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Fundraising Update #1: Autostraddle Raises 40K In 21 Hours, Still Has 44 Fun-Filled Days Ahead

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You did it! You raised enough money to buy us a brand spankin' new website for our website! In less than 21 hours, Autostraddle readers raised over $40,000.

this was what it looked like at around noon pst on wednesday

First we gave you kiddens, now we're throwing you a gif party!

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But wait! There are still 44 days left in this fundraising campaign, and we could always use more funds, so why stop at $40,000? To keep the ball rolling and your expectations on high alert, we're coming up with some additional milestones. A reader wisely pointed out to Riese in the comments on the Indiegogo page:

"make it an even $100,000 in 45 days. Don’t be afraid to make an ask like that—especially after you’ve seen what 24 hours can do. If you’re feeling modest, Riese, let your readership propose: $100,000 IN 45 DAYS."

So here's the plan! Firstly, as promised, Alex will be doing a dance. Not just any dance -- she'll be making a "Call Your Girlfriend" dance video! It'll be epic and probably your whole life will change.

Furthermore, if we hit $100,000 Alex will get a tattoo of Tinkerbell on her ass, using the same design pictured on this page (Alex and Riese sold buttons via Riese's blog in 2008!)! This will also be epic.

We've been brainstorming all day, thinking of things we could do for you when we reach additional milestones. Ideas are ranging from Riese actually updating her personal blog, to Formspring Friday live (via livestream!), to you all choosing our content for a day based on what you've always wanted this or that or any person to write about. Videos have been a popular suggestion.

Let's aim for the stars!

Take a look at these suggestions on Tumblr, then tell us what you want for every $10k after our goal. Ftr I'm all about NSFW Sunday coloring pages.

 

 

103 responses to “Fundraising Update #1: Autostraddle Raises 40K In 21 Hours, Still Has 44 Fun-Filled Days Ahead”

  1. Rachel

    Omgomgdeepbreath its tina fey and Amy and glee and clueless and mscl and jbeals and LiLo in the one post! #lifemade. Although I’m wondering if reading autostraddle excessively has brainwashed me into caring about all these things do much? So theres a thought…

    Thumb up 4
    1. riese

      i tried to pick gifs that were relevant to your interests

      Thumb up 8
      1. Jay

        Muppets are HUGELY relevant to my interests. So is my favortie website getting the support they really deserve.

        Thumb up 4
  2. Rachel

    Wait a minute, updated Autowin post?!?!?! I WILL ACTUALLY GO TO THE BANK, GET A LOAN OF £5000 AND GIVE IT TO YOU FOR AN UPDATED AUTOWIN POST. ACTUALLY.

    Thumb up 17
    1. riese

      this is promising!

      Thumb up 1
  3. Mich

    Liz Lemon and Leslie Knope gifs in the same post? You just made my day, autostraddle.

    Thumb up 3
  4. fawksfyre

    Looking at the JBeals GIF made me realize how much I miss The L Word.

    Thumb up 6
  5. Allie

    Holy fuck Autostraddle underwear may possibly be the best idea ever. The only issue may be trying to figure out whose is whose afterwards…

    Wow! Thumb up 44
    1. Grace_B

      I SECOND THIS

      Thumb up 1
  6. antiant

    Can we please have a “You do me” panties/boy shorts/underoo’s/lingerie, etc option to wear underneath our “You do you” shirts? That would be dope.

    Wow! Thumb up 55
    1. Sim

      I second this motion. Heartily.

      Thumb up 5
    2. Abby

      Want!

      Thumb up 3
    3. Jocelyn

      Yes!

      Thumb up 2
    4. a;ex

      Holy shit “You do me” is absolutely brilliant.

      Thumb up 9
      1. antiant

        Do ittttttt!!!!

        Thumb up 1
    5. Shannon

      Oh my god YES

      Thumb up 1
    6. turtle

      i do you?

      Thumb up 3
    7. Grace_B

      A “you do you” binder would be sick, speaking of under our shirts. Although i don’t know how that would sell. But I like flashy binders!

      Thumb up 1
      1. Baiyune

        Seconded! Always wanted one of those fancy binders, and this’d give me the excuse I need to buy one!

        Thumb up 1
    8. Sandra

      You are a real life genius.

      Thumb up 1
  7. dizzy

    Alex if you decide you don’t want Tinkerbell’s face on your butt I feel the “I totes heart rock bottom” design you did could be a suitable alternative.

    All the way to 100k, baby :D

    Thumb up 8
    1. a;ex

      lolz I get it! “bottom”!

      Thumb up 4
  8. Northern Barbarian

    Good move — you rock! Why should the boys have all the money?

    Thumb up 3
  9. Creatrix Tiara

    What I would like to see is what the extra money could contribute to the site. I remember when Double Fine was fundraising for their new game they had stuff like $x allows the game to be on all OSes, $y allows the game to be translated into this many languages, etc. You’ve mentioned stuff like being able to pay writers more and getting new media equipment, but actually breaking that down would help us imagine it and give us something to aim for.

    I personally would like a tips section or some way for us to write up & contribute news that we think would be relevant to AS readers. I think Feministing has something similar? Then if the current editorial team want to build up on that and post it to the front page they can – and half the work is done already.

    Thumb up 18
    1. Cassandra

      Yes! Telling us what $50,000 would allow you to do, $60,000 etc would be great and help keep the momentum going.

      Thumb up 4
    2. Meer

      Yes! Like at $50,000 (almost there anyway!) you get Final Cut Pro, or so-and-so can become a paid staff instead of a volunteer. And you could do this in addition to perks for us if people still want them?

      IDK like we love you guys so much I think this would make every one happy.

      Thumb up 6
      1. riese

        okay! i am going to do this!!

        Thumb up 5
        1. riese

          i just want to state that sitting here with my calculator writing down amounts of money i would like to give to actual human beings who bleed/sweat/cry all over this site and have for years makes me happier than unicorns

          Thumb up 15
    3. pennytron

      Agreed.

      Think the livestream Formspring Friday idea sounds great – and it rocks that $40k was raised in less than one day – but yes: methinks proposing specific goals/results for the $100k (and perhaps even at different milestones along the way, also as stated by Cassandra and Meer) will motivate Autostraddlers to give more to the campaign.

      (And I love the “You do me” underwear idea, but that pretty much goes without saying.)

      Thumb up 2
  10. Ellie

    That first gif +knife party is really amusing for some reason.

    Also yay gifs!

    Thumb up 1
    1. antiant
  11. Erin Leigh

    I WANT A NSFW COLORING PAGE.

    Thumb up 11
    1. pips

      yeah me too

      Thumb up 2
      1. riese

        i feel like kristen could do this

        Thumb up 1
      2. riese

        i feel like kristen or laura could do this

        Thumb up 1
        1. kitten sandwich

          i would gladly do this also if its gonna be real!!! (i can send my portfolio your way too…)

          Thumb up 1
  12. macmac89

    Hahahaha, Rachel’s face in the Glee gif…”Jesus Christ. They actually did it. Now we’ll never hear the end of it.”

    Thumb up 1
  13. Queerio

    you do you underwear you do you underwear you do you underwear you do you underwear
    you do you underwear you do you underwear you do you underwear you do you underwear
    you do you underwear you do you underwear you do you underwear you do you underwear
    you do you underwear you do you underwear you do you underwear you do you underwear

    I need this in my life all the time.

    Just make sure there’s no seam down that middle of the crotch.

    Thumb up 13
    1. Torrebelle

      The seam in the crotch!!! why?! why are we still letting men design our underpants? who wants built in discomfort? Why??????

      Thumb up 1
    2. riese

      hey yes, we’ve gotten heaps of requests for you do you underwear for over a year now, maybe two years. it’s something alex will definitely be making this year — she actually finished the design in December for the “you do you” boyshorts, just hasn’t had the time to get them printed yet.

      Thumb up 19
      1. Allie

        Riese you just made my night!

        Thumb up 2
      2. pips

        AUTOSTRADDLE UNDERWEEEEEAAAAARRRRRR

        Thumb up 3
      3. riese

        awwwww

        Thumb up 1
      4. riese

        actually, i just remembered what happened with that — we wanted to print them for X-mas but didn’t have enough money to front for them on top of what we were fronting for the calendars, t-shirts and posters we’d printed, and then when we did have the $$ to put up, it was that i didn’t have enough time to handle all the shipping on top of camp stuff and neither did alex, and then we had bren take over shipping, like 2-3 weeks ago, so now would probably be the moment to get those suckers printed. to celebrate 50k. ta-da!

        Thumb up 3
        1. Carmen SanDiego

          If you print it We will buy it

          Thumb up 1
    3. Megaera

      And also ‘Auto/Straddle This’ underwear? Maybe? I know ‘straddle this’ is a lot to fit on underwear, but…

      Thumb up 7
      1. Megaera

        Could some of the underwear be in another shape than boyshorts? Cute as they are, they just don’t fit comfortably on my shape, or, I suspect, anyone else with um… fuller buttocks…

        Thumb up 2
        1. Fiona

          Benefits being that the fuller buttocks would most *definitely* fit ‘straddle this’…I’m speaking on behalf of my own ample cheekage, of course.

          Thumb up 5
      2. Grace_B

        I think a men’s style boxer brief or boxer shorts would be great too, for the dudes and masculine-of-center people who read autostraddle.

        Thumb up 1
        1. turtle

          i would buy these… AS pyjamas…

          Thumb up 1
  14. Carmen SanDiego

    May I suggest that one of the milestones gets another day of Autostraddle International Meet-up/Brunch/Party/Something? An Autostraddle International Day Event gets the whole readership and staff involved, in a way. Tinkerbell tattoo is cool but it only involves Alex and her ass. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

    Thumb up 8
    1. a;ex

      I thought it would be infinitely entertaining to video tape the tattoo situation. But if I’m overestimating the “omg” factor that is putting a stuffed animal permanently on my ass and sharing that situation with all of you, you have to tell me!

      Thumb up 10
      1. pips

        speaking as someone who also has a silly tattoo on their ass and documentation of the process — DO IT

        Thumb up 5
      2. Carmen SanDiego

        Wait, there’s going to be a video of the tattoo process? I wasn’t aware of that… That makes it way more interesting.. Hmmmm…
        But I still think that one of the milestones ($50k, $60k..) should be another Autostraddle International Event

        Thumb up 3
      3. riese

        i’m figuring out the other milestones and drawing up what we would spend it on this weekend!

        ALSO HOW ABOUT THIS!!!

        if we get $100k, i will rent a car, drive to los angeles with marni (and maybe bren!?), and film alex’s tattoo experience, and i will edit a “short film” about the experience starring me, alex, haviland, brittani, julie, brandy, sarah croce, ashley reed — (and maybe even laneia if we can get her out there) — and any other LA-dwellers you’d like to see. it will be a beautiful touching film about love and friendship and will be delightful approximately from start to finish

        Thumb up 19
        1. antiant

          *cue Brady Bunch theme* Here’s the story of a lovely lady… LOL

          Thumb up 1
      4. Dee

        This is perhaps the best idea ever.

        Thumb up 1
  15. Torrebelle

    Oh, thank you for that last one. Sloane is so effing hot. One of my first lady crushes.

    Thumb up 2
    1. Hansen

      Me too! Such a babe!

      Thumb up 1
  16. Dee

    Would I be wrong to assume that raising 100K would mean we will actually see this Tinkerbell tattoo? (brb, going to take out a hefty loan!)

    Thumb up 2
    1. riese

      yes, obvs! it’s been a long time since alex’s ass was on the internet.

      Thumb up 10
      1. Dee

        I. Can’t. Even. Will you write to me in jail, Riese? Because I may have to go rob a bank for this cause.

        Thumb up 7
        1. riese

          i will , i will send you a hand-made thank you card in jail, and a read a fucking book-mark

          Thumb up 7
          1. Dee

            You are perfect.
            ::hands over bags of monies::

            Thumb up 1
  17. Robin

    I contributed. And then I found a kitten in my back yard. True story.

    Wow! Thumb up 34
  18. Torrebelle

    I would have loved to see a time elapsed photo spread of Riese’s face every time she refreshed the iniegogo page during those first 21 hours.

    Wow! Thumb up 23
  19. Ava

    I like the idea Creatrix Tiara (awesome name, btw) posted above. Perks are cool and all, but I’d love to know what our money is buying for AS! Now that we’ve raised enough to rebuild the site, what else can we do? I think knowing what their money is buying will encourage people to keep donating, even if they’ve already donated once.

    Personally, I’d love to see some of the money go towards funding A-Camps in different places. I know that only serves the (relatively) small number of readers who are able to go, but I’m selfish and want to go to one, lol.

    Thumb up 10
  20. SaborDeSoledad

    Congrats AS team! I just contributed – wish I could do more, but we can all do something, right? I am super-excited to see the new Autostraddle the way it’s meant to be experienced.

    Paying all the writers is an awesome idea!! You all work so hard, and speaking as a girl who’s done her fair share of unpaid writing internships, working for free (even for something wonderful that you completely believe in) isn’t sustainable for most people. The writing on this site is so high-quality, and you all deserve to be compensated.

    Also, undies. Undiesundiesundiesundies.

    Thumb up 2
  21. AsianMOMsays

    My mom Never acknowledges the gayness, but I had to show her, so I emailed my mom the link and told her to watch the video. And she replies, “Mom have money and will give any need it”- MOM

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    validated. supported. understood. SEEN.

    Wow! Thumb up 35
  22. Erin

    That last gif… whoa! Mia Sara was one of my first big crushes growing up. Thanks for that.

    Count me in with everyone on the site improvement milestones idea. It really helps build enthusiasm and keep people going.

    And I’ve already voted on Tumblr for boy shorts!

    Thumb up 1
  23. pips

    i vote formspring friday live because that was so much fun at camp.

    also maybe the team could make an appearance on an ASSchat thursday night? this is a win win for everyone because chat is super fun.

    and make us more videos with your faces and your words because you know what riese said in the last real l word recap? about people who love you thinking the not cute shit you do is cute? yeah, that’s us. (although i remain convinced that you guys are the cutest and funniest and anyone who thinks otherwise just has bad taste, so.)

    Thumb up 6
    1. katehinch

      WHAT IS ASSchat THURSDAY NIGHTS?

      Thumb up 1
      1. pips

        GIRL. http://www.tinychat.com/autostraddlesocial thursday is the “official” night but there are people in there pretty much all the time.

        Thumb up 2
        1. Paper0Flowers

          SPEAKING OF WHICH, WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN GIRL???

          Also: Team member Stef is embarrassingly a staple of ASSChat now. It’s pretty awkward, really.

          Thumb up 1
    2. Paper0Flowers

      Also, Riese appeared 4 times last summer to gripe with us over TRLW2.

      I watched a fucking episode for you, Riese. Just for you.

      Thumb up 2
  24. pips

    OMG SOMEONE ON TUMBLR SUGGESTED INTERVIEWING RACHEL MADDOW PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

    Thumb up 14
    1. terracottatoes

      oh my fuckign god i would literally lose all control of my bowels

      Thumb up 2
    2. riese

      we’ve been trying to get an interview with rachel maddow for three years! HOW CAN WE GET HER

      Thumb up 2
  25. anna

    livestream of riese looking at the indiegogo page and saying more nice things about us.

    Thumb up 6
    1. riese

      ok i have to shower first

      Thumb up 5
  26. antiant

    Is there a way to put the donations of indiegogo on the side of this website and keep it there until it is over, like a header or something? I say that because people may miss the article (it is already on the second page).

    Thumb up 3
    1. riese

      yes, that’s on alex’s to-do list for today!

      Thumb up 3
  27. A Born Nyan Cat

    The Muppets!!! MY CHILDHOOD IS BACK!!!!! <3
    Alex's ass is relevant to my interests, I want to see her getting that tattoo done.

    Thumb up 5
  28. Car

    Maybe once you hit $85/90k raffle any unclaimed perks to anyone who donates? (if there even are any at that stage!)

    Thumb up 1
    1. riese

      oh hm, this is a good idea

      Thumb up 2
  29. Jack

    Please, many pretty pleases, ask for AS artist-readers to submit NSFW colouring pages! This is a thing that I would love to do, and I’m sure that there are other Autostraddlers who would also like to make this a thing.

    Please help us make thing a thing.

    Thumb up 2
  30. Sandra

    Glad there’s 43 days left, that way I have time to get my tax refund and can donate a healthy portion to you guys ^^. There is just so much… LOVE.

    Thumb up 1
  31. Paramecium

    So, possibly silly question. I really want to donate money. I have a job and money to give, but I still share a credit card account with my parents. I’m not quite out to my parents yet, so I’d prefer to give you guys money without them knowing. Is there an obvious way to do this?

    Thumb up 1
    1. Amanda

      If you use PayPal, would it just show up as paypal on the bill?

      Thumb up 1
      1. Brianna

        It shows up as [removed, see next comment] on my statement. If her parents are nosy they could google [removed also] and find the Autostraddle tumblr + Wikipedia page.

        Other options: debit card / linking a checking account to PayPal / putting money on a prepaid visa debit card.

        edit: I had to edit out the E word because that combined with PayPal means that it still shows up in google results. Damn interwebs!

        Thumb up 1
        1. Remy

          Just a note: I just googled that and the only search result was this comment. Googling it with a space between the words had thousands of search results, none very specifically gay.

          Thumb up 1
          1. Brianna

            I logged out of google and cleared everything (cookies, history) and searched again and Autostraddle’s tumblr and wikipedia page were still in the first 10 results for me. But I’ll edit my previous comment so that it won’t pop up if anyone’s parents happen to google that exact phrase.

            This is all assuming her parents like to play internet detective.

            Thumb up 1
            1. Paramecium

              My dad is an expert at internet sleuthing. It’s made me extra paranoid about where I use my credit card.

              Thumb up 1
        2. Paramecium

          I do have a visa debit card with money on it. So just to clarify, if I use my debit card, my parents won’t be able to track the transaction back to here? Even with access to my checking account?

          Thumb up 1
          1. Brianna

            I didn’t realize they had access to your checking account as well as your credit card account. I imagine it’s billed the same way, so your best bet is to buy a prepaid visa card like I mentioned. They sell them at drugstores and such, but you might have to pay a $4.95 fee. (I mistyped last time, should have said prepaid visa card, not prepaid visa debit card.)

            Thumb up 1
            1. Paramecium

              I will definitely do this, thanks so much!

              Thumb up 1
  32. anaphase

    Ohh… Can we unlock more cookie perks?

    And OMG. Could we pay to unlock an Autostraddle TEAM dance video?!

    Thumb up 5
    1. Emily

      this would be amazing, and perfect to do at camp, just sayin….or if you guys reach 75k the AS team has to do a skit/song at the talent show and put it on youtube for the world to see

      Thumb up 2
  33. Seabreeze15

    More ‘In Your Box Office’!!! Like every week

    Thumb up 3
  34. APPS

    Iphone app PLEASE

    Thumb up 1
  35. Allie

    The length to which closeted autostraddle devotees are going to in order to donate to the campaign is just such a beautiful testament of our love for this website. ALL OF THE FEELINGS

    Thumb up 2
  36. Tiger Gray

    Woohoo donating to the Tinkerbell fund!

    Thumb up 1

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