Home
We forward
100% of donations to
the projects.
Our projects
break free of
aid dependency.

Author archives: Denis Drescher

Seeds of Kindness Newsletter #6

Great thanks to all of you who have set up monthly donations for Seeds of Kindness! You are helping to bring forth great change, and allowing the Against Malaria Foundation to plan its future budget.

If you would like to set up monthly donations too, please do so through our fund-raiser:

sok.yoursiblings.org

A lot has happened within the effective altruism movement recently:

  1. Our Bound Together comic anthology is rapidly taking shape, and some artists have independently published WIPs and previews. Check out their portfolios in our original announcement. Preorders are still open.
  2. Peter Hurford’s great fundraising tips offer advice if you’d like to contribute to Seeds of Kindness but don’t have the financial means to make substantial donations yourself. Good luck with your event!
  3. The “2015 Gates Annual Letter” has been published. It addresses important topics such as opportunities for health and financial security for the poorest in the next fifteen years. The letter calls for “informed, passionate individuals working together to form effective movements for change. People who care about helping those in the world’s poorest places improve their lives. We call them global citizens.” That’s you!
  4. Six new studies show the ...

Continue reading

€38278 funded

Bound Together: The Comic and Art Anthology for Charity

Bound Together

We are excited to announce the upcoming release of Bound Together, an original charity comic and art anthology. Bringing together a team of some of the best artists in the fandom, this high-quality, full color and professionally printed book will feature up to 64 pages of pony comic stories and individual art pieces that will inspire and delight. Based around the themes of teamwork and togetherness and in the spirit of our favorite pony show, it will be thoroughly enjoyable to readers of all ages. All profits will go towards the Against Malaria Foundation's outstanding prevention program.

The artists who are making this binding spell possible are: Kefkafloyd (project director), Adlynh, Bakertoons, Jowybean, Leekfish, Muffinshire, Pixelkitties, Ponywise, Sofas And Quills, Spectralunicorn, Starry Night, and Steve Holt!

How Can I Get It?

The book is primarily intended for the convention scene and will be available at most major American and European MLP conventions, debuting at BABSCon on April 3, 2015.

However, for people who cannot attend conventions and in order to help us cover the costs of printing the books, we will also ship a limited amount of books to people who preorder. The special preorder price is $25 plus ...

Continue reading

€38278 funded

2015: Seeds of Kindness Year Against Malaria

Welcome to 2015, the year of our charity album Shine Together and our Seeds of Kindness program for the Against Malaria Foundation!

Donate to Seeds of Kindness

shine-together.banner.png

No teleportation needed. Since the launch of our fund-raiser in late December, we’ve received donations from smart and empathetic folks in Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the US, the UK, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Russia, Brazil, Poland, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Sweden, Australia, Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, and more—donations from all over the globe! Many thanks to all of you!

Distances are no hurdle anymore for us band together to do good in the world. Thus it’s all the more important today to make sure that we care about the struggles of people in far-off countries as much as we care about the people in our street.

In fact, there are great opportunities for us to help people in some of these countries, opportunities that, luckily, do not exist in Europe or in the US. Malaria is extremely easy to prevent. A mosquito net for just $3 greatly diminishes the risk for a person to contract malaria. Distributing just a few hundred of these nets will save ...

Continue reading

€38278 funded

Seeds of Kindness: A Princess Carol Charity Album

Hearth’s Warming Eve

Buck tradition! Well, apart from the tradition that every year at Christmas it is time to release another piece of the A Princess Carol project—all for one of only four top effective charities of the world: the Against Malaria Foundation.

After the release of “What Land is This” by MEMJ0123, Scraticus, and Luxumbra in 2012, and the release of the full A Princess Carol audio play in 2013, we are now honored to be allowed to announce to the fandom that the album of all carols from the audio play (including alternative versions) is about to be released!

Release of A Princess Carol Charity Album
Thursday, December 25, 2014, at 2 p.m. EST (7 p.m. UTC)
on sok.yoursiblings.org

If you read this before the release, then feel free to donate now and download the album right away as it becomes available!

This album will be released as an extra thank you to our donors on top of the Seeds of Kindness charity album Shine Together, which we released just a few days ago. Your donation will make you eligible for both of these terpsichorean marvels as well as all our past charity albums!

A Princess ...

Continue reading

€38278 funded

Last Reminder: Shine Together Album Premiere with Donation Matching

A new fund-raising initiative is about to launch: Seeds of Kindness: Shine Together! Like our previous iterations of Seeds of Kindness, this fourth one is going to reach out through multiple conventions, pony fandom livestreams, giveaways, and other spectacular events all throughout 2015. This year, we are pleased to kick off this fund-raiser for the Against Malaria Foundation with our fifth charity album: Shine Together.

Shine Together Release Party
Saturday, December 20, 2014, at 6 p.m. EST (11 p.m. UTC)
on events.yoursiblings.org

The album drops on December 20, and we are having a livestream party hosted by Ponyville FM to celebrate! For the limited time of the stream, an anonymous donor has agreed to match all donations up to $1,000, so tune in and donate, and it’ll count double!

The album. Shine Together is the culmination of months of effort on the part of many dedicated fandom musicians. Featuring twenty-two tracks of folk, rock, orchestral, and electronic jams recorded by charity album veterans and new blood alike, Shine Together offers over an hour of uplifting tunes.

We’re offering up this and our previous four albums for any donation at all that you feel ...

Continue reading

€38278 funded

Seeds of Kindness: Shine Together Charity Album Premiere with Donation Matching

Conquering malaria is a mighty undertaking. Only together we stand a chance!

The Ponyville FM premiere of our fifth charity album since 2011, Shine Together, marks the launch of our new Seeds of Kindness fund-raiser for 2014 and 2015, which is going to reach out through multiple conventions, pony celebrity livestreams, giveaways, and other spectacular events. All donations go to the Against Malaria Foundation.

Shine Together Release Party
Saturday, December 20, 2014, at 6 p.m. EST (11 p.m. UTC)
on events.yoursiblings.org

For the limited time of the premiere stream, an anonymous donor has agreed to match all donations up to $1,000, so if you tune in and donate right away, your donation counts double!

The album. Shine Together is the culmination of months of effort on the part of many dedicated fandom musicians. Over an hour of tasty jams recorded by charity album veterans and new blood alike, Shine Together offers over an hour of uplifting tunes.

Bronies for Good is offering up this and its previous four albums for free, facilitating donations toward the Against Malaria Foundation on good will!

The charity. Half the world’s population is at risk of ...

Continue reading

€38278 funded

Against Malaria Foundation Back in GiveWell Pole Position

December 1, 2014, is an early, secular Christmas for effective altruists, because today is the day the charity prioritization organizations GiveWell and Animal Charity Evaluators published their new recommendations!

Of particular relevance to us are the recommendations of GiveWell because we committed in our planning for 2015 and maybe beyond to supporting the Against Malaria Foundation (AMF) and did so at a time when GiveWell’s demotion of AMF for reasons of limited room for more funding had still been in effect. Our research indicated that since the time of the downgrading, AMF had successfully disproved GiveWell’s wider concerns and successfully allocated substantial amounts of its funding. Because of these developments, AMF’s exemplary combination of minimal uncertainties and extreme cost-effectiveness, as well as a few marginal factors, we’ve opted to put all our efforts into supporting AMF. Today, GiveWell has vindicated our decision.

You can donate to the Against Malaria Foundation through their website and in particular through our page. (Also linked to the right.)

In GiveWell’s blog article on the ratings update, it now recommends that of every $7.5 given, the donors allocate $5 to AMF with the remaining $2.5 divvied up (not ...

Continue reading

€38278 funded

Last Reminder: Donate Doubly with Nicole Oliver and Ingrid Nilson

charity-chitchat-2.banner.png

Charity Chitchat 2
on November 15 at 5:30 p.m. EST (10:30 p.m. UTC)
on events.yoursiblings.org
with Nicole Oliver, Ingrid Nilson,
and donation matching!

The chitchat. While a scheduling conflict prevents Maud Pie from meeting Princess Celestia and Cheerilee, all of them will meet you! Oh, and Boulder too!

Nicole Oliver and Ingrid Nilson have agreed to join us for two one-hour interviews from 6 p.m. EST and 8:30 p.m. EST respectively to chitchat with our Ponyville Live hosts about their profession, life, and whatever other topics you suggest in the viewer chat, so be at your best behavior!

The charity. Charity Chitchat 2 will benefit the Against Malaria Foundation, who provide life-saving mosquito nets in regions ravaged by malaria. These insecticide-treated bed nets are one of the most cost-effective interventions in existence. Few other charities can save as many lives with your donation!

The donation matching. As if the charisma of Nicole Oliver and Ingrid Nilson wasn’t enough reason to fund a few dozen life-saving malaria nets at once, an anonymous donor has also agreed to match donations up to $1,465 during the time of the stream. Your $3 ...

Continue reading

€38278 funded

Charity Chitchat 2: Donation Matching With Nicole Oliver and Ingrid Nilson

Charity Chitchat 2

November 15 at 5:30 p.m. EST (10:30 p.m. UTC) on events.yoursiblings.org

with Nicole Oliver, Ingrid Nilson, and donation matching!

The clinic project. Maud Pie would be proud: We’ve reached a new milestone! You, our generous donors, have fully funded the renovation of the house that will generate a reliable income for Child Need Africa’s clinic in Uganda! This means that now all further donations can already go to the Against Malaria Foundation.

The chitchat. And speaking of Maud Pie, she is about to meet Princess Celestia and Cheerilee! Nicole Oliver and Ingrid Nilson have agreed to join us for one hour starting at 6 p.m. EST to talk with each other and our Ponyville Live hosts about their profession, life, and whatever other topics you suggest in the viewer chat.

Do you still remember how, in late 2011, Friendship is Madness brought to light that Nicole Oliver is the voice of Cheerilee as well? Surely Charity Chitchat 2 will be full of surprises, too!

The donation matching. As if the charisma of Nicole Oliver and Ingrid Nilson wasn’t enough reason to fund a few dozen life-saving malaria nets at once ...

Continue reading

€38278 funded
€8710 of €8710 funded

Musicians Wanted for Seeds of Kindness 4: Shine Together

About two months are left to the release of Shine Together, our fifth charity album!

Thanks to the tremendous work of the music community, the ongoing Seeds of Kindness 3 fund-raiser together with our three previous fund-raisers have raised about $150,000 from online donations alone, supporting various Your Siblings and Engineers Without Borders projects in Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania. We incorporated a few suggestions and rule changes to make this work even better for the musicians, and we would like to ask for your help to support the outstanding work of the Against Malaria Foundation!

Soft deadline: November 22nd, 2014
Hard deadline: December 10th, 2014
Release date: December 20th, 2014

The Charity. There is no middle man. All the money donated will go directly to the Against Malaria Foundation and will only be used to purchase insecticide-treated nets (LLINs). Donations will be tax-deductible in the US, Canada, and most of Western Europe. Each donation will be publicly allocated to a specific program and extensive tracking, predistribution, and postdistribution reports will be published online.

Half the world’s population is at risk of malaria. In 2012, about 627,000 people died of the disease, the equivalent of four Boeing 747 ...

Continue reading

€38278 funded