Donating to NaNoWriMo

Are you a nonprofit? Is my donation tax-deductible? Do you do corporate matching gifts?

Can I donate to NaNoWriMo in a foreign currency?

Can I get sponsors to donate on my behalf?

Do you ship donor goodies and other store items internationally? How much will it cost?

Are you a nonprofit? Is my donation tax-deductible? Do you do corporate matching gifts?

National Novel Writing Month is a project of the Office of Letters and Light, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Berkeley, California. All donations made to National Novel Writing Month—in the form of cash and in-kind donations of helicopters and lavish chocolate fountains—are tax-deductible.

Note – if you are donating from outside the U.S. we recommend you check with the relevant authority in your country about whether or not donations to NaNoWriMo are fully tax-deductible.

If you work for a sizable company, chances are good that your employer will match your donation to National Novel Writing Month. Companies that have generously matched donations to NaNoWriMo in the past include Microsoft, Adobe, Google, IBM, Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual, Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Sallie Mae, and EnCana. Ask your HR manager for more information.

Our complete information for corporate matching gifts is:

The Office of Letters and Light
3354 Adeline Street
Berkeley, CA 94703

(510) 628-0327
Tax ID: 65-1282653

Can I donate by check?

Yes. We’re absolutely thrilled to get donations by check! Please make your check payable to “National Novel Writing Month.”

Our mailing address is:

National Novel Writing Month
3354 Adeline Street
Berkeley, CA 94703
USA

Things to include with your check:

Your NaNoWriMo Username (so we can put a donor halo on your profile)
How you’d like to be credited on our Brought To You By page (real name, pen name, organization name, anonymous, etc.)
(For $25 and higher donations) The best mailing address for us to use when sending you your thank-you goodies.
(For $250 and higher donations) What – if any – website you’d like to have your name on the Brought to You By page linked to.
(For $1000 and higher donations) What – if any – name we should use when heralding your generosity on our NaNoVideo broadcast.

It will likely take us approximately two weeks from the time we get your check to get your esteemed name up on our site, and get your thank-you treats in the mail to you.

Can I donate to NaNoWriMo in a foreign currency?

Unfortunately, we can no longer accept checks in foreign currency because our bank now charges us $40 for every foreign currency check deposited. You can, however, send us a foreign check or money order in US Dollars (USD).

What is the Donation Derby?

The Donation Derby is an annual fundraising contest that divides NaNo regions into six leagues. Each league is represented by a fearsome, yet cute, animal – the Kodiak Bear, the Siberian Tiger, the Komodo Dragon, the Wolverine, the Tasmanian Devil, or the Badger.

Your region is assigned to a league based on last year’s number of active, homed participants. (Active means word count greater than zero.)

The largest regions are in League 1 (the Kodiak Bears), and the smallest regions are in League 5 (the Tasmanian Devils). League 6 (the Badgers) contains brand-new regions, split regions, and regions that made no donations in the previous year.

The contest runs from midnight on October 31st through midnight on November 30th, Pacific Time. Once final data is available, the winning regions will be notified as close to December 1st as possible.

MAKE SURE YOUR DONATION IS CREDITED TO YOUR REGION!

For your donation to count for your region:

You must be homed with your region AND
When making your donation, you must include a valid user name.
- If you’re donating online type your user name in the Script Frenzy/NaNoWriMo Username box. You’ll see this box once you choose the amount you wish to donate.
- If you’re donating by check, include a valid username and home region along with the other requested information here.

LOCATING YOUR LEAGUE

To find the league for your region, go to the derby page and search for your region name. The column on the far right is your league number. Click the appropriate tab at the top and you’ll see your league page.

HOW WINNERS ARE DETERMINED

There will be two winners in each league. One winner will be the region with the highest total donation in that league. The other winner will be the region with the highest average donation when compared with last year’s average donation.

Here’s an example of how “highest average” donation wins:

This year, the Land of OZ donates $100.00 and has 10 homed+active participants, for an average of $10 per person. Last year they gave an average of $5 per person, so the difference between the two years is +$5 per person.

Narnia donates $200.00 this year and has 100 homed+active participants, for an average of $2 per person. Last year, they gave an average of $5 per person, so the difference between the two years is -$3.

Even though Narnia gave twice as much as OZ, they gave less on average than they did last year (-$3), and OZ gave more on average than they did last year (+$5). That’s why OZ would be the “highest average” winner in this league.

PRIZES!!!

Each winning region will receive these lovely prizes:

A personalized web badge to decorate blogs and regional websites
A personal email from NaNoWriMo Headquarters
Their region name on a plaque/trophy at HQ, plus photographic evidence of same.
Public acknowledgement on the site
Not to mention – bragging rights!

MORE ABOUT LEAGUE DIVISIONS

When the forums are reset in the fall, we’ll place your region in its appropriate league, based on last year’s number of active, homed participants. (Active means word count greater than zero.) Since your region size may have changed from the beginning to the end of last year’s event, your region may be in a different league from last year. Leagues will be set by November 1st. After that, your region size may change, but league assignments will not.

Please note: Since region size is the number of active+homed participants, this number (and the data you’ll see) will fluctuate through the month as more participants home with your region, or (sadly) leave your region and home elsewhere. Data will update several times a day. Also, since we compare this year’s donations with all of last year’s, some regions may see negative numbers – especially at the beginning of the month.

THE FINE PRINT

We use the number of active+homed participants in a region as the basis for comparison, rather than the number of donors in a region, so we can more accurately reflect the amounts that are collected from groups at regional events and sent in by one person.

The Donation Derby can only show donations made directly to OLL through the donation station or by check. We can’t include donations made through StayClassy, since those donations are not routed directly through OLL. Donations will be credited if you use your PayPal account in the donation/store (and include your region and user name), but we can’t credit donations sent directly from PayPal.

For the “highest average” winner: If no region in a league exceeds last year’s average, the winner will be the region that comes closest to matching last year’s average. In case of a tie, the winner will be the region with the higher total donation for the current year.

PAST WINNERS

2010 Donation Derby Winners
Increase in average donation

League 1 – USA :: Georgia :: Atlanta
League 2 – USA :: California :: SF Penninsula
League 3 – USA :: California :: Santa Barbara
League 4 – USA :: Washington :: Lewis County
League 5 – USA :: Wyoming :: Casper
League 6 – USA :: Wyoming :: Cody

Total donation

League 1 – USA :: Washington :: Seattle
League 2 – USA :: California :: Orange County South
League 3 – USA :: California :: Santa Barbara
League 4 – USA :: Texas :: Longview
League 5 – USA :: Pennsylvania :: Norristown
League 6 – USA :: Kenosha/Racine

2009 Donation Derby Winners
There was only one winner per league, based on average increase in donation:

League 1 – USA :: New York :: New York City
League 2 – USA :: California :: Elsewhere
League 3 – Australia & New Zealand :: Canberra & the ACT
League 4 – USA :: Georgia :: Augusta
League 5 – USA :: South Carolina :: Spartanburg
League 6 – USA :: Texas :: Longview

The three regions that gave the most to NaNo were: Seattle, Washington; New York, New York; and Los Angeles, California.

Can I get sponsors to donate on my behalf?

Heck yes! Check out more info here: Get Sponsored!

Do you ship donor goodies and other store items internationally? How much will it cost?

Yes, we ship internationally! When you place an order at our store and enter your address, you’ll see international shipping options which will calculate the shipping costs for you.