In nerddom, there are few forces as titanic as Critical Role. Commonly considered to be one of the driving forces behind the current revival and “golden age” of tabletop gaming with their Dungeons and Dragons-focused show, they’re a prevalent superhouse among nerddom.
Since breaking off from their original partner company Geek and Sundry, Critical Role has solidified themselves as a bit of a Renaissance Man of a company, dipping their toes into plenty of other avenues.
With an animated series on the way, they’ve seen fit to jump in a bit deeper as well. Today, Critical Role announced the Critical Role Foundation, a non-profit charity organization that the company will be managing.
This is far from their first jump into charitable dealings, though. Critical Role has been a long-time partner of the 826LA, an LA-based foundation that focuses on teaching creative writing to children.
That’s far from their only experience, though. Each member has a favored charity, many of which have been highlighted, such as Pablove, Red Nose Day, OutRight International, and OSD, championing medicine, LGBTIQ+ rights, and veterans, as well as several others.
Often calling on their massive and ever-growing fanbase for help when they highlight a charity, Critical Role has raised over $600,000 for charity at this point. But with this new foundation being set in stone rather than a simple call to action, that number is likely to grow exponentially.
The Critical Role Foundation is being spearheaded by Critical Role’s own Ashley Johnson, who’s also known for her roles in Blindspot, The Last of Us, and many more. Alongside her is a board consisting of Matthew Mercer, Mark Koro, Ed Lopez, and Rachel Romero.
The CRF is also extremely transparent over where the money of a donation will be going to. 85% will go directly to the partner nonprofits that they’re helping to fund, while 10% will hang back for their Emergency Assistance Fund in case of a humanitarian crisis Only 5% of a donation will be retained to cover operational costs.
Their first campaign is set as a partnership with the First Nations Development Institute.
“Because of COVID-19, there’s been a significant impact on Native communities,” Johnson stated at the opening of the 111th episode of Critical Role, announcing the CRF’s founding. “Right now, only about 15% of applications to the Native Youth and Culture Fund receive support.”
The CRF is set on helping to preserve traditional native culture for the youth of these tribes, which have been absolutely ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic. As time goes on, the Foundation will be setting their sights on more and more causes, giving the Critters chance after chance to help leave the world better than we found it.
