Fund Drive 2012: How Does it Work?

[linguist at LINGUISTLIST.ORG]

Dear friends and supporters,

You've probably noticed that the LINGUIST site has undergone some cosmetic

changes, and now hosts the epic story of LINGQUEST, our 2012 Fund Drive. 
As a non-profit organization, we rely on donations to continue our work
for
the linguistics community. To view more information on the purpose of our 
Fund Drive, as well as take this opportunity to donate, please visit the 
following links:

http://linguistlist.org/fund-drive/2012/info.cfm
https://linguistlist.org/donation/donate/donate1.cfm

This year's Fund Drive features some familiar challenges as well as some 
new ones; here's a brief guide to the challenges and events for this
year's
Fund Drive:

1) The LINGQUEST Saga: This year, the scribes here at LINGUIST
headquarters
have penned a thrilling tale for the enjoyment of our subscribers. Every 
week, a new chapter of the story will be posted-- and you, our readers, 
will choose the path of the adventure! Each Friday, the valiant heroes of 
the Illocutionary Force will face off against a new threat to the 
linguistic world; each Friday, you'll be able to vote with your donations 
to determine the next chapter in their epic struggle. The first chapter of

the LINGQUEST Saga arrives this Friday; visit

http://linguistlist.org/fund-drive/2012/saga.cfm!

2) Subfield Challenge: This year, the Subfield Challenge will run for the 
duration of Fund Drive! Each time you donate, you'll have the option to 
choose a subfield affiliation. We'll track which fields have donated most,

and keep you updated on who's winning over at the Battle of the Fields page

(http://linguistlist.org/fund-drive/2012/battle-of-the-fields.cfm).

Last year, Sociolinguistics took the top slot, with Language Acquisition/ 
Psycholinguistics in a close second-- who will emerge victorious in 2012? 
Donate now to fight for the honor of your subfield!

3) Graduate School Challenge: As in the Subfield Challenge, you have the 
option with each donation to represent the graduate school of your choice.

We'll tally the institutions who have donated most, sorted by region, and 
keep you abreast of the progress on the Graduate Tournament page
(http://linguistlist.org/fund-drive/2012/graduate-tournament.cfm).  The
winning school will receive a special prize in recognition of their 
valiant efforts. Donate now to secure your graduate school's place in the 
hall of champions!

4) Limerick Contest: Each year, LINGUIST readers write extraordinarily 
clever limericks on the topic of linguistics, Fund Drive, or LINGUIST List

(see some masterpieces from years past at
http://linguistlist.org/fund-drive/2012/limericks.cfm).

This year, limericks submitted by our readers will be posted every Friday,

and will be open for voting until the following Friday. The winning 
limericks from each week will go on to the final round, and at the end of 
Fund Drive, our readers will vote for the final champion-- could there be
a
greater glory than to be Champion Limerick-Writer for the entire
discipline
of linguistics? Submit your entries to funddrivelinguistlist.org!

5) Premiums: This year, as in years past, we'll be sending our donors gifts
to thank them for their support. This year's premiums, speaking modestly, 
are AMAZING. In addition to the satisfaction of knowing that your support 
helps keep the discipline's largest online resource free for everyone,
your
donations will earn you some very cool LINGUIST swag. Visit the Rewards 
for Valor page to see this year's thank-you gifts:

http://linguistlist.org/fund-drive/2012/rewards-for-valor.cfm

In addition to all of the above-described fun, Fund Drive 2012 also has 
some surprises in store. Keep an eye on the Fund Drive site, and your 
inbox, for the latest developments, and donate today!

Donate here: https://linguistlist.org/donation/donate/donate1.cfm

With gratitude,
The LINGUIST List crew