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COUNTDOWN TO THE PROJECT FOR AWESOME

2023-02-17 · announcement · Hank · 3:59 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Global development (also: Nerdfighteria) · mode: Personal essay · tags: calendar ritual, fundraising ask, civic or action cta, community lore

In a premiere counting down to the Project for Awesome, Hank jokes about summoning Butfartman and the P4A's accidental mascots, argues the livestream is goofy and joyful because people facing hard problems together become human community, and explains the matching grants, the charities and how to vote, donate and watch.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Premiere countdown: chanting to summon Butfartman, former P4A mascots, Crank Green

  • ★★★ Hank declares it officially countdown time to the Project for Awesome, having set the video to premiere so viewers watch it together in the chat. — 00:00:00 · Project for Awesome
  • ★★ Hank says Butfartman, Beanie Sanfurbs, Crank Green, Dave the Fish and Glenn and Dale are mascots of former Projects for Awesome; no one knows this year's (2023) mascot until it starts. (playful) — 00:00:31 · Beanie Sanfurbs, Crank Green, Project for Awesome
  • ★ Hank says he didn't realize they were making P4A mascots until last year (2022), after over a dozen; he doesn't remember their origin stories but recommends reading Butfartman's. — 00:00:31 · Project for Awesome

00:01:00 — Why a livestream about humanity's hard problems is goofy and joyful; working together magnifies impact; matching grants

  • ★ Hank asks viewers to type the best parts of the Project for Awesome, according to them, in the chat or in comments. — 00:01:00 · Project for Awesome
  • ★★★ Hank says a 48-hour livestream about humanity's hard problems is goofy because, when people work on hard problems together, the problem's magnitude remains but it also becomes human community, silly, sad and joyful. — 00:01:35 · Project for Awesome
  • ★★ Hank says the P4A is joyful not in spite of facing humanity's greatest challenges but because it accepts they exist and that nothing is perfect, rather than glancing at them in shame. — 00:01:35 · Project for Awesome
  • ★★ Hank says that when we work together we can magnify our impact. — 00:02:04
  • ★★★ Hank says this year's (2023) P4A already builds on over $700,000 in matching grants: if $700,000 is raised during the P4A, all of it will be matched, reaching $1.4 million. — 00:02:04 · Project for Awesome

00:02:33 — P4A structure: first-half charities, community-voted nonprofits, voting, donation perks and the livestream link

Humor (significant)

  • Hank imagines the premiere chat chanting Butfartman's name over and over — 00:00:00

    “just chanting, Butt Fartman, Butt Fartman, Butt Fartman, over and over again, trying to summon him.”

  • Nobody knows what this year's P4A mascot will be until it starts — 00:00:31

    “You don't know until you start and then immediately I turn into a crab for some reason.”

  • After a burp-like noise, Hank declares that the chat has summoned Butfartman — 00:01:00

    “Oh, excellent. Well done, everyone. You could stop chanting now. You successfully summoned him.”

  • The P4A becomes a little joyful from facing the world's flaws together — 00:02:33

    “And then you add in the sleep deprivation and, you know, you get what you get.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Project for Awesome

Also: Beanie Sanfurbs · Butfartman · Crank Green · Dave the Fish · Partners In Health · Save the Children

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