Tips to host your first itch.io charity bundle
My tops tips for hosting your first itch.io charity bundle
The intersection of charity, games, and itch.io presents a unique opportunity to make an impact on worthy causes close to your heart.
Throughout this post, I am going to reference itch.io’s own “Hosting a co-op bundle” webpage, while sharing my own experiences with the success of TTRPGs for Palestine and TTRPGs for Accessible Gaming (ongoing until October 20, 2024) that raised $201,732 and $23,330 respectively.
Tip #1: Start with the charity
My biggest piece of advice is to start early and to start with the charity you’d like to support. Find a contact at the nonprofit and introduce them to your charity bundle idea. This will be a foreign concept to a majority of folks you come across in the nonprofit sector (even if they work in the livestream fundraising department.) My suggestion is for you to give them a light explanation, link to an example of a charity bundle, and offer to hop on a quick call to give them a more in-depth explanation. I have spent my entire career in nonprofit fundraising, so I will be the first to say nonprofit professionals are typically overworked and underpaid in understaffed departments, the person you reach out to may not prioritize your request immediately.
If you are having a tough time reaching a real, human person, I would suggest going to the charity’s website and searching out their contact form or reaching out to the charity on social media. Don’t be afraid to reach out in a variety of different ways on a variety of different days (with sometime between each interaction, don’t make it feel like harassment.)
But Jes, why do I need to start with the charity? Shouldn’t I worry about getting games for the bundle?
If you intend for the funds to go straight from itch.io to the charity, they need to be a part of the bundle from the start. This is a new rule from itch.io in 2024, stemming from a lack of communication on where charities were in the onboarding process after charity bundles ended, leaving organizers weary on where exactly the funds went. Rascal News covered this story.
Worried about the taxes?
Worry no more! When you make the charity the sole beneficiary of the bundle, you are ensuring that the sales go straight to them. This relieves you of the tax burden and makes your life easier (trust me on this one.)
This list is not all encompassing, but these are the charities I know that have already been onboarded onto itch.io.
Tip #2: Follow the steps outlined in “Hosting a co-op bundle”
Itch.io has created a page with instructions on “Hosting a co-op bundle.” Follow these steps, noting the first part of the page refers to any co-op bundle and you need to also follow along with the “Hosting a charity bundle” portion as well.
Could you forego creating a game jam and manually enter all the games by yourself by collecting entries in a google doc? Technically yes, but it sounds like an actual nightmare, and you’ll likely still need itch.io’s assistance to make the charity the sole beneficiary of the funds.
Tip #3: Be prepared for inconsistences
As of writing this, I have hosted two charity bundles on itch.io. Both have had different approval processes. Those who submitted their games into the TTRPGs for Palestine game jam still needed to approve their submissions in the bundle page before we could launch the bundle. Those who submitted their games into the TTRPGs for Accessible Gaming game jam had their submissions automatically approved by itch.io in the bundle page. I took this as a blessing with the second bundle because entries that are not approved are kicked from the bundle before it may start. This process took two weeks with the first bundle, and I still had 10 entries that were not approved and removed from the bundle.
Communication via itch’s Support Page for charity bundles (e.g. emailing them with Charity Bundle in the email subject) sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. I have found making gentle reminders in their official discord server in the meta channel to be extremely helpful. It’s not always the early bird that gets the worm; sometimes it’s the annoying bird that gets the worm.
I have found sending a message to the support email and then referencing that email/support ticket in the meta channel to be helpful.
Sample support email
Hi there,
I hosted a game jam that I would love to turn into a charity bundle on itch.io. There are XYZ submissions, and I have already pruned all entries. The charity, game jam, and bundle are linked below.
Charity: [link to their itch.io account]
Jam: [link]
Bundle: [link]Thank you for creating such an amazing way for the community to fundraise! I am looking forward to working with y'all! Please let me know if you need anything additional from me.
Best,
Sample discord message
“Hi there, I’m reaching out about support ticket #XYZ for the XYZ Charity Bundle. We are ready to sync our XYZ submitted games into the Charity Bundle name. I appreciate your assistance with our bundle!”
Tip #4: Have a marketing plan
Your marketing plan should include social posts, a promotional graphic, and reaching out to gaming news sites at minimum.
You can also work with the nonprofit to get a donation equivalency for your first fundraising goal e.g. the fundraising goal of $20,000 for TTRPGs for Accessible Gaming helped DOTS RPG Project fund their Signature Braille RPG Dice.
Tip #5: Create a game jam
When you create your game jam, include a FAQ section. Below is my most recent FAQ section that I included for TTRPGs for Accessible Gaming.
Can I submit multiple projects? You are welcome to submit multiple TTRPGs, free, paid, or pay what you can, including new and existing games.
Are there any rules to the game jam? The only rules are that submissions must be a TTRPG or TTRPG adjacent, and games cannot be racist, transphobic, homophobic, sexist, or ableist.
How long will the game jam and bundle last? The jam is scheduled to last from August 19 - September 1, while the bundle is planned to collect funds from September 9 - October 20.
How much will the bundle cost when it is live? The bundle will cost a minimum of $10, while higher donations will be appreciated and encouraged.
Which charity will this bundle support? Games submitted to this jam will be turned into a charity bundle to support DOTS RPG Project, an organization focused on improving accessibility in tabletop roleplaying games. Money raised from this charity bundle will help fund the production of their Signature Braille RPG Dice, manufactured in partnership with Die Hard Dice. This will make the first ever Braille RPG Dice available in a retail setting worldwide, helping make tabletop gaming more accessible for disabled gamers.
DOTS RPG Project Mission. DOTS is Improving Accessibility in Tabletop Roleplaying Games, One Adventure at a Time! Check out their website and Twitter to learn more.
What if I have questions? Please contact jesthehuman via email or Twitter DM.
Spread the word. You can help us spread the word by sharing this tweet, newsletter, thread, and Blue-Sky post. We’d also be delighted to talk to any news outlets!
Tip #6: Communicate
Use the email feature and community tab in your game jam to keep everyone who submitted their games informed of what’s happening with the bundle.
I would suggest sending an email/community update when:
The submission has ended with next steps
When the approval period has started (if there is an approval period)
When the bundle launches with posts to boost
When the bundle exceeds the fundraising goal
After the bundle has concluded
That concludes all my best practices for itch.io charity bundles. If you have questions, you can book a consultation with me on my Ko-fi page for guidance on charity bundles and charity streams. I am also planning to create a YouTube video in the near future with this information.
Be sure to follow ChariTTRPGs to see the latest RTs for D&D and TTRPG charity content (and DM the account your charity content tweets so I can retweet them!) If you’re looking to join a charity focused TTRPG community, consider joining the ChariTTRPGs discord.
With love and a forehead kiss,
Jes