Critical Role Launches Non-Profit Charity Organization

non-profit organization led by Critical Role cast member Ashley Johnson. The organization will [...]

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(Photo: Critical Role)

Critical Role has launched a new non-profit organization that will serve to organize the streaming show's charity effort and partner with programs and projects that are changing the world for the better. Critical Role officially announced the Critical Role Foundation, a new 501(c)(3) non-profit organization led by Critical Role cast member Ashley Johnson. The organization will run specific fundraising campaigns in partnership with various other organizations, and will reserve 10% of every dollar raised for an emergency fund that can be used to to donate funds in the event of natural disasters and other unforeseen events that require immediate humanitarian assistance.

"Since day one of our livestreams we've wanted to create a way to help change the world for the better with our platform," Johnson told ComicBook.com via an email when asked about the creation of the Critical Role Foundation. "We've worked on a few one-off charity campaigns, but we feel that now, after working towards this for two years and with everything that's going on in the world, it's an absolutely crucial time to launch the foundation."

"Times are tough and we want to help out in any way we can and thankfully the Critters have always been beyond generous in the past, raising well over $600,000 for a wide variety of charities," Johnson continued. Now that we have a more streamlined approach, we hope to raise even more for the organizations we and the Critters care about the most."

The first organization the Critical Role Foundation will partner with is the First Nations Development Institute (First Nations), whose mission is to strengthen American Indian economies and to support healthy Native communities through a variety of different programs. The Critical Role Foundation's initial fundraising goal of $50,000 will help support the First Nations Development Institute's Native Youth & Culture Fund for an entire year.

Johnson noted that the Critical Role Foundation will also look to partner with organizations that support causes including underprivileged and underserved community-focused education and health services, veteran services, LGBTIQ organizations, American Indian and Native community-support organizations and more. She also stated that donations are split between existing partner organizations 826LA, Red Nose Day, OSD, Pablove, and OutRight International when a specific campaign is ongoing.

"Our mission statement is to leave the world better than we found it," Johnson said about the Critical Role Foundation's long term goals. "This phrase has been echoed and repeated in the hallways at Critical Role for years and that's exactly what we aim to do. We're going to be partnering with organizations we care about the most that reflect our values and bring positive change to the world."

Johnson also told ComicBook.com that the Critical Role Foundation will act as a sister organization to Critical Role, and that the Critical Role Foundation will be "present" in Critical Role in a variety of ways. "When the world is in a better place and we can go outside again *uncomfortably laughs*, we'd like to do some Critical Role Foundation-specific events," Johnson said. "We already have a ton of ideas and plans for the future to interact with the Critters. When it is safe to do so, we'll potentially look to plan opportunities that help highlight the different organizations we'll be working with."

More information about the Critical Role Foundation can be found at criticalrolefoundation.org.

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