We’d like to first thank everyone who participated in Indie Giving this year. It turned out to be much more labor intensive than previous years, but we were happily impressed how everyone stepped up to the challenge and kept the end goal in mind. After every Indie Giving event, we’re reminded how hard-working, awesome, fun and kind game developers truly are.

It was great to see some familiar faces. It means a lot to us to see you year after year taking part in this event. We’re equally thrilled to have met everyone participating for the first time. We hope you had a great experience, and look forward to seeing you back next year.

Brunch

Prior to our charity work, volunteers were treated to a delicious brunch at the Delancey Street Restaurant. The restaurant employs individuals who have fallen on hard times, but are eager to rebuild their lives with the support of the Delancey Street Foundation. All profits from the restaurant goes directly to house, feed and clothe the employees, as well as teach them skills and values to promote a successful drug and crime-free life. If you ever have a chance to visit the restaurant, we recommend MaMa’s omelet!

Charity Work

This year, we partnered with the Parks Conservancy to help re-vegetate a threatened wetland area in the Presidio of San Francisco. We brought a small army of game developers suited up for a meaningful real life game of extreme gardening, and they did not disappoint! Donned with rubber boots, work gloves and knee pads, and wielding mini pick axes and shovels, we were able to successfully plant nearly 1,000 native plants in a few hours of work. With proper care and continued support by all the hard working folks in the Parks Conservancy, this area will thrive again one day, and we are proud to have been part of it. And even though there were dozens of game developers slashing at the ground with sharp foreign objects, we’re happy to report that there were no injuries 🙂

Sponsors

Indie Giving wouldn’t be possible without the support from our awesome sponsors. Their donations afforded us everything we needed to succeed, and we can’t thank them enough. We don’t require sponsors to donate a specific amount, we simply ask for whatever they’re able to provide. UBM/GDC is always amazing to work with. Among many other things, they donate the GDC passes (which they upgraded for us this year) and also promote the event. FlowPlay has been a long-time supporter of Indie Giving and we appreciate their continued support. We were happy to work with Appodeal who took to the idea of Indie Giving right away and were very supportive. Without the support from these gracious sponsors, the event would be greatly diminished and might not happen at all.

Spreading the Love

In association with our volunteering, we will also be donating directly to the Parks Conservancy, with portions being donated to Episcopal Community Services, who provide housing, jobs, shelter, and essential services to over 7,000 homeless people in the bay area, and the International Rescue Committee, a refugee-centric worldwide organization which helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and regain control of their future.

Indie Giving Explained

The Indie Giving event is a special program designed to help independent game developers attend the Game Developer Conference in San Francisco. Everyone who signs up also takes part in a charity event to support a local organization. This community effort is organized by FGL, with the support from our sponsors. We use the sponsorship money to pay for tools, food and anything needed for the volunteers. Every penny leftover is donated. Together, we’ve not only saved these organizations hundreds of work hours, but we’ve also donated tens of thousands of dollars on behalf of our contributors over the last 7 years.

Thanks again to everyone involved!

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