Charity Rejects Donations Made In Gygax's Honor

AngelHedgie

Story here.

Ars Technica wrote:

Many of us were saddened to hear of Gary Gygax's passing earlier this year, partially because so many of us had grown up playing the man's creations and partially because we were simply mourning the loss of a truly decent human being. Many gamers obviously felt the same way, because a charity auction held at GenCon this year ended up raising over $17,000 in his memory.

However, in a rather surprising turn of events, the charity that was originally selected to receive this money ended up declining the group's offer. Gygax's favorite charity, the Christian Children's Fund, was the initial choice to donate the money to, but the group ended up passing on the offer. As a result, the money was instead donated to the Fisher House, a group that helps people live near hospitalized family members. When a member of Giant in the Playground's community asked the Children's Fund why they refused the donation, he received the following reply:

"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."

While the Children's Fund could very well have meant no insult to the Dungeons & Dragons community, it unfortunately comes across that way: a Christian charity refusing money associated with the D&D franchise immediately smacks of the religious criticisms that have been leveled against the game for years.

To be honest, I can see both sides. CCF may honestly feel taking the donation may seem as a tacit endorsement of GenCon, which may put off some of the people who donate to them regularly. On the other hand, as the article points out, it just feels like more of the religious smacking around we get. Personally, I just think it's a sad situation all around.