Winding Down

The Las Pegasus Relief League is in the process of winding down. Due to the generosity of M. A. Larson and the Brony Documentary, we were able to pay off all the verified claims for funds by individuals before the auctions even closed! We paid out $7707.32 to individuals, including payments for unredeemable 'bits', non-comped hotel rooms, double billed rooms, and travel vouchers owed to the musicians. We still have some items waiting for receipts, and will pay them if funds are available at a later date from cash donors or eBay auctions that were run indepently.

The reason that we had to pay out so quickly is that by the nature of a "Personal Appeal" charity, the funds can't sit in the account of a tax-exempt charity and then be paid out to an individual. All donations needed to go directly from a donor to an individual as a gift, or there would be negative tax implications all over the place. Still, we made every effort to notify anyone with a possible claim that funds were available, and to follow up with anyone who filed an initial claim.

The Las Pegasus Relief Auctions are over, and they were a huge success. Over $19,300 was bid, and over $18,300 will be passed on to the charities once the funds are paid. Among the high bids were:

• $700 for the various collections of Story Conference Cards donated by Amy Keating Rogers
• $3,935 for the EnterPlay donated cards and sets
• $550 for t-shirts worn by Amy K Rogers and Meghan McCarthy
• $750 for a Celestia pendent by ChaoticBrony
• $1,000 for a commissioned piece of art
• $480 for a group of donated Trixie posters from Purple Tinker

We obviously owe a huge debt of thanks to EnterPlay, the Brony Documentary, M. A. Larson, Meghan McCarthy and Amy Keating Rogers, who all donated valuable merch to help out the Brony Community!

So if all the individuals were paid before the auctions ended, where did the auction money go? Well, the 4 big brony charities were also shorted (some by a huge amount) at LPU. Seeds of Kindness2 was owed $315.00, Kiki's Fund $1,334.00, The Brony Thank You Fund $1,000, and Amy Keating Roger's school charity $5,565.00. The auction money was used to pay for those losses, and then the remainder (just under $10,000) was split evenly between the charities, as the site terms and conditions had described.

This was not, by any means, a one-person or organization effort. Any attempt to thank everyone involved is going to fall far short of the mark, but I'll try to mention the ones I can remember. Haybuck, Rommel Pants, Telofy, Phoe and myself were selected by a group of the Brony illuminati on Skype to vet claims and pay out the funds. It was a boring and stressful job: collecting receipts, contacting victims for more information, making hard choices on marginal claims, and all under the clock.

Knighty created and kept the LasPegasusAssist web site up and running as well, giving people a central information point to work from.

Managing and closing out the auction was a huge effort, with over 250 auctions running. Purple Tinker gets a huge shout-out for setting up the site in a flash and keeping it running smoothly over the week. A volunteer group of moderators kept pots from boiling over. We had a core close-out crew that stayed up into the wee hours of Sunday (very wee for the east coast folks) closing the auctions and double-checking the spreadsheet: causeffect, Larscis, Fennecus Kitsune, Rommel Pants, applurker, Cliona Lethe and Purple Tinker. Tovarich Brony helped with payment verification on Sunday afternoon.

The Brony Media (all of it) worked hard to get the message out, and let people know how to help out. Add to that all the people who bid, donated, tweeted or otherwise made the auction a huge success, and you can see why this is the most awesome fandom *ever*.

James Turner

President and Chairman of the Board: The Brony Thank You Fund, Incorporated

Derpy Hooves News & The Round Stable Write Up

Derpy Hooves News has posted a written account of what happened and some updated auction information. You can find it here. KefkaFloyd at The Round Stable has also published a written account of the events from his perspective. Find it here.

Vendors with unredeemed bits

One group of people that was not considered originally were vendors who accepted "bits" at the con, with the intention of redeeming them as actual money at the end of the con. Obviously with everything that happened, this did not take place. Vendors who have bits left over should use the Aid Request Form to apply for reimbursement. Note: This does NOT apply to attendees who bought bits, only to vendors that accepted them.

Signed Copies of the Brony Documentary

As part of the relief effort, the bronydoc guys have graciously offered 50 signed copies of the extended BluRay edition, for $100 each, with all the proceeds going towards #laspegassist. Check it out here!

Donation Distribution

No doubt a lot of you viewing the site and wanting to support those involved will want to know exactly where your money is going. CoderBrony, who is running the auction site, had this to say regarding the matter:

Donations will be dispersed in the following manner: First anyone with a valid hotel bill claim (either double-payed or comp not paid) and supporting documentation will be paid. Next, any money owed to charities for fundraisers that was held at the convention will be paid. Finally, any remaining funds will be split between Seeds of Kindness 2, The Brony Thank You Fund, Kiki's, and The College School

Everfree Radio Aftermath Q&A

A recording of last night's Q&A session with Everfree Radio is available now on youtube. If you need in depth information on the events that transpired as well as rumour squashing, check out this video.

Direct Donations

If you'd like to donate to someone in need without buying anything on the auction, you can use this form. As with the auctions, there is no middle man for your money. You will be given someone to donate directly to when all the recipients have been collated and, importantly, verified.

Auction Spreadsheet

A spreadsheet has been created which is being updated regularly to help you guys track whats auctions are currently going on. Check it out!

Amy Keating Rogers' Shirts

Uh...yeah...kind of an odd one this. Show writer, Amy Keating Rogers, is auctioning off 3 shirts she wore at Unicon. She promises they've been cleaned (though I worry this may disappoint some people frankly).

• Derpy Shirt
• Brony Shirt
• Doctor Whooves Shirt

Meghan McCarthy is also auctioning off a Derpy shirt here. So if you've ever wanted to experience the blood and sweat that goes into an MLP episode, check out the links above!

Story Cards for Applebuck Season & Fall Weather Friends

These are story cards used by Lauren Faust and Amy Keating Rogers to break the story for Applebuck Season and Fall Weather Friends. You can find them on the auction site here

M.A. Larson Auction

M.A. Larson, writer for the show, has organised an auction, selling off 4 of pixelkittie's "I Believe in M.A. Larson" badges. You can find them all linked here or individually below:

Update: Auctions have now finished. They raised almost $3000 in total!

Auction Website Live

CoderBrony of the BronyThankYouFund, has set up a forum where you can auction items and buy other people's items to support the cause. Instead of money going to a central organisation, bidders will instead pay directly to a specific paypal account of a person in need of help.

You can find the site here