Please Donate

https://www.paypal.me/helenboydbooks

Or make a monthly donation:

This is the least comfortable request I’ve ever made, but we would like to keep doing what we’re doing – education, outreach, and advocacy – and to do so we could use some help. Contrary to popular opinion, there isn’t any money in writing books! There is, however, a lot of money spent promoting books, and attending conferences. Unfortunately, neither of us is independently wealthy, and there’s no trust fund to be found. Here’s the breakdown:

• First off, we have basic costs: paying for the website, hosting fees, etc.
• Second, I spent a lot of time moderating the boards, finding information, answering emails, talking to people on the phone when they’re flipping out, providing a shoulder for someone to cry on, etc. People who contact me often say things like “If I could just talk to you for a minute” or “I hope you don’t mind me sending you emails” or similar things, but the reality is: if I actually read emails from people who have questions, thoughts they want to hash out, or who need resources, hours of my day are gone. Blogging, gathering resources, maintaining our calendar of events, reading support group newsletters to stay abreast of various trans community happenings all take time — time that I’m not otherwise working. I don’t charge for my time; instead, I ask for donations.
• That said, you can also hire me if you want my personal attention to your own situation. Likewise, you can recommend that an organization or insitution hire me to speak in your area.
• Finally, going to conferences costs. If I’m invited to be a keynote speaker, conferences often cover travel expenses, but as “just another presenter” at conferences, I have to pay my own travel, food, hotel, AND pay conferences fees. Plus – people want Betty to come with me, so there’s two of us to cover. For the most part Betty and I feel it’s important for us to present at various conferences because there is so little partner advocacy that isn’t done by social workers or therapists, who are not as able to help out with creative ways to be sexual with a tranny, or the like.
• The final issue is that writing books about gender and transgender stuff doesn’t pay much. Not only can I not even think about living off of my earnings as a writer, but I will mostly likely have to give up writing for a while in order to work full-time so we can catch up with our bills.

So if you like what we’re doing, and want us to keep doing it, you can show your support by making a donation (of your choice). If you use the boards regularly, I’d really appreciate a small monthly donation (or an annual amount equivalent to a year’s monthly donations). You can donate via PayPal by choosing one of the options below, or you could also simply send a check or money order, to:

This donation is NOT tax-deductible. We’re looking into how to do that, but for now, this would just be considered a gift. Thank you so much to those who have already donated. Wow, do I hate asking people for money. I used to work as a fundraiser, and Betty has to do a lot of schmoozing for theatre fundraising, but it never, ever gets easier.
Thank you, Helen Boyd