A followup: CCF and D&D

[womzilla]

According to several sources, representatives from the charity Christian Children's Fund have made a number of statements about their rejection of $17,000 raised by GenCon in the memory of Gary Gygax. Here's the boilerplate text sent to most questioners:

Christian Children’s Fund made the decision to decline the gift from Gen Con, LLC as the request presented to us gave the appearance that CCF (the organization) was an endorser or supporter of a gaming convention, which CCF was not. As many non-profit organizations, CCF is selective in its endorsements or support in order to maintain the integrity of its name and logo. We cannot lend our name to an event for which we have no involvement. This decision should in no way be interpreted as CCF holding an opinion on Mr. Gygax, gaming enthusiasts or the game Dungeons and Dragons.

The most forgiving interpretation is that the whole thing was a big misunderstanding--that GenCon had asked for something that CCF had interpreted as "endorse our convention because we're giving you money", and both sides failed to clarify. The least forgiving interpretation is that CCF said "bugger off, you big cootie-filled demon-worshipers" are are now trying to walk it back. (A slightly less awful interpretation, which is the one presented in the Rich Burlew post linked above, is that a specific individual at CCF had that reaction and now the rest of the charity is trying to cover for them.)

I think that it is reasonable to honor a person by donating to their favorite charity. I think it is also very nice of the CCF to now be saying "We never meant to say you were covered in cooties." I think it would be a good idea for the next GenCon to donate to CCF to reward them for at least apologizing, but then to think seriously about benefitting other charities.

[ETA: Escapist Magazine has a separate statement from Cheri Dahl, vice president of international communications and fund raising at CCF which is more explicitly apologetic, though it still doesn't reach the point of saying "we screwed this up":

When GenCon contacted CCF about its auction, we were pleased to accept donations. However, we couldn't lend our name for publication because our policies have specific criteria for endorsements. . . . We were unaware that this had caused any problem or concern for GenCon until we began receiving emails. . . . This decision was in no way intended to be a reflection on Mr. Gygax, gaming enthusiasts or the game Dungeon and Dragons. . . . We have the utmost respect for the gaming community and were touched by the generosity expressed through your auction. We were disappointed that we were not the recipients of the donation but we were pleased that another worthy organization benefited.

]

Comments

[womzilla.livejournal.com]

There's a statement from CCF, which Burlew quoted in part in the linked article:

When Gen Con contacted CCF about its auction, we were pleased to accept donations. However, we couldn't lend our name for publication because our policies have specific criteria for endorsements. We were unaware that this had caused any problem or concern for Gen Con until we began receiving emails. This decision was in no way intended to be a reflection on Mr. Gygax, gaming enthusiasts or the game Dungeon and Dragons. We have the utmost respect for the gaming community and were touched by the generosity expressed through your auction.

That's enough like an apology* that I'm inclined to treat it as one.

*The only thing missing from this that would be in a true apology is admission of wrongdoing. But it's looking more possible to me that someone at Gen Con or Live Auctions misunderstood CCF's first communication and completely dropped the issue without clarification.

[womzilla.livejournal.com]

I should have said "A Vice President of CCF said"... and provided the link, instead of just saying "There's a statement from CCF..." in my response above. So I've added that and the quote to my original post.