I hope you all are well aware of DC and WB’s charity project, We Can Be Heroes, by now. It is a great charity program that helps raise funds for groups working in the Horn of Africa to fight hunger, poverty, and illness. It is doing this by using the characters and creators of DC comics to raise awareness while also giving fans something awesome and DC related for their donations. The charity has been around over a year now and, to prevent the waters from calming, they have found a great new way to stir attention and bring in more money for their cause: crowd funding. DC’s new tactic is to offer incentives through crowd funding site, IndieGoGo, in hopes of raising $50,000 in the next 45 days. Amazingly, as just one day has shown, it likely won’t take that long as the company has surpassed the half way mark in just under 24 hours. The IndieGoGo campaign is run alongside Mercy Corps, Save The Children, and the International Rescue Committee, but DC is providing all the donation incentives, with digital comic downloads, signed comics and prints, limited edition variants, and even the chance to be drawn into Batman: Earth One volume 2! That’s right, for only $5,000 donated to a good cause, Gary Frank will draw you into the December 2014 release of Batman: Earth One volume 2. There are 3 opportunities on that perk level, while many of the other perks have already sold out. Expect DC to post a few more to keep the money rolling in as they enter year 2 of their We Can Be Heroes campaign.

 

 

Of course, the IndieGoGo campaign is just a start as We Can Be Heroes enters year 2. DC has even bigger plans to bring in big money for their cause thanks to the aid of KIA motors and their DC New 52 themed character cars. The company plans to auction several off later this year, at San Diego Comic Con, for big bucks to help the charity. But even then, there is more with auctions of original art, digital download bundles, etc that will all help aid those currently suffering in the Horn of Africa. Read DC’s full press release below:

Get something good. Do something great.

This is the theme of the second year of DC Entertainment’s We Can Be Heroes giving campaign designed to raise funds and awareness for the devastating hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.

Inviting fans to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Super Heroes of the Justice League and the creators who bring them to life, DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson today proudly announced a collection of exciting new initiatives that will support the continued success of the We Can Be Heroes (http://www.WeCanBeHeroes.org) giving campaign.

“We hope to build upon last year’s very successful inaugural campaign, which raised more than
$2 million and helped change the lives of more than 5 million people,” said Nelson. “You don’t need a super power to be a hero. One small act can make you a hero and a lot of small acts can save millions of lives.”

This is the second year of the biggest philanthropic initiative in DC Entertainment and its parent company, Warner Bros.’, corporate history. It is designed to raise funds to benefit more than 8 million men, women and children in the Horn of Africa. The various 2013 program initiatives offer unique Super Hero experiences and limited-edition merchandise to engage, excite and empower legions of supporters.

The first of such initiatives starts Tuesday, April 2 with the launch of a Super Hero-themed crowdfunding campaign. Made up of several mini-campaigns throughout 2013, each will feature members of the Justice League – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg – and will be hosted on Indiegogo, the world’s largest crowdfunding platform (www.indiegogo.com/at/WeCanBeHeroes).

The first phase of the campaign (April 2 through May 7) will focus on Batman, featuring one-of-a-kind experiences and limited edition items related to one of DC Entertainment’s most popular Super Heroes. Additional phases will follow, featuring other members of the Justice League. Several levels of donation incentives have been created in order to encourage participation. From signed graphic novels and video games, to the opportunity to meet your favorite creators, to being drawn into a Batman graphic novel, there is something for every fan.

“Crowdfunding is the perfect platform for We Can Be Heroes. The more fans contribute, the more they can get! Those with fewer dollars to offer will find there is something that shows their support for the campaign and their love of these Super Heroes, and those with more to donate will find that their contribution level directly ties to the level of collectability and special access offers that every fan wants,” said Nelson.

Donation Incentives Include:

  • “Batman: Earth One Vol. 1” hardcover (signed, sketched, and numbered by the writer and artist)
  • We Can Be Heroes t-shirt featuring original Batman artwork by Jim Lee
  • Warner Bros. Animation studio tour featuring a meet and greet with the legendary creators behind “Batman: The Animated Series,” “Batman Beyond,” “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” and “Beware the Batman”
  • Invitations to the exclusive DC Entertainment VIP Event at 2013 Comic-Con International: San Diego
  • Comic-Con International: San Diego Experience with Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, including two passes to the already sold-out event, airfare and hotel room. Opportunity to be drawn into a Batman graphic novel and receive the original art of appearance (personalized & signed by the artist)

Additional elements of the We Can Be Heroes giving campaign include Super Hero-inspired vehicles, an online auction and digital bundles – all designed to harness the passion fans have for their favorite Super Heroes and transform it into critical funding to fight the hunger crisis:

  • Justice League-inspired vehicles: Over the last six months, DC Entertainment has partnered with KIA Motors to bring the World’s Greatest Super Heroes to life by combining automotive styling with comic book art. The partnership, which has yielded seven individually customized vehicles to date, harnesses the talents of legendary comic book artist and DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Jim Lee, who has collaborated on the design of each car with his vision for each iconic member of DC Comics’ Justice League.
  • In addition to the seven KIA vehicles inspired by the individual Super Hero characters, the DC Entertainment-KIA partnership will culminate with a fully-drivable custom car, also designed by Jim Lee, that encompasses each member of the Justice League to be auctioned off at 2013 Comic-Con International: San Diego to raise money for the cause.
  • Online Auction: The online auction will also include other highly unique items such as a collection of original pieces of comic book character artwork, entitled Darkness & Light, which was custom commissioned and created by contemporary artists for the benefit of We Can Be Heroes.
  • Digital Bundles: An online fundraising initiative that offers fans a suite of popular digital comic books, movies, games, and music from DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. with the opportunity to set a percentage of the purchase price to go to the We Can Be Heroes campaign.

All funds raised will benefit the campaign’s humanitarian aid partners - Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps - to deliver food, medicine and other resources critical to the survival of people in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya.

For more information on We Can Be Heroes, visit www.WeCanBeHeroes.org. For more information specifically on the Batman Crowdfunding Campaign on Indiegogo, log on to www.indiegogo.com/at/WeCanBeHeroes.

 

So, as their new header says, get something good and do something great by picking up some awesome and limited edition DC swag that is not only tax deductible, but life saving in its financial donations to charity!