Although we come from all corners of the globe and from all different walks of life, we all share one thing in common: Love for the Monarch Papers, Ackerly Green Publishing, and everything @CJB has worked so hard to build for us. This includes all of the new fun merchandise over in the new Ackerly Green site, premiered a week or two ago. Over on the Discord, folks joke about being “#BriarBroke” and “#BriarBudgeting” to help support CJ and share in the community by buying some of the offerings there.
This got me to thinking. There are some of us in the community with more means than others, but our ability to buy guild merchandise doesn’t mean we love the community or support CJ any more or any less for it. I believe that everyone deserves some tangible piece of what we’re all sharing in our minds and hearts. That’s why I’m proposing to bring us together as a community to help everyone get a small piece of what Ackerly Green has to offer.
Let me know, via private message, if there’s something small that you’ve wanted from the Ackerly Green Store (like a guild pin, or mug or T-shirt). Also, let me know via private message if you want to join in with helping others in our community feel included in supporting CJ and having a real-world piece of what we’ve been sharing digitally. All requests and all donations will be held in 100% confidentiality. I’m not putting any specific maximum dollar amount on requests, and I’ll try to honor all requests the best I can with money donated by myself and others in our community. I’ll work directly with CJ to purchase and ship items through the regular store, and again, everything will be kept 100% confidential.
I’ve been working closely with @CJB on this idea, and if it gains enough traction we will be incorporating it directly into the Ackerly Green website for handling of both requests and donations, even taking advantage of the “wishlist” feature there, as well. This will add even another level of confidentiality for our community members. Until then (just to be up front) I’ll be using a personal PayPal account to receive donations and pay for items on the AG site. Records to help me keep track of things will be kept on a secure computer on a secure network in a private, locked office.
This is a wonderful community, and I hope to be able to help everyone feel like they’re fully a part of it.
I just want to let you know that you guys are incredible! Since I posted, community members have already pledged over one hundred real live US dollars for our fellow Mounties. This is one of the finest online communities I’ve ever had the privilege of participating in. Thank you!
Just a reminder that with the wonderful outpouring of support from the community, we have plenty of funds available. Send me a PM if there’s a small AG bookstore item you’ve been meaning to save up for!
Please remember, if you want to participate in things like the Ackerly Green Secret Society, but don’t have the extra cash right now, send your name and request to @Augustus_Octavian who’s heading the AG Community Fellowship, where we try and help everybody have the chance to participate!
EDIT: We’ll also be rolling out a page on the AGP site soon where you can privately submit your request or donate money to the Fellowship!
In the spirit of continued transparency, I wanted to give an update on the Ackerly Green Community Fellowship. To date, we have raised $150 to support fellow members of our beautiful little community. We have successfully completed multiple requests for items on the AGP store.
There are some exciting changes to the operations of the community fellowship this month. For starters, the Ackerly Green Community Fellowship page on the main AGP site is fully operational for both requests and donations. Where this was previously directly managed by me and monies held/dispensed from my personal PayPal account, all funds will now be handled through the AGP website itself, adding another layer of confidentiality and professionalism to this community initiative. I literally cannot thank @CJB enough for his hard work and support.
With the debut of the Ackerly Green Secret Society, we are getting more requests for “Herman” pins. These will be adjudicated on a case-by-case basis, and if funds are available we will try to fulfill each request as appropriate.
Practically, what this means is that if you have an outstanding “pledge” from when we started the initiative back in September, please donate through the website. I will be following up with community members directly to complete pledges, as well. If you have not donated (or want to donate again) now is the time!
Although I won’t be directly handling money, I will still have the major role in managing/being a big cheerleader for the fellowship and will keep partnering directly with CJ to fulfil requests and solicit donations. If you have any questions what-so-ever, feel free to private message me directly through the forums.
It’s time for another Ackerly Green Community Fellowship update! We continue to have some funds available for merchandise requests, but with the release of TMPv1 and TMPv2 in a couple of weeks (!!!) @CJB and I have thought of a creative way to help the community as a whole.
For those of you in the ARC program, you know that part of the deal is leaving an honest review of the books on Amazon on the day they become available. CJ had mentioned making 99 cent electronic copies available, as well, for everyone in the community. We would like to offer that the fellowship will purchase these copies for whomever needs them. Additionally, for ARC members, having this official electronic copy will give your review a “Verified Purchase” indicator, increasing the clout of your review on Amazon.
Regardless of whether or not you’re an ARC member, if you’re interested in having the fellowship purchase you an electronic copy of TMPv1 and/or TMPv2 (and get that sweet, sweet purchase verification for your ARC review), simply PM me here on the forums. You will get a coupon code from CJ’s author account on release day (July 3rd) to download an electronic copy.
It is critical that you use this code within 24 hours of receipt!
The Ackerly Green Community Fellowship has always been about sharing with our community. Buying electronic copies of TMPv1 on release day also gives back a little to CJ, who works tirelessly for us every day. I can’t think of any better way to do so by boosting the momentum of his very first book! Using the code to download the book right away will count towards important metrics for CJ’s book sales, helping CJ and ultimately growing our beautiful community.
As always, the fellowship is still happy to accept donations and purchase merchandise for all members of our community. I love seeing the outpouring of support, and have loved being able to fulfill requests for some really great Mountaineers!
As always, this community has my deepest gratitude.
Thats amazing…