We have good news about October winner Water's Edge Village School, right after this quick update...

You blew past Charitocracy USA!

In the final days of October, the top two Charitocracy OBX contenders were still duking it out. The lead flip-flopped back and forth a few times. Both "sides" kept recruiting new donors, right up until the last hours last night. One took home this award grant, and the other is extremely well placed going into November. (Kudos, Coastal Humane Society, for staying in the race right to the finish line!)

In all this excitement, you managed to surpass Charitocracy USA's total donor count. 242 vs. 241. That's despite many of you throwing in an extra dollar or more to Charitocracy USA so you can vote over there, too. So some of you are on both (and I recommend all of you consider contributing to both) but regardless, you've arrived. So while on the Charitocracy USA blog I'm trying to rally them to boost their numbers, at the same time I'm now rallying you to bring some of your enthusiasm to the nationwide nonprofits over at Charitocracy USA. Same deal: you throw a $1+ into that pot, you get a vote. I'd love to see that monthly pot get back over $1000 with your help!

There is still some room for improvement. Charitocracy USA makes larger, more impactful donations, on average. (I'm not saying "more generous" because I believe firmly that those who give $1/month are often more generous in truth when considering the percentage of their discretionary income it may represent.) So your total monthly contributions are just a bit over $500, whereas USA's exceed $900.

Here are a few other fun statistics to chew on:

• Only 29% of you tip toward Charitocracy's expenses, compared to 68% of USA donors. So I guess thank them for keeping the lights on for everyone?
• 10% of you contribute toward our new endowment vs. 8% of USA. So kudos! But both those numbers represent LOTS of opportunity!
• 61% of OBX voted in October versus only 33% of USA. Again, kudos on your level of engagement with Charitocracy. Keep those votes rolling in!

And please let this inspire you to invite more friends to join the magic here and see if we can hold onto our OBX donor base lead over USA and maybe get our monthly pots bigger, too, with some donation bundle upgrades!

October 2022 winner Water's Edge Village School

At midnight last night we named Charitocracy OBX's 25th monthly winner! Congratulations to Water's Edge Village School nominated by donor tcerri. They provide local education to Corolla, instilling social & environmental responsibility while nurturing body & mind. You can find their website here.

Now you have a week to sweeten the pot with a special one-time donation of any amount, which we'll add straight to the check we write to WEVS next week. (Thanks to the two nice boosts we received already earlier in the month!) And watch this 1-minute video in which Norris Austin rings in the first school day at WEVS 10 years ago! Then take a moment to feel good about your part in our collective $597+ grant to help with their ongoing work!

Have a great November and be sure to log into Charitocracy OBX to update your votes or nominate a new cause! And consider investing in our future by growing our endowment with a switch to one of our new donation bundles, or customizing your own perfect new bundle. It's super quick and easy!

We have good news about September winner Room in the Inn, right after this longer than usual news update...

October 15 @ 2pm. Music. Beer. Cake. $4000!

Below are some important details concerning how October will operate here at Charitocracy OBX in light of the "takeover" happening at OBCF's 40th birthday event at the Outer Banks Brewing Station.

But first, a link to easily monitor the progress of who's in the lead! <redacted>

• • As usual, Charitocracy OBX donors, and only Charitocracy OBX donors, can vote for this $4k grant recipient. Bigger donations have a bigger impact on our community, but whether you donate $1 per month or $100, you get one vote on Charitocracy.
  • Not to confuse things, but you can split your one vote amongst multiple nominees if you have trouble picking just one! And you can change your vote any time you want, repeatedly. So far all of this is the same as any other month...
  • All Charitocracy OBX nominees, including ones that have won in the past year, even ones that have won in the past 24 hours (I'm looking at you, RITI!) are eligible to win the $4000. So that's different.
  • Nominees can start accumulating votes today! In fact, any lingering votes your favorite cause may have been holding onto from past months carry forward as usual. As always, the only votes that don't carry forward are when a cause wins a grant, their votes get reset to zero. Or of course if someone recasts their vote to a different cause.
  • A dozen or so causes were self-nominated as part of OBCF's 40th birthday celebration. Many of them will send representatives to the event to say a few words about their missions and rally support. Read: Get out the vote! This is not exclusive to any particular nominees. All local nonprofits are welcome to attend and share the stage for a mission moment! Reach out if we're not already expecting you!
  • Narrowing to the Top 10 will not happen prior to the event as would usually happen at midnight the morning of the 15th. All nominees will be in the running until the $4k recipient is named at the event.
  • The cause with the most votes when we end voting circa 5pm (we'll call it live at the event in case circumstances require timing wiggle room) will receive the $4000 grant from OBCF. Usual tie-breaking criteria will be in effect.
  • At the first opportunity after the event, I'll mark the $4k recipient, as well as all normal monthly grant recipients from the past year, as ineligible and reset their votes to zero. We'll then narrow to the Top 10, and resume the rest of October on the usual schedule chasing the usual monthly grant.
  • Charitocracy USA will continue as normal this month. Unless I mess things up accidentally. But it's intended to remain a normal month on that side of the website.

September 2022 winner OBX Room in the Inn

At midnight last night we named Charitocracy OBX's 24th monthly winner! That's 2 years in the books! Congratulations to Room in the Inn nominated by donor Ltwood. They organize shelter for the homeless in the Outer Banks, also providing hospitality, food, and support services. You can find their website here.

Now you have a week to sweeten the pot with a special one-time donation of any amount, which we'll add straight to the check we write to RITI next week. (Thanks to the four big boosts we've had already!!) Then take a moment to feel good about your part in our collective $590+ grant to help with their ongoing work!

Have a great October and be sure to log into Charitocracy OBX to update your votes or nominate a new cause! And consider investing in our future by growing our endowment with a switch to one of our new donation bundles, or customizing your own perfect new bundle. It's super quick and easy!