25th Anniversary Special Fund FAQ

The most important query: checking the math behind 25 years of writing.
The first NaNoWriMo challenge took place in July 1999. November 2023 marks the 25th
occurrence of the challenge, hence #NaNoWriMo25. On top of that, we officially
registered as a 501(c)3 nonprofit in 2006… yet another birthday milestone! No matter the
start year though, we like to think of NaNoWriMo and our creative mission as TIMELESS.

How did you come up with a USD $2 million operating budget goal?
First, we took a deep breath and thought about what we really needed and what we wanted.
For about 5 years now, we’ve operated the organization around USD $1.4 million. We want
to be able to invest more deeply in our programs and staff team beyond a year at a time.
That’s why we put our Math Hats on and mapped out what three years of NaNoWriMo
would cost, comparing previous years’ budgets with our hopes and dreams. Becoming a
USD $2 million organization will help our community and participants experience a more
diverse, supportive creative home for years to come.

Can you tell us more about your annual expenses?

NaNoWriMo runs on pep talks, webcasts, community events, how-to resources,
word-sprints, in-person volunteers and teachers, hundreds of emails, and a TON of
encouraging gifs, not to mention our two highly interactive NaNoWriMo and Young
Writers Program web apps... and much, much more. It takes a village to put all these things
into motion. Our biggest expenses are staff salaries and benefits to support the folks who
make NaNoWriMo happen. We also pay for development and server costs to run both our

Updated: October 2023.

web apps, 1000s of regional writing kits to connect participants in real life, classroom
resources for educators and young writers, and various (mandatory!) expenses to keep us
in good standing with the IRS.

Whom are you asking to donate?

We’re proud to be a community-funded organization. From 2012-2022, about 37% of all our
revenue came from community donors making small dollar, monthly, or major gifts, and
28% of revenue came from merchandise sales. As we look ahead to the next few years, we
want to continue having our participants lead the way! Gratefully, we also expanded our
fundraising team to connect with values-aligned foundation grant donors and corporate
sponsors, too. Together with this broad, diverse community of supporters, we can build up
our organization to more effectively carry out our creative programs and services.

How can we help?

Our vision is that NaNoWriMo will be fully funded by people who share our commitment to
joy, storytelling, inclusiveness, and belonging. Whether you can give money, time, or the
gift of your creative energy, we’re excited for you to join in!

For financial gifts, we invite every participant to give at a level that works best for them.
Our average gift is USD $25. We do encourage monthly giving to keep the joy of writing
present and accessible for you—and from a nonprofit point of view, monthly giving also
helps “keep the lights on” at NaNoWriMo HQ.

Make a community donation today.

For contributions above USD $1,000, sponsorships, planned giving, foundation grants, or
other opportunities and questions, please contact fundraising@nanowrimo.org.

Thank you for your support, and thank you for your stories!

~NaNoWriMo

Additional Resources:
25th Anniversary Case Statement | 2023 Donor Survey Key Results Infographic