leaky_inc (original) (raw)

How We - That's You - Are Going to Make History

Written (with much thanks from TLC) by Arabella - and made legally-friendly by Heidi. Also much thanks to ari_stottle for all the help setting up this LJ.

As many of you know, on December 12, Sotheby's will auction off a card on which J.K. Rowling has handwritten 93 random words from the next Harry Potter installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. All money earned through the Sotheby's auction will go to the charity Book Aid International, and JKR's 93 words and autograph will go to the highest bidder. The Leaky Cauldron (now Leaky, Inc., a New York State not-for-profit corporation) and its readers are in position to be that highest bidder.

With the support of our readers, on December 12, Leaky, Inc. will make a tremendous donation to literacy funding and perhaps - just perhaps - post those 93 words right here. And we know you WANT to see those words. Will they spoil the book? No. JKR wrote them herself; consider how much information she gives out in an interview, and you'll see why she won't spell out the plot of her own book for the highest bidder. But words like "sacked" and "sorry" are on the card (a scant few of the words have been released to the public), and the rest of those words will give us die-hard fans plenty to ponder until the book is released.

And while we're pondering, our donation will be making a difference.

It takes a dollar - or five - or ten - or a hundred - or whatever you
want or can give to support children's literacy - to ensure that the
contents of that card get into the hands of our readers. Leaky, Inc.
has become Leaky, Inc. for this very reason - to ensure that fans have
a legal way to contribute to this cause as one very large unit.

It's up to you. This can work. But everyone must participate. If we all click away from this announcement thinking, "I don't need to donate - everyone else will," then that card is likely to go to people who don't care as much as we do. Let's not give up this opportunity! If we are Harry Potter fans, then we are advocates of literacy; here is our chance to be both at once and to demonstrate that we not only love these books, but that we live the spirit of them.

How to Donate (which you CAN DO NOW!.)

Please donate as much as possible within your financial constraints, but don't hesitate to donate because you can only give a dollar! The Leaky Cauldron receives up to 500,000 hits a day - that's a whole lot of dollars.

• PayPal. PayPal is a service
  that can send money to anyone with an email address. It is owned by
  eBay, and millions of people pay for auctions through it. You must
  have an account, but membership is free, and can send money via credit
  card or by deducting from a checking accocunt.
  Note: PayPal takes a small percentage of the total on Business accounts,
  which is what we have, under donations@the-leaky-cauldron.org; also,
  if you make a donation under 5,PayPaltakes5, PayPal takes 5,PayPaltakes0.45. So if you can
  only donate a dollar, better to make it $1.45. For more information
  about sending payments go here.

• Send money to:
  Leaky, Inc.
  28 Stafford Avenue
  Staten Island, NY 10312
  Checks and money orders are accepted.

• If you want to wire directly to Leaky Inc.'s checking account, email us for the information.
  IMPORTANT: Checks must be received by December 6, 2002, as they must
  have time to clear. So send it now if you are going that
  way! Make checks and money (postal) orders out to Leaky, Inc.
  Cash is also accepted, but if you send us cash, we cannot be responsible
  if it gets lost. We will, however, keep a ledger of all money received,
  including cash donations. If your only recourse is to stick a dollar
  into an envelope and mail it, we think that just as admirable as writing
  a check, charging a credit card, or wiring money.
  December 10, 2002 is the last day on which money received will be
  deposited into Leaky's account. So if you're going to use snail mail,
  do it as soon as possible (today! now!) to ensure it gets here
  on time!

All participants, please make your names, addresses and ages available as we are going to keep a master list of all who contribute (your names, ages and home cities will be posted here, in thanks.) If you would prefer not to be included in the published master list, then just say so, but we must still collect your information for record keeping purposes. If you would like to include your phone number and/or email, then please do.

But I'm not 18 years old yet. Can I donate?

If you are under 18, WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND you discuss this with your parents or guardians first.. Parents can contact us with questions and concerns at info@the-leaky-cauldron.org - someone WILL get back to you.

How Becoming Leaky, Inc. Makes this Drive Possible

With not-for-profit corporation status, we can open a bank account, solicit contributions and make donations with one voice. You may visit this Web site to look us up to ensure that we are indeed Leaky, Inc. As such, we are bound to our purposes, which we stated in our filings include this fundraiser for the benefit Book Aid International.

And so, if all goes well, on December 12, if our total contribution is enough to place us in the running for the card, Leaky, Inc. will bid on the Sotheby's auction in the name of Harry Potter fans.

Other Ways You Can Help: Get the Word Out!

Link here on your news sites, fan sites, personal sites, Live Journals, Blogs, groups (although if it's not your site, it's always a good idea to get permisson of the mods and admins first) - or add a link back here (http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/auction.html) or to our backup FAQ, Live Journal (http://www.livejournal.com/~leaky_inc) to your signature on the boards and mailing lists to which you post.

Post banners and buttons that we post here for use on your Web sites
- here are the first! Use the code below - but change the link in
the IMG SRC tag to fit where you upload the graphic. PLEASE save the graphic to your own Web site, we don't want to overload
this server in the middle of the auction!

Made by Kelly Mostert

All Web sites and individuals who help promote the effort will be placed on a "thanks" list, to be posted here - just drop us some mail to let us know where you've done so.

If We Win the Auction

We plan to post the 93 words on the-leaky-cauldron.org. The card may be placed on display for a time, and ownership of the card itself will be determined early next year, perhaps via a raffle. We can't automatically include everyone who dontates this time in the raffle, because New York would've required us to do a filing first, and there wasn't enough time for us to do the filing and get permission before starting the fundraiser.

If We Win and Have Money Left Over

All remaining money will go directly to Book Aid International.

If We Don't Win

All money raised goes to Book Aid International - we are going to be making a donation,
a difference, no matter what - even if it's a buck and a good
wish for the future.

I Don't Have Dollars, I Have Pounds/Euros/Etc. Can I donate?

Yes. PayPal will convert your money to dollars for us - as long as it is in Canadian Dollars, Euros, Pounds Sterling, or Yen. You can even send money (cash, check money order) in your own denomination to our address (listed above), and we will go to a bank and change it for you. If you want to donate via PayPal and your country doesn't use one of the denominations listed above, you can still donate using U.S. dollars, and your bank or credit card company will convert to your denomination as needed.

So, what are we waiting for?

We've had to do a lot of filings, and there is one registration still to come through. We will be ready to go on Tuesday, December 3, 2002, so get the word out!

Thanks in Advance

Because we know you. We cannot wait to show everyone what Harry Potter fans do when they band together. This fandom has always had the potential to do great works. It's time to make one of those choices that show what we truly are.