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Home » Donors Choose and Contests

TN Fall Contest: Behold The Continuing Awesome

Submitted by on October 3, 2007 – 6:37 PM36 Comments

Yes, ladies and germs: 75 percent. I’ve had a holiday feeling all day, like the last day of school before Christmas break — yeah, you’re in class, but everyone’s crunching candy canes and not concentrating, and you’re just surrounded by happy.

Some of you have wondered what’s going on with the unfinished projects in the earlier rounds. Until I hear back from Zach, the official answer is: don’t worry about it. If we have to go back and re-finish those, we’ll do it, but I am 90 percent sure that it’s just DC’s backend arithmetic processes getting overwhelmed and screwing some things up. I’m looking into it, but don’t be bummed. Y’all finished those. You did.

I’m at work still, “watching” the games online (no TBS up in here, sigh) and sending entry confirmations. If TN is bouncing your mail, that’s been happening for two days; give it an hour and try sending it again. I’ll also be putting together the next phase, for if/when we finish this round.

This is an amazing thing you’ve done.

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36 Comments »

  • Sars says:

    …78%. EVERY TIME!

  • Allyson says:

    Question: If someone donates a prize, and it doesn’t show up on the prize list, is it because the prize is made of poop?

  • Sars says:

    It’s probably because I’m waiting on “someone” to send me a link and a one-sentence write-up “someone” wants to go with it. Theoretically.

  • Alan Swann says:

    80%. Unbefuckinglievable.

    So, let’s see if I have this right: together, Sars and Claire are matching what we raise on the second bonus round, so when we hit $10K on this one, TN-related donations will be $35K + $5K + $10K + $10K = $60,000?

    I repeat, unbefuckinglievable.

  • Jeanette says:

    Hey, maybe you can borrow her costume? Just avoid jumping mayors.
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7026851.stm

  • Sars says:

    Hee, great minds.

    @Alan: Correcto!

  • Sars says:

    Also: I see those “expired” tags on some of the projects; I’m looking into it, hang tight.

    81%!

  • Judy says:

    Even though TN readers totally rock the hell out of everything with how fast these are getting met, are you still going to keep going til 10/31? Because I want to donate but can’t til 10/15.

    And “Whoah!” about Claire Danes, that’s so awesome!

  • Sars says:

    …84%.

    @Judy: Looks that way.

  • Regina says:

    I wonder how much we would have to raise to get a mayor to leap over Sars without injuring her? And which current or former mayor would it be? Bloomberg? Guiliani? Jerry Springer?

  • Carena says:

    84%… but we appear to be slowing. LOL
    how is that possible?
    I figure on Friday donations will go way up, again, ’cause that’s a payday for a lot of people.

    Are you going to offer bigger and better things to keep us going? I mean, we’ve torn through every goal. I’d just like to see something else out there besides “lets see how far we can go”

    not that I’m greedy. And not that I’m holding out for little Cherry Tomatoes (LJ and H) or holding out for the rest of the staff of TWOP, either… HINT!!!

  • Nicole says:

    I get all misty every time I see the numbers going up. And I’m not even like that. AND I’m at work. And, again, I’m not even like that. Amazing peoples.

  • Molly says:

    Just busted out the pen and paper. If you add the “donated” amounts for the three rounds plus the “still needs” amount for the projects marked “expired” (since they’re fully funded and we’re just seeing a glitch) —

    As of 7:45 pm on the East Coast, on the third day of a month-long drive, we’ve donated $50,067.

    YOU GUYS. That’s STAGGERING. Once we finish off this round (which will be… what, tonight? Tomorrow morning?), we’ll be close to $52K before the matching funds!

  • Allyson says:

    Somebody didn’t know! Somebody swears!

  • baggage says:

    Yay! Cuz I want to donate again. Can’t do it until the 15th either, but I’m excited!!

  • Frank says:

    86% as I donated.

    I know this isn’t about making me feel good, but I got a tremendous sense of well-being when I clicked on the send button.

    A big “Hurrah” to everyone that’s donated so far and those that donate hereafter

    x

    F

  • Laurabelle says:

    87%, you say? 4794, I say! 3290 for the original “contest” (which was, I might add, no contest at all), 700 for the Bonus Round I, and 794 for BRII. So far.

    Y’all, that’s a lot of kiddie widdies.

  • FloridaErin says:

    Freakin’ 88%.

    I’ll be checking all evening while watching the games. So much for homework.

  • Zeep says:

    88% Central Daylight Time.

    You guys are amazing.

  • Sol says:

    Thank goodness, because I want to donate again (more, anyway) once I get paid next week.

  • Alan Swann says:

    94%! Less than $600 away from $60 grand in three days. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

  • Heqit says:

    Now that BRII is at 94% (!!!), I almost feel like we should take on completing some of the other challenges that the TN Contest juggernaut has been tromping on the leaderboard. I guess that would be messing with them, though — and heaven knows there are more than enough needy kids to go around.

  • Cij says:

    94% at 10.15 (eastern).

    Someone needs to create a new word to describe the awesomeness of this. Awesome just isn’t quite emcompassing it anymore! :)

  • Melanie says:

    94% – so close!

  • Awed in Atlanta says:

    All the children helped during this drive. All the children who will be helped in the future by people who became aware of Donors Choose either directly through this site or via readers like me who sent frenentic emails with the DC link; “OMG!! AWESOME PROGRAMME!!! YOU MUST DONATE!!!”

    One of my contacts already forwarded it to a teacher friend of his who is in a system with desperate need. She will undoubtedly make her coworkers aware of DC and they will submit proposals that will be fulfilled by people who heard of DC from one of you here … it’s all so wonderful. Six Degrees of Tomato Nation.

  • Coleen says:

    Holy crapola. 94%

    This is like being a citizen of the United States of AWESOME.

  • Jill says:

    This is amazing–94%!

    Hey, Sars, I donated yesterday and sent you the confirmation email, but haven’t gotten anything (form or otherwise) back from you. I’m thinking you’re swamped with all the awesome, right?

  • Kate H says:

    Looking at thermometer…looking at budget…looking at thermometer…looking at budget… You know what? Forget the budget. It’s for the children – the AWESOME children.

    Anyone want to sing “Kumbaya”?

  • Leah says:

    Why is it sometimes showing “funds needed” in Pounds Sterling instead of dollars?

  • JeniMull says:

    Can Glark or someone make a t-shirt for “The United States of AWESOME”? Because that would rock.

  • Sars says:

    @Leah: The DC server forgot to take its Pepto-Bismawesome.

    Seriously — the server is kind of gassy from all the activity, I’m told; it’s barfing up some random characters and saying certain funded projects are expired. They’re working on it.

  • “And not that I’m holding out for little Cherry Tomatoes (LJ and H)”

    Can I just say? I totally have visions now of Hobey and Little Joe in kitty sized tomato hats with chin straps and neither of them look impressed, but by all that is holy it is FUNNY.

  • Coleen says:

    JeniMull, I should have attributed that one – a blogger named Invincible Girl used that at Journal Con back in 2005. But it would make an amazing shirt!

  • Elizabeth from Chicago says:

    I too would love there to be TN swag with the phrase “United States of AWESOME” (or similar; I don’t want to dis the people who donated that happen to live in places other than the US) on one side and a TN logo somewhere, and maybe a mention of the fact that it’s from the fall contest of 2007.

    Because I absolutely believe that if/when you do this again, there will be a similar, if not greater, outpouring of awesomeness. Wouldn’t it be extra sweet to have a WHOLE LINE of limited-run shirts over time that spoke to the crazy amazingness of the Tomato Nation?

  • Kate H says:

    I would totally pony up for that T-shirt, especially if Glark-produced, because then? even more AWESOME. And maybe some of the proceeds could go to DonorsChoose?

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