A bundle of 422 (as current, more stuff seems to be added) PC and TTRPG games to aide those affected by fires in California, starts at $10 USD. No Steam codes, but nice for DRM free copies you can download and run anywhere, anytime. Goodie, Goodie, Yum Yum.
Standouts for me:
Tunic (lowest ever price $14.99 USD)
Skatebird
EDIT: oh there's a trailer of some of the games here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O93yfcZzfm4
Used these in the past and couldn't get any scripts to work (on Chrome). I had to go back to firefox and an old script worked.
They don't say what amount of sales goes to those affected, or how it will get allocated/distributed. I don't see any details of a registered charity either. It's a good deal on some of those games, but I wouldn't buy this thinking the money will ever reach victims of fires.
All proceeds, minus processing fees, go to CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort), a Los Angeles-based organization which offers direct monetary support to survivors of the fires, and supports projects for fire resilience in affected areas (and potential disaster zones).
minus processing fees
Which is how much exactly?
So CORE is a charitable non-profit. But it's a bit awkward that I have to go searching for that info myself instead of it being included on the page for an apparent fundraising campaign.
They work globally:
We are a global humanitarian organization that delivers immediate response and long-term recovery solutions to underserved communities across the globe.
Their own page about the recent wildfires panhandling for donations doesn't even tell us how much of your donation will be earmarked (if at all) for victims of the LA fires. On that page they do proudly present the following stats:
31,000 Angelenos served
$1 million+ in cash assistance
33,000 resources distributed
Doing the maths on that, less than $1million (after accounting for 33,000 resources distributed including such things as "N95 masks" and "kid-friendly gift bags") spread across 31,000 people is less than $32 per person which is barely a big mac and happy meal for a recently homeless single mom and her kid.
Their financials reveal they spend around 41% of income on admin. But they are not at all transparent about how much of that goes towards CEO, exeuctive and board of directors remuneration. But even if that is only a small fraction, it's still a lot to waste on admin instead of spending it directly on charitable programs and directly on people in need.
Again I reiterate my first point:
I wouldn't buy this thinking the money will ever reach victims of the LA fires.
and I'll say it again, yes:
It's a good deal on some of those games
Sounds like all charities to me, but then again I am extremely cynical of organised charities because while they may have the 'intention' of helping people in need, invariably a large percentage goes towards running the business and paying their execs.
I can remove the charity tag from the description - I view this just as a game bundle, with the side intention of it may help someone in need.
resources distributed and cash advances are different things.
Cash advances are usually paid for hotels and things like that for those that need it - not everyone will need that. Some people will need something simple to keep their kid entertained or a mask while they go look over their now ruined property, but maybe don't need anywhere to stay.
They break down their general and administrative costs as well. Over a million of that is for insurance, something these groups unfortunately need a lot of. They only spend $3m on fundraising, which is really quite good.
doesn't even tell us how much of your donation will be earmarked (if at all) for victims of the LA fires
Many charities do this on purpose, because everyone will flood them with donations for the LA fires that they can't use. They need to come up with inventive ways to use the money that are wasteful as a result, because often it's hard to return excess funds (it costs a lot in terms of financial fees to pay a portion to a huge group of people).
@freefall101: But they don't even say they will use it all for LA fire victims until they've offered all the help that is needed and only then reallocate to other things.
The breakdown doesn't tell you how much executives and board members receive. Lots of charities unfortunately pay out 6 figure salaries to part time board members and other execs who are in it for resume padding and easy money.
But they don't even say they will use it all for LA fire victims until they've offered all the help that is needed and only then reallocate to other things.
"All the help that is needed" is not a clear line. Do they start paying for houses from people who didn't have insurance, for example? It's also going to legally bind them into a situation that can cause massive headaches. You can see from existing funding they have some limited funds but most are pumped into the same handful of programs whether restricted or not, there's no reason to not believe them.
You need to read their Form 990 where they report what their executives and directors receive too. Their directors are unpaid. The salaries of executives aren't really out of line for a company that size (it's a hell of a lot less than the exec team and VPs at my company) and they're all full time employees. It's less than 10% of overall salaries and they had a very quiet year compared to the prior year (salaries were down $9m overall).
Are they a shining example of how charities should be run? No. Are there any red flags or reasons not to donate though? No. Particularly when the developers have all decided they're onboard with giving money to this organisation, all we need to do is buy their games.
@freefall101: Thanks for tracking down that info. It reinforces my initial perception. Like I thought… remuneration anywhere from $180k to $272k. I realise it's in line with private corporations, but the thing is it's meant to be a charity, not a for profit milk machine for the executive team.
@tenpercent: Hi @tenpercent
You raise important questions, which when public monies & public goodwill are involved is a must to resolve & be transparent about.
I am sorry if I am reinventing the wheel/repeating any of the above information:
I found some "charity rating" sites, where CORE is listed.
The short version:
In 2023 "Sean Penn’s Charity, CORE, Described as “a Money Mess”"
In 2024: The 5 (five) highest paid range from $203K (USD) to $272K (USD)
Charity Navigator in 2024 now lists them with a 98% rating and 4 out of 5 stars.
So they have improved and lifted their game.
Also this kind of work does come with a learning curve, including the effectiveness of the work. Philanthropy is greater in the US, because government is seen as a hindrance in people lives.
Some extra context: The co-founders Ann-Lee & Sean Penn were motivated by the tragedy of what happened to the relief efforts in the 2010 Haitian earthquake. To avoid specifically saying what happened: as it is very awful & harrowing, they are both are trying their best.
https://blog.charitywatch.org/sean-penns-charity-core-descri…
https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/271703237#overall-ratin…
https://www.britannica.com/event/2010-Haiti-earthquake
some info here when the call to submitters originally went out, with follow up about why it was taking so long for registering with charities etc. https://itch.io/jam/california-fire-relief-bundle
and more info in the discussion thread - https://itch.io/jam/california-fire-relief-bundle/topic/4514…
It'd be nice to think 100% f any more I donate to any charity actually goes to the victims, but I know it doesn't (Vinnies etc. I'm looking at you).
Personally for $10 the half a dozen games or so I was interested in is well worth it (since one of them - Tunic - historically lowest ever price is $14.99 USD).
Donate for charity, or donate for games - the choice is the individual's.
How'd you get it for $16? PayPal has it for $16.72
sorry.. not following you at all, I never said anywhere I got it for $16. It is $10 USD.
@Roastlamb: That was a moderator's edit, and it says "~A$16". That ~ means approximately. Different payment methods and currency fluctuations will result in a different AUD amount. I'll say that PayPal's currency conversion is pretty poor in my experience.
Any games in this bundle worth playing?
relatable, I've got Tunic and glazing over everything else
you'd actually need to have a look and see if any games in the bundle interest you. Personally I love coriander, others hate it. It's up to you to know what you like or don't. Letting other people tell you what you should like is where the US is going at the moment.
Here's a few neat games you might wanna try, I've played most of them:
Tangle Tower (point and click adventure detective game from the Crow Country devs)
Cook, Serve Delicious and it's sequel (restaurant managing with warioware style food making minigame)
Fuzz Dungeon (a bizzarre walking sim from an artist)
Eldritch (a low polygon rouguelike immersive sim FPS, with cthulu themes)
They Bleed Pixels (a hard platformer, with cthulu themes)
Skatebird (a kind of ok playing skateboard game, birds are cute though)
Ripped Pants at Work (this is the game I didn't play in this list, but it's a stealth game about finding a pair of pants at work so I'm throwing it in)
![[PC, Mac] California Fire Relief Game Bundle - 422 Items for US$10 (~A$16) @ Itch.io](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/39/895439.jpg?h=bde0627a)
one of the annoying things with itch.io is games in a bundle aren't automatically added to your itch.io account, so I use this to add them in bulk - https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/446312-itch-io-automated-a…