The 2020 Fandom Trumps Hate auction is now in its “browsing week” stage, meaning you can start looking through to find the perfect project to support.
After the 2016 presidential election, organizers across fandoms came together to create Fandom Trumps Hate, an auction whose proceeds go to nonprofits that help those targeted by the Trump administration. This year’s organizations include Border Angels, Clean Water Fund, RAINN, Life After Hate, GLSEN, Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, and many more; the 2020 full list is here. The 2017 auction raised over $32,000 for a bevy of worthy causes, and the auction has continued every year since.
You can now see what’s on offer this year—there are over 750 potential fanworks. Participating creators list what they’re willing to create fanart or fanfiction about, including specifics like fandom, pairings, rating, and certain topics. Browse the tags right now to find the fandoms, creators, and types of work that you can start bidding on next week. Winning bidders then provide proof that their donation was made, and their artists get to work! This is an incredible opportunity to have your favorite artist or writer in fandom create a work to your exact tastes—and it’s all to benefit causes we need to support now more than ever in 2020.
Also up for auction are wonderful works of fannish ingenuity like the creation of podfic and videos, not to mention a whole range of “other” creations, like users who stand ready to translate a story into Quenya, High Valyrian, or Gallifreyan, compose music, write poetry, or render a digital cross-stitch.
Yet still more members of the fandom community are offering their expertise in everything from expert beta-editing, to cultural “picking” reads for sensitivity and accuracy, to their deep knowledge in varied topics. Want to see just a hint of that scope? “Our fan laborers are willing to help you out by sharing their expertise on guns, Bible School, medical issues, poly relationships, farming and the care of farm animals, religion and mythology, calligraphy, cooking and baking, service dogs, dancing, family law, ancient Greece and Rome, riot grrl culture, goth culture, disaster services, and fiber crafts.”
The “fan labor” on auction can be read about here. I love how inclusive this auction is at letting so many people contribute their skillsets and opening up the offerings beyond traditional visual art and fic. It also helps illustrate how wildly knowledgeable the fandom community is at large—and how generous.
While paying for fanworks is a topic that’s more like a quagmire in fannish circles, I think we can all agree that this is a situation where the only “profits” being made are getting disbursed to organizations doing essential, important work in a world on fire. As the organizers write in their FAQ, “We are asking people to donate directly to charities, and fan creators are promising to create a work as a gift for that person to thank them for this donation. No creators are getting any money for this (and neither are we!).” All of the creators, organizers, and moderators responsible for Fandom Trumps Hate are donating their time, energy, and creativity—a fact that, all on its own, makes me feel better about our burning planet.
If you’re excited to bid for these excellent works and causes, start browsing now! Bidding starts Monday, February 24th, 2020, and most bids start at $5.
(Fandom Trumps Hate on Tumblr, Twitter, and Dreamwidth, image: Pexels)
(Bonus: Listen to the fantastic “Fansplaining” podcast’s 2017 episode in discussion with Fandom Trumps Hate’s organizers.)
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