It’s that time of year again: the Organization for Transformative Works is holding our October Membership Drive, and we would appreciate your support! The OTW and all our projects are 100% volunteer-run and funded by your donations. Every dollar raised goes into maintaining our servers, supporting our work, and furthering our mission of protecting and advocating for fanworks and fan culture. Check out our most recent budget post for more information on how our funds are spent.
In addition to supporting our work, donations above a certain amount are also eligible for some neat OTW thank-you gifts! You can find the full range of what’s available at at our donations page but we’ll pick out some highlights here.
- The Archive of Our Own is now thirteen years old — old enough to get its own account on AO3! To celebrate that, we have new 13th Anniversary pins available.
- You may also have noticed our celebrations last month when the OTW as a whole turned fifteen. We also have 15th Anniversary magnets to celebrate this occasion! These are bundled together with stickers celebrating both anniversaries. All the anniversary items are limited edition, so if you like the look of them, make sure to get yours while they’re here!
- We also want to mention the fandom trope playing cards which debuted in April and have proven very popular with our donors. Each card contains unique word art depicting the kinds of fannish terms and tropes that can be found in AO3 tags. This item is still available to those donating US$100 or more.
If you are interested in the thank-you gifts but aren’t able to make a donation of this size all at once, don’t worry! We’ve got you. You can set up a recurring donation for a smaller amount, and fill out the form in your donation receipt to let our Development and Membership team know which gift you’d like to save up for. They’ll set it aside and will send it out to you once your cumulative total reaches the level needed for your chosen gift.
The other major benefit of donating to the Organization for Transformative Works is that any donation of US$10 or above makes you eligible to vote in next year’s elections for the Board of Directors that oversees the OTW’s activities. You can read more about our electoral process at the OTW elections website. If you would like to vote in the next election in August 2023, you can become a member today by making a single donation of US$10 or more and selecting “become a member” on the donation form. Membership will last for one calendar year from the date of your qualifying donation.
If you aren’t able to donate to the OTW this time around, that’s absolutely okay! And if you happen to have a moment to spare, we’d appreciate your help in sharing news of this membership drive with others. As always, we are so grateful for everything you do to support the OTW and its many projects. Thank you for being part of our community!