We are beyond excited to share with you that the NOVA Open Charitable Foundation raised over $90,000 in the Fall Raffle fundraiser ~ almost impossible to manage with just 8 entries. High Five NOCF and everyone who helped and/or supported this incredible success!
The NOCF Board met last night for its annual Year-in-Review conference. An announcement will be posted on the NOCF blog with the total amount of funds raised and how much of those will go to each designated charity. We can share this much today, though: It was a record-breaking year which exceeded all expectations, Pandemic-Interruptus be danged!
Nearly 11,000 orders were placed and over 20,500 tickets were sold throughout the year. These are HUGE numbers which demonstrate an increase of nearly 200% over our best year in 2019!! The Gamer’s Foundation is reaching a wider international audience than ever before and NOCF has a lot of people to thank for that.
This success starts with a great Board of Directors and the most talented and incredibly generous artist in the world – the NOCF Artist Consortium. The Foundation also depends on the sponsors who give so freely of their support and products to the raffles. And, in 2020, some very special YouTubers issued a Call to Arms, with NOCF beneficiaries providing video appreciation to the ALL OF YOU, the international tabletop wargaming community!
NOCF thanks the many people and organizations who came together in spite of a pandemic to create and support its mission, making this world a better place through commonality, compassion, and community. Special appreciation is extended to our supporters and charities, in particular:
Thank you, NOCF Artist Consortium. Every year, you bring your time, talent, and some truly beautiful treasures to our biannual raffles. Your dedication to the mission and continued support overwhelms us. The Miniac Project needed a little help filling army list gaps ahead of the launch and, once again, several of you simply jumped on board to help. You are all awesome! We hope everyone reading this takes time to visit the NOCF Artist page, spending click-and-read time learning more about every one of you ~ signing on the follow your social media platforms, hiring you for commissions, or learning from your tutorials online. You are the heart and soul of NOCF and the reason for its success.
Thank you, NOVA Open Board, Staff and Volunteers. As the sister company to the NOCF, you have underwritten expenses for NOCF fundraising endeavors since our inception in 2013. Even with the convention cancelled, you still found ways in 2020 to substantially assist the Foundation. And thank YOU, NOVA Open volunteers, for always showing up to help the Foundation manage, repair, base, paint, pack . . . and so much more!
Thank you, Paul Murphy, Adam Camilleri, and Josh Diffey of FORGE THE NARRATIVE! You stepped up to help NOCF by hosting and producing virtual closing events for the Summer and Fall raffles. We could not have done it without you. These were needed to replace a giant revenue stream lost to NOVA Open’s cancellation. Both shows brought the gaming community together in a tough year, and grossed $20,000! And you’ve all agreed to do it again whenever asked? How nice is that?!
Thanks to all our Sponsors! You all showed up in 2020 to provide us with product, prizes, models, bases, mats, cash donations, and so much more. NOCF could not run these fundraisers with the 10 cents on a dollar we use to cover PayPal fees and shipping. You and your contributions allow us to cover administrative expenses, business costs and licensing. Thank you, also, for every time you help spread the word about the wonderful work that NOCF and its Artist Consortium do. This is integral to opening up the tabletop wargaming and hobby painting community to the world and inviting everyone to join the fun.
It is our sincere hope all readers will take the time to click the links below and spend time browsing your stores and supporting your businesses.
Thank you, Brent Amberger of Goobertown Hobbies and your Subscribers. When you volunteered to paint for “Crossing the Rubicon,” the NOCF Summer Raffle Blood Angel army, you joined not only that team, but the NOCF Artist Consortium. You also introduced NOCF to the powerful force behind this community’s YouTube subscriber audience. When you featured yourself painting 30 Intercessors in a 24-hour marathon with Miniac and Midwinter Minis, prior to the Summer Raffle launch, NOCF site visits soared. In August, before the season ended, you posted a Goobertown tutorial on working with NOCF and how to paint Blood Angels – and sales soared! These videos busted all-time records at the Foundation and set the bar high! When NOCF asked for help getting the word out about our Fall Raffles, you did not hesitate and again impacted the most successful season raffle ever ~ one, in fairness, NOCF had no reason to expect in this particular year. Welcome and Thank You.
Thank you, Scott ‘Miniac’ Walter and your amazing YouTube subscribers. You brought a great charitable idea to NOCF, inspiring the Board, its Artist Consortium, Chris Stover, and NOVA volunteers to work with dozens of Miniac volunteer painters to accomplish the Massive Miniac Project. You brought your Big talent, a Big idea, and a Big audience and a Huge heart to the table. More than 110 Miniacs participated in the purchase, paint, and shipping of the models necessary to create FOUR (4) Mournival 9th Ed armies. Special thanks, also, to Duncan Rhodes and Guy at Midinter Minis, who helped you create the paint schemes for each army. The generosity and compassion of the wargaming hobby community is well-known, but your “Call to Arms” video brought its fundraising ability to new, unbelievable heights.
Doctors Without Borders, Fisher House Foundation, and Breast Cancer Research Foundation are the beneficiaries of Miniac’s largesse.
Thank you, Dave Nordquist, and the MiniWarGaming community. NOCF reached out to you for some last-minute help this fall rallying the masses and spreading the word. We were awed by the speed with which you engaged MiniWarGamers, and blessed by their generous reaction! It’s being whispered in the boardroom that you offered your help as we move forward into 2021. We are a fortunate organization to have such renowned support. We hope to bring even more fans to your doorstep.
NOCF is "The Gamer's Foundation." Its mission is to represent this community and present it to the world as the generous and compassionate force it is. In its 7-year history, NOCF has donated $305,000 to world-changing charitable organizations. This was done primarily through raffle ticket sales of miniatures, by miniature artists, to miniature players. Each person who participated made a difference, but together this community has impacted the world. The charities you support through NOCF have taken the time to acknowledge your contributions to their work, and to thank you personally. NOCF could not be prouder. You, the worldwide tabletop wargamers and hobbyists, are positively affecting the people and the world around us through your love of tabletop games, miniature painting, and fundraising for charity.
Each of our main charities recorded personal video messages for the NOCF live event on DEC 4th. If you’d like to see and hear what they had to say, click on the charity name/time stamp links below.
Thanks to all those who made direct donations to NOCF this year. Donors provided $4,000 in 2020, and it is the ability to operate using these funds which allows 90% of every dollar raised in the raffles to support our designated charities. NOCF and its beneficiaries are grateful for the amazing altruism of those in this community who recognize this mission by making cash donations.