When we hold in-person events, it’s not hard to see where the price of the event goes. We have to rent space for the convention itself, we may offer overnight rooms at the convention, at Seattle University we’re contractually obliged to include some meals for the attendees, we have some physical supplies such as signs and badges, we produce shirts for the event, and we have admissions and sales taxes to pay afterwards. (In addition, we have general operating costs such as maintaining our registration as a corporation and licensing as a business.) With our event this year being held online, the obvious expenses of an in-person event don’t apply, which may raise the question why we’re charging for the event at all. We thought a brief explanation would be in order.

Since our founding, Go Play NW has been supported solely by our community; we do not have corporate sponsors or other funding sources. This year’s expenses include approximately $500 in general operating costs and approximately $200 toward the technical infrastructure (Discord boosts and bots) needed to hold the online event. Our base daily ticket price for this year’s online event reflects our minimum estimate for attendance, the funds needed to cover our expenses, and our desire to be as welcome, and therefore affordable, as possible. Excess funds from this year’s event will go into our foundation funds.

Our foundation funds enable us to reserve a venue for in-person events and cover other functional expenses in advance of opening registration for each year’s event. These funds help us not only be prepared to cover unexpected expenses but also take advantage of opportunities to grow and improve. In recent years we’ve been working toward making Go Play NW more welcome and accessible to a wider variety of people. Our efforts have included offering sponsored attendance to people in need and hiring consultants on accessibility and diversity issues, and we will be continuing to explore more ways to improve in those respects.

Go Play NW is an entirely volunteer-run organization, and neither board members nor staff receive financial compensation for their time and efforts. We appreciate your support!