With a sad yet content heart, as you all know, we ended Project FUR Japan last week. Our grand total is L$7,432,284!!! OVER 7 MILLION LINDENS! That means (minus charges LL take out for cash out), we will be donating over $26,500 to JEARS! That doesn’t include the $1400.00 USD we have already donated to them!
There is a few things I want to review with everyone before I donate this money.
Firstly, I did contact LL about raising my cash out limit a few weeks ago. The highest they will let me cash out daily is $2500.00 USD, which as you know, this will take a bit to cash out. I had no idea, when Project FUR Japan was just a dream in my head, that it would ever get as big and successful as it was. As time went on, I received many instant messages in-game telling me things that got me truthfully, a bit nervous. Things I never thought about. Things like that PayPal has to report to the IRS when anything is donated over $20000 USD. Questions like “What happens when the IRS contacts you because LL reported that you cashed out such a large amount of money” These are things I never thought of when I started Project FUR Japan because as I said, I NEVER in my life imagined it would get so big.
I have made a few calls to PayPal about it. I have also, two days ago, written to LL asking them if there is any steps I should take on their end as they will be reporting this amount being cashed out to the IRS at the end of the tax year. I am still awaiting a reply from them. I have even called two accountants RL about the project to explain to them what is going on and asking their advice. Both accountants, in short, stated I don’t need to do a thing because this was just a one-time fundraiser. How much I made them understand about our world of Second Life, I am not to sure about. To explain it to anyone that has never heard about it, as you all know, is not an easy thing. So being that I am not sure either of them fully grasped what Second Life is and how it works (cashing out, etc,), I am still left uneasy because I do want to make sure this is done the correct way.
So today, I am going to make an appointment with an accountant, to sit with them face to face, and talk to them fully about the situation so that I am sure I do this the legal way, with all the necessary steps taken that need to be taken. I would like to tell all of you that I will be taking the accountant fee for the appointment out of the Project FUR Japan donations. This I know is legal to do as it does have to do with the fundraiser. I did check and confirm this with one of the accountants I had spoken on the phone to. If anyone is an accountant and have any words of wisdom, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Now for the good stuff:)
I really don’t know how to even start to go about thanking all of you, for all of your support, all of your time spent, all of your donations, all of your heart, and all of your kind words through this project.
First, to every person that reached out and donated your creations. With all the fundraisers recently going on in Second Life, you graciously took the time to create yet another wonderful creation of yours to make sure that these animals received all the help they could.
Second, to all the bloggers. With every blog, came another person that read your blog that didn’t hear about our project, bringing these animals even more help. We thank you for shining the light where it needed to be so that others would be aware.
Last but not least, to the people who stood by my side this entire time from day one. The people who did this project side by side with me. To Tristan, Sanura, and Isaiah, the people who stayed up to the wee hours of the morning handing out info packages, donation jars, answering questions, calming my butt down when I was in tears, telling me to go to sleep when my brain was fried LOL! We were a great team and I couldn’t have done this without you, I really REALLY couldn’t have. I love you guys so so much. Please thank them everyone. Sometimes, because I am the “owner” of the group, or because I write a lot of the posts, people think I was the brainchild of this. I wasn’t, these three people were in it just as much as I was, and they deserve as much recognition for this project.
A lot of you are also asking if you should keep the donation jars up in your stores. Please do! Just because the sim is closed does not mean that these animals do not need help anymore. I will keep these donations going until the search is over in Japan. I am planning on making monthly donations to JEARS from the tip jars. If you want to put your vendor up in your store that you had at the sim, you are welcome to do that also!
This project has inspired me beyond anything I could have ever imagined. As most of you know, I have owned a store in Second Life for the past four years. The day Project FUR Japan closed, I also closed the virtual doors to my business. This has not only inspired me, but has shined a new light to what good things Second Life can do for the real life world. I am now dedicating myself to helping animals RL and their causes inside SL. The ideas of how I want to do this are still brewing but I know with as much support as we have been given with this project, there is more than just me in this virtual world we live in to want to do good for our rl world.
I will keep you all updated with the donation process after I meet with an accountant and am confident that this will be donated the correct way. Thanks to each and every one of you for saving an animal’s life. I will never forget it, nor will I forget Project FUR Japan. I’ve been in this game since 2005, and this was, the most rewarding thing I have ever done. With all the tears, sleepless nights, hard work, and bumps in the road, I would do it all again, in a split second. I love animals so much, and I thank you all for loving them along side with me <3
Blazin
