not only was this story not the only one, but that fandom was a lively, rich community full of amazing people and more fic than she could ever read. She lurked for several years reading mostly Harry Potter, until she joined the Tolkien fandom. There she finally started publishing her own works and making friends with other fans, and it’s where she still feels the most at home. An English teacher during the day, Nat joined the OTW in 2016 as a Brazilian Portuguese translator. A few months later she became part of the Policy & Abuse and Tag Wrangling committees, where she has had a wonderful experience and learned a lot more about the OTW and its work. At the end of 2017, she decided to join Translation staff, working to support and assist translators in their work, and engaging in a lot more inter-committee and managerial tasks.
Lex de Leon currently works for the United States Government as a document and content management information technology specialist, with a specific focus on records import, migration and long term retention. He began by writing fanfiction for the Valdemar series and has since accumulated multiple fandoms which he is always willing to discuss. An unapologetically passionate femslash shipper, he enjoys writing fic that draws upon his life experiences and imagination, and reading any fic that catches his eye or features a pairing he enjoys. A fortuitous visit to the Archive just after recruitment for Support was announced led to him applying, with the belief that his decade of experience in technical support would be helpful within the OTW. He firmly believes in the mission of the OTW and wishes to continue its work into the future. Somehow, a lovely woman agreed to marry him and always be willing to listen to his fanwork ideas. Together they are raising two cats, a dog and one ornery, flightless bird.
Rebecca Sentance (President) has been in fandom for around fifteen years, starting on Quizilla where she would read second-person fanfics in fandoms like Yu-Gi-Oh!, Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragonball Z. However, her first ever fanwork was an Enid Blyton fanfiction that she wrote at the age of five – long before she ever dreamed there might be whole communities of people publishing and reading these works online. She discovered AO3 in 2011 and slowly began to learn about the organisation behind it and its many other projects, which led to her delving into fandom history and fan academia, and learning about the vital importance of preserving and defending fanworks of all kinds. While she was eager to be a part of the OTW, she didn’t manage to catch an open recruitment round until mid-2015, shortly after finishing her postgrad studies, when she saw a posting for AO3 Documentation staff—the perfect fit for someone who loves all things to do with words. She later found her way onto the Transformative Works and Cultures and Fanlore committees, and now devotes a significant portion of her time to being part of this amazing community of fans. When not volunteering with the OTW, she can be found lurking in various parts of Marvel fandom and procrastinating on her latest fic.
Alex Tischer works as an ECC veterinarian, currently in the UK; Has been in fandom since before the millennium and has migrated through more fandoms than can be listed here. Has been a member of the OTW since its founding and volunteered for just as long. Apart from media fandom has also somehow ended up in the weird and wonderful world of sports – which are very niche groups that resemble fandoms in surprising ways. When not dealing with sick pets, Alex can be found doing assault courses, climbing and trail running nearly as often as consuming media.
Jess White is an avid consumer of all things fandom, and has been since she discovered her aunt’s Kirk/Spock zines in the early 90s. She then graduated to scribbling her own fanfic in notebooks with sparkly pens, then eventually creating content on message boards, individual fandom forums, livejournal, and eventually AO3. Jess has volunteered in the OTW for the past six years, predominantly in the Policy & Abuse Committee. She has also worked briefly in Support (for about two years) and is currently also volunteering with Fanlore as a Policy and Admin staffer. Outside of fandom, Jess has been a teacher for fifteen years.
Kirsten Wright (Secretary) is a member of the OTW Communications team. She first joined in 2014 at the recommendation of a former professor. She currently moderates the OTW Facebook page, as well as the LiveJournal and Dreamwidth accounts. She previously moderated the OTW Twitter account, and both the Fanlore Twitter and Tumblr accounts. Kirsten first found organized fandom as a young teenager, and never looked back. At various points, fandom has served as a teacher and friend, and is ultimately how she discovered her career in United States political campaigns. She’s a notorious fandom hopper, but has written the most for The Social Network. Her favorite genre of fic is slice of life. She has definitely opened more than one 200k fanfic after midnight during the work week.
NON-DIRECTOR OFFICERS
Yuechiang Luo (Treasurer)
Emerita Directors
2020
- Claire P. Baker
- Jessie Casiulis
- Danielle Strong
2019
- Kristina Busse
- Priscilla Del Cima
2018
- Matty Bowers
- Atiya Hakeem
2017
- Aline Carrão
- Katarina Harju
- Alex Tischer
2015
- Eylul Dogruel
- Soledad Griffin
- Andrea Horbinski
- M.J. MacRae
- Cat Meier
- Jessica Steiner
2014
- Franzeska Dickson
- Anna Genoese
- Nikisha Sanders
2013
- Julia Beck
- Maia Bobrowicz
- Ira Gladkova
- Kristen Murphy
2012
- Francesca Coppa, PhD
- Naomi Novik
- Jenny Scott-Thompson
2011
- Rachel Barenblat
- Hele Braunstein
- Sheila Lane
- Allison Morris
2010
- Naomi Novik
- Rebecca Tushnet, JD
- Elizabeth Yalkut
2009
- KellyAnn Bessa
- Susan Gibel, JD
2008
- Cathy Cupitt, DCA
- Michele Tepper, PhD
COMMITTEES
Accessibility, Design, & Technology
AO3 Documentation
Communications
Development & Membership
Elections
Fanlore
Finance
Legal
Open Doors
Policy & Abuse
Strategic Planning
Support
Systems
Tag Wrangling
Translation
TWC
Volunteers & Recruiting
Webs