Hello!

Our IndieGoGo Generosity fundraiser is still there, still hanging on by a thread as it were. We’re getting closer to GDC, so we’ll have to close up shop on this by Tuesday 1 March 2016 so funds can be transferred and sent to those getting funding prior to GDC!

We just got a huge, huge boost from Robert Brooks which we are immensely grateful for. So while we are far short of our goal; every little bit helps because  San Francisco is not a cheap city at all, even with sharing rooms, rides, etc. So if you can spare even $5 it would be a huge help to our scholarship recipients.

Donate to help our GDC Scholarship recipients defray costs of attendance

Our Story:

So this is the first year that #INeedDiverseGames has been part of the GDC Scholarship program! We got 25 all access passes to the Game Developer Conference March 14 – 18, 2016 in San Francisco, US.

While we’re ecstatic to be a part of this program, we are but a wee organization that cannot give monetary support to our All Access Pass recipients to travel to and from the conference.  Ideally we’d like to offer $500 – $1000 per recipient travel stipends to ease the cost burden going to San Francisco for a week long conference will entail.

All funds raised will go to our recipients based upon needs stated on the scholarship application. We’re doing this fundraiser since we don’t yet have sponsorships for our organization and don’t want pass recipients to miss out if travel funding is a deal breaker.

So we humbly ask you to help us to help our community by making sure all of our recipients get a chance to attend the Game Developers Conference. We’ve added a bit of a cushion to account for fees that IndieGoGo will take out to process the funding etc. We’re going to open a business checking account with our January Patreon funds so this money will not go through any one member of #INeedDiverseGames personal bank account

Note: We can’t open a business account without being incorporated, that hasn’t happened yet so funds transfer will go to our founder > Paypal > Distributed via Paypal to recipients.

Our Scholarship awardees:

  • TJ Ransom
  • Kahlief Adams
  • Whitney Beltran
  • Ian Ramsay
  • Caitlin Kloeckner
  • Nicole Stark
  • Alexis Jauregui
  • Sloane Cee
  • Weiyu Li
  • Kamina Vincent
  • Jessica Price
  • Ronald Jones
  • Charles Babb
  • Alexei Pepers
  • Neil Jones
  • Michael Beyene
  • Adam Kuta
  • Ashley Casarrubias
  • Michelle Ayoung
  • Travis Mercredi
  • Amanda Wallace
  • Marco Ryan
  • David Ross
  • Shareef Jackson
  • Bianca Anderson

Published by cypheroftyr

Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a non-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers attend the Game Developer Conference by participating in the GDC Scholarship program, helps assist attendance at other industry events, and is seeking partnership with organizations and initiatives. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make it better and more inclusive for everyone. She founded and was the EIC of Fresh Out of Tokens podcast where games culture was discussed and viewed through a lense of feminism, intersectionality and diversity. Now she’s a co-host on Spawn on Me Podcast. Along with all of that, she’s the Programming Coordinator for OrcaCon, she often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at multiple conventions throughout the year. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications.