Con or Bust @con-or-bust - Tumblr Blog

An Update on what's been going on

Hello all,

Sorry for the radio silence from us for so long. Life happens, people move on and websites go down. As you may have seen from twitter, we need help to keep Con-Or-Bust running. We are in need of the following positions most urgently:

Interim President

Treasurer

As you may have noticed, we did not do the Fall Auction, and we have gotten inquiries about the Spring auction. We need help to do that, so if you have time and will do the work, drop us a note at [email protected] with Volunteer or Join Board in the subject line. For right now, we’re trying to keep things afloat, get back to operating at full capacity and getting back to our mission, which is getting folks to conventions who wouldn’t have an opportunity to attend cons like WisCon, WorldCon and more.

Thank you all so much for your patience while we figure it out and try to get back on course.

The Con-Or-Bust Org

Thanks and farewell

Just over ten years ago, I started Con or Bust—so long ago that we were not only on LiveJournal, but we stayed there for several years. I’ve announced this before, but now it’s official: today was my last day as part of Con or Bust.

I’m very grateful to all the people who’ve made this possible over the last ten years: even someone with an overdeveloped sense of responsibility like me couldn’t have done this without help! Thanks to the Carl Brandon Society, which was Con or Bust’s home before we became a separate corporation; Elizabeth R. McClellan, Philip Weiss, Jaymee, and Yoon Ha Lee, who provided critical administrative help at various points; and all the Board members, past and present. And, of course, to all of you, who donated, gave feedback, spread the word, and generally were wonderfully supportive over a full decade of this project. Con or Bust has taught me that people want to help and are very willing to do so, especially when asked, and that’s a really great thing to have found to be true.

The new Board will update with their plans in due course, and I know that they are thoughtfully planning to put Con or Bust on a sustainable path. In the meantime, I hope to see you at conventions and/or around and about on the Internets; thanks again, and best wishes.

free memberships available now to Norwescon (April 2019, Seattle)

Fans of color/non-white fans: the following new free memberships are available, first-come first-serve:

(new!) Norwescon, April 18–21, 2019, Seattle, WA, USA (@norwescon).

Norwescon is the Pacific Northwest’s premier science fiction and fantasy convention and one of the largest regional science fiction and fantasy conventions in the United States. Its theme is “Don’t Forget Your Towel” and its Guests of Honor are Mary Robinette Kowal (Writer), Tran Nguyen (Artist), Dan Koboldt (Science), Nancy Pearl (Special), Neil Clarke (Honored Professional) and Subterranean Press (Spotlight Publisher).

Norwescon has donated fifteen memberships, to be claimed by March 31, 2019.

Norwescon’s Harassment Policy.

To learn how to request assistance, see the Request Assistance page. For the most up-to-date list of cons to which assistance is available, see the Upcoming Cons page.

Thanks, and please spread the word!

get free memberships now (right now!) to FOGcon, Penguicon, CrossingsCon

Fans of color/non-white fans: the following non-new free memberships are still available, first-come first-serve, but need to be claimed VERY soon:

FOGcon, March 8-10, 2019, Walnut Creek, CA, USA. (@Fogconvention).

Friends of the Genre (FOGcon) is a literary-themed San Francisco Bay Area SF/F con in the tradition of Wiscon. Its 2019 Theme is Friendship and its Honored Guests are Karen Joy Fowler and Becky Chambers.

FOGcon has donated five memberships, to be claimed by March 1, 2019.

FOGcon Harassment Policy.

Penguicon, May 3-5, 2019, Southfield, MI, USA (@Penguicon).

Penguicon is a non-profit, community-run convention for open source software and hardware, science fiction, gaming, DIY, cosplay, and more! Its Guest of Honor is Saladin Ahmed.

An individual has donated two memberships to Penguicon, which should be claimed by the close of pre-registration, April 12, 2019.

Penguicon 2019 Code of Conduct.

CrossingsCon, June 21-23, 2019, Montreal, QC, Canada (@crossingscon).

CrossingsCon is this universe’s only convention founded on Diane Duane’s Young Wizards. Its 2019 Guest of Honor is Diane Duane herself.

CrossingsCon has donated two full-weekend badges to Con or Bust; one remains to be claimed by February 28, 2019.

CrossingsCon’s Rules and Policies.

To learn how to request assistance, see the Request Assistance page. For the most up-to-date list of cons to which assistance is available, see the Upcoming Cons page.

Thanks, and please spread the word!

new memberships available now to WhimsyCon (this weekend), Minicon, Locus Awards Weekend

Fans of color/non-white fans: the following new free memberships are available, first-come first-serve:

WhimsyCon, March 1 – 3, 2019, Denver, CO, USA (@ShinyGardenGeek).

WhimsyCon is Denver’s Steampunk and Costuming Convention. Its Author & Artist Guest of Honor is Roberto Rodriguez Calas, and its Costuming Guest of Honor is Erin Card.

WhimsyCon has donated twenty passes, to be claimed by the start of the con. (The delay in announcing this is entirely my fault, unfortunately; apologies.)

WhimsyCon is hosted by Shiny Garden, which has a Code of Conduct and a Safe Space Policy & Anti-Harassment Policy (among others).

Minicon, April 19-21, 2019, Minneapolis, MN, USA (@minicon).

Attendees of Minicon can expect to find a full slate of programming (panel discussions, readings, signings, etc.), costuming, films, gaming (open and organized), a teen lounge, an art show, dealers, kids’ programming, a science room, filk and folk music, a consuite and bar, room parties, and various special events. The theme for Minicon this year is “Purple.” The Guests of Honor are Naomi Kritzer and Dave DeVries.

Minicon has donated four adult memberships and six student or kid memberships. They should be claimed by March 15, 2019.

Minicon’s Code of Conduct.

The Locus Awards Weekend, June 28-30, 2019, Seattle, WA, USA (@locusmag).

The Locus Awards Weekend includes readings, a kickoff party hosted by Clarion West for instructor Elizabeth Hand (the first of their six summer parties honoring 2019 instructors), panels with leading authors, an autograph session, the lunch banquet, and a Hawaiian shirt plus trivia contest judged by the fabulous Connie Willis, who will MC the ceremony and present the Locus Awards, and more!

Locus has donated two memberships, to be claimed by June 18, 2019.

To learn how to request assistance, see the Request Assistance page. For the most up-to-date list of cons to which assistance is available, see the Upcoming Cons page.

Thanks, and please spread the word!

available now: free memberships to Sirens, October 2019, CO, USA

Fans of color/non-white fans: the following new free memberships can be requested now through February 10th (and thereafter in May):

(new!) Sirens, October 24–27, 2019, Denver, CO, USA (@sirens_con).

Sirens is a conference dedicated to dedicated to discussing and celebrating the remarkable, diverse women of fantasy literature. Its 2019 theme is heroes, specifically those women and nonbinary people who are so often denied the title of “hero,” but whose heroism saves the world anyway. Its guests of honor are Mishell Baker, Ausma Zehanat Khan, Rebecca Roanhorse, and Dr. Suzanne Scott; its Sirens Studio guest of honor is Roshani Chokshi.

Sirens has donated three sets of conference registrations plus round-trip shuttle tickets between Denver International Airport and the conference hotel. The registrations do not include the pre-conference Sirens Studio and Sirens Supper. They are to be claimed by October 24, 2019.

Sirens’ anti-harassment policy.

To learn how to request assistance, see the Request Assistance page. For the most up-to-date list of cons to which assistance is available, see the Upcoming Cons page.

Thanks, and please spread the word!

Con or Bust looking for unwanted Dublin 2019 memberships

If you have an attending membership for this year’s WorldCon, Dublin 2019, that you won’t be using, please consider donating it to Con or Bust? Dublin graciously donated a dozen, and we’ve received three more from individuals–but I’ve already received more requests than we have to spare, and there’s still a week to go in this present time for people to request assistance.

So, if you’d like to transfer your attending membership to Con or Bust, please email [email protected] with your name & membership number and put in the request–you can cc [email protected] if you like, so we know it’s coming, but that’s not necessary.

Thanks, and please spread the word!

request assistance now through February 10th, including to Nebula Conference

Fans of color/non-white fans: you can request assistance to any upcoming science fiction, fantasy, or speculative fiction convention now through February 10, 2019.

There is also money available that has been earmarked to help fans of color attend the 2019 SFWA Nebula Conference (May 16-19, 2019, Woodland Hills, CA, USA).

To learn how to request assistance, see the Request Assistance page. For the most up-to-date list of cons to which assistance is available, see the Upcoming Cons page.

Thanks, and please spread the word!

Con or Bust's 2018 annual report

I’m pleased to announce that the Board has adopted Con or Bust’s 2018 annual report, which can be read in full over at Google Docs.

In brief, the annual report shows that in 2018, Con or Bust committed to provide assistance for people of color/non-white people to attend SFF cons 131 times. The assistance took the form of $25,643.08 in monetary assistance (some of which will be distributed in 2019) and 119 instances of non-monetary assistance (donated memberships, transportation, hotel room nights, and flight miles).

Our total income was $26,947.07, and total expenditures were $16,013.98. Administrative expenses were 2.6% of total expenditures. The money remaining on hand will be used for assistance committed in 2018, assistance that will be committed in February 2019, and upcoming administrative expenses.

If you have any questions, please comment. Thanks!

(And yes, I just have belatedly remembered that not everyone can access stuff on Google Docs; my apologies, and I’ll move all the corporate docs over into WordPress soon.)

reminder: apply to join Con or Bust's Board of Directors by this Friday

Reminder: Con or Bust is looking for up to four people to join the Board of Directors! If you’re interested, please see the announcement post for information, and get your statements of interest in by this Friday, January 25, 2019. (No particular time; when I wake up Saturday morning, I’ll just start determining what scheduling needs to be done.)

Thanks, and please spread the word!

FOGcon flight assistance available now

Fans of color/non-white fans: the following new assistance is available now, first-come first-serve:

FOGcon, March 8-10, 2019, Walnut Creek, CA, USA. (@Fogconvention).

FOGcon has donated five memberships, to be claimed by March 1, 2019.

(new!) In addition, an individual has donated airline miles for a single domestic (U.S.) round-trip flight, to be claimed by February 22, 2019.

FOGcon Harassment Policy.

If you need ONLY the airline miles (and a membership), you may request it immediately. If you need airline miles PLUS additional monetary assistance (for the hotel, for instance), you must wait until February 1st-10th.

To learn how to request assistance, see the Request Assistance page. For the most up-to-date list of cons to which assistance is available, see the Upcoming Cons page.

Thanks, and please spread the word!

reminder: new Con or Bust Board of Director members wanted!

Reminder: Con or Bust is looking for up to four people to join the Board of Directors! As of March, I’ll be stepping down and we’ll be down to just three, which is the minimum under our bylaws and, honestly, not enough to be sustainable. If you’re interested, please see the announcement post for information. Short statements of interest should be emailed to [email protected] by Friday, January 25, 2019.

Thanks, and please spread the word!

reminder: request assistance February 1st-10th, 2019

Fans of color/non-white fans: you can request assistance for all upcoming SFF cons from February 1st-10th, 2019. This includes the SFWA Nebula Conference, for which there are dedicated funds available from a grant, as well as many other cons that have donated memberships–but a con doesn’t have to be on the list for you to request assistance!

For details, see the Request Assistance page. For the most up-to-date list of cons to which assistance is available, see the Upcoming Cons page.

Thanks, and please spread the word!

FYI: The Fantastic Dublin Fund for WorldCon 2019

Dublin 2019, this year’s WorldCon, has announced the Fantastic Dublin Fund, which will provide assistance to Irish fans of limited financial means, members of the Irish Traveller community, and programme participants from marginalised communities/participants of colour–in addition to the memberships it’s already donated to Con or Bust.

Please note that Dublin 2019’s assistance for persons of color/persons from marginalised communities is for programme participants specifically, while Con or Bust’s assistance does not take into account whether people will be on program. See Dublin 2019’s page for its own application procedures, or to donate.

POC hoping to attend Dublin 2019–and any other upcoming SFF con–can request assistance from Con or Bust during February 1st-10th, 2019. (Please note that this includes memberships only; they’re only available during this period. If we have any left after February, they’ll go first-come first-serve then.) For more information, see the Request Assistance page. For the most up-to-date list of cons to which assistance is available, see the Upcoming Cons page.

Thanks, and please spread the word!

Help shape Con or Bust's future: join the Board of Directors!

If you value Con or Bust’s work, now’s a great time to get involved: at the end of January, up to four people can join Mark Oshiro, Tanya DePass, and Lulu Kadhim on our Board of Directors. I will be stepping down on the grounds that a decade is long enough (obligatory Grosse Pointe Blank reference), so this is a genuine opportunity to shape Con or Bust’s future and help it continue its work.

If you’re interested, please read on, and then email a short statement of interest to [email protected] by Friday, January 25, 2019. (We are holding elections extra-early this year to allow for plenty of transition time.)

What are the requirements for being on the Board?

Board members must be 18 years of age or older.

Board members must abide by Con or Bust’s conflict of interest policy, which principally prohibits Board members and their relatives from receiving Con or Bust assistance during their service on the Board and for one year after.

Though Con or Bust is incorporated in New York, Board members are not required to live in New York or in the United States, or to be citizens of New York or the United States. Nor is being in the U.S. necessary from a practical standpoint: Board business is conducted by email and Skype.

What does being on the Board involve?

That’s up to the new Board members to decide. In the past, I handled all the day-to-day business, and the rest of the Board reviewed and approved requests for assistance quarterly, and provided advice, suggestions, and approvals regarding policy changes as-needed. The day-to-day business consisted of: the auction, yearly; administering requests for monetary assistance, quarterly; balancing the books, monthly; and general question-answering and email-fielding, weekly-ish.

However, that state of affairs was the result of (1) Con or Bust’s origin as a single-person project and (2) my control-freak tendencies. Since I’m stepping down, the new Board will determine what works best for its members.

Board members are elected for a term of three years.

How are Board members elected?

By majority vote of the continuing members, Mark Oshiro, Tanya DePass, and Lulu Kadhim. They will read over the statements submitted by Board candidates and, if they decide it would be helpful, conduct interviews via Skype toward the end of January.

Up to four members can be elected, since the Board can have up to seven members total.

If you’re interested, please email a short statement to [email protected] by Friday, January 25, 2019, saying who you are and why you want to serve on the Board.

And even if you’re not interested, please spread the word!

one free JoCo Cruise 2019 cabin left

Fans of color/non-white fans: the following assistance is available now, first-come first-serve:

JoCo Cruise 2019, March 9-16, 2019, departing Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA (@jococruise).

JoCo Cruise 2019 is a whole cruise ship (Holland America’s ms Oosterdam) full of music, comedy, and general nerdery; it will be stopping in the Bahamas, Tortola and San Juan. This year’s cruise is sold out.

Five cabins have been donated, and one remains available: four donated by JoCo, and one donated in loving memory of Gary Hintermeier. The cabins are Verandah (balcony) cabins, and come with lodging, meals and drinks (but not alcohol or soft drinks), and access to all programming. Recipients must have a passport (or other appropriate document) valid through at least September 16, 2019 (more information). Recipients must not have been on a JoCo Cruise previously.

The remaining cabin fits up to three people, and must be claimed by December 31, 2018.

Please note: if you need monetary assistance to get to Fort Lauderdale, or to stay at a hotel the nights before & after sailing, then you should not request this membership. Monetary assistance can next be requested during February 1st-10th, 2019, which is after the deadline to request this cabin.

JoCo Cruise’s Code of Conduct.

To learn how to request assistance, see the Request Assistance page. For the most up-to-date list of cons to which assistance is available, see the Upcoming Cons page.

Thanks, and please spread the word!

PayPal donation match through the end of 2018

If you’d like to support Con or Bust with a donation through the end of 2018, and you have a U.S. PayPal account, you can take advantage of a PayPal donation match: donate through Con or Bust’s page at the Giving Fund, and PayPal will add 1% to your donation. These donations also have no fees, so literally 101% of your donation will come directly to Con or Bust.

If you don’t have a U.S. PayPal account, there are lots of other ways to support Con or Bust. Thanks, and please spread the word!

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