The Critical Role Foundation is a ed non-profit founded by the Critical Role team to help their fundraising efforts. Critical Role has raised over $600,000 through various charity campaigns since they started streaming, and are now looking to take their charity work full-time.
We sat down with the President of the Critical Role Foundation, Ashley Johnson (The Last of Us Part II, The Avengers) to discuss the launch, what inspired them, and what Critical Role fans can expect from the Critical Role Foundation.
So just to get started, I have a bit of information here. You guys sent me a bit of information on the Critical Role Foundation. But For somebody who doesn't know anything about it [The Critical Role Foundation] , would you mind giving me a short break down, the speed run, the elevator pitch?
Ashley Johnson: Sure. Yeah, elevator pitch. So Critical Role foundation is a non-profit, that Critical Role, us at the company, are launching on September 24 2020. And our mission is to leave the world better than we found it, and it's something that we've talked about and have believed in since we started streaming. and especially once we started our first charity stream, and I think the moment we realized we sort of had an audience and people were actually watching us play d&d. You know, we were like “People are actually watching this. Okay.” And we wanted to use that voice for good. We’ve been wanting to do this foundation for a really long time. We’ve been working on this for a couple of years now.
And we wanted to be able to give back 365 days a year, not just for, you know, the short amount of time that we're doing a short campaign. This is something that we've prioritized. And this is a very big deal to us.
And this is not a short elevator pitch that’s for sure.
But essentially, we create grants or other credible organizations in the nonprofit sector, and we want to focus on causes that we care about as a company and causes that we know our incredible community cares about a lot as well.
That was a really long elevator ride.
That’s okay it’s a tall building.
Ashley Johnson: It’s a very tall building.
Yes it’s a skyscraper and we’re on our way to the top. Like you kinda touched on there, Critical Role, you guys have raised a lot of money in the past with events like Red Nose Day or your fundraising streams for PabLove. For Critters [Critical Role Fans] who may have followed your previous fundraising efforts, you mentioned this [The CR Foundation] being able to be 24/7. Is that going to be the main way the CR Foundation changes how charities and Critical Role work together?
Ashley Johnson: So, it’ll be year-round and we will focus on a handful of organizations throughout the year and focusing on organizations and non-profits that we really care about and the community cares about. And once we reach our goals. How we have it set up is… let me just find that here.
No problem.
Ashley Johnson: So what we have here… wait what was the question again because I got a little distracted?
You guys have done a lot of fundraising efforts in the past for things like Red Nose Day and PabLove. So, what's going to be the main difference for Critical Role fans who followed your previous fundraising efforts? What's the biggest difference between no Critical Role foundation and the post Critical Role foundation world for them?
Ashley Johnson: Basically, we will just focus on [fundraising] campaigns throughout the year, you know, it won’t just be focused on a couple times a year when we’ll be having a campaign. That’s pretty much it, you know. It’s something we want to focus on full time.
That is awesome. Because I have the stat here. I mean, it’s from you guys. But when I said a lot of money in the previous question, I meant, [you’ve raised] over $600,000 for charity, which is crazy.
Ashley Johnson: Yeah I was going to break down some of those numbers and I was just looking for them in my email but then I was like “He probably has them it’s fine.”
Yep. You guys, you guys grabbed those numbers for me and I really appreciate it. Yeah, over $600,000 for charity which is crazy. And like you mentioned that’s been more sprints than a marathon, so it’ll be interesting to see what the Critical Role Community can do when it’s a marathon.
Ashley Johnson: I think that's what we're excited about. I mean, seeing the response from the community with those first charities that we worked with, and, you know, the early years of streaming and throughout, these past five, six years that we've been streaming our show. We've all very much wanted to work towards creating positivity with that attention and seeing the response from this amazing community. Like it's completely blown us away every time that we’ve boosted a charity campaign and talking about it. It’s blown us away every time because this community is so amazing and so ready to go on that journey with us and we’re so thankful for that.
For the past couple of years we’ve been talking about it and sort of putting this together we’re like ‘it would be really cool if we could do this full time instead of just for short bursts at a time.’
I totally agree, I know some of the numbers you hear at the end of these [fundraising efforts] are absolutely ridiculous especially because a lot of it happens quite quickly.
Ashley Johnson: Yeah.
So, on the topic of previous fundraisers that you’ve done. For some of the fundraising efforts in the past there has been Critical Role adjacent content like the Red Nose Day one shot. Can you guys give me spoilers for any similar plans that some fans can look forward to if you reach fundraising goals? And that sort of thing.
Ashley Johnson: You know, we’ve been talking about it, and we’re still obviously in the times that we’re in so we’re trying to figure out the best ways to do things like that. But anything, any developments in that area or content we make that is related to the charities that we have. That will all be announced on the website. We will for sure keep everyone updated on the Socials if we end up doing that.
I mean, it would be awesome, but it’s hard to plan right now in the COVID world. But, things are in development and we’re working on it, so keep [an eye out.] We’ll definitely make announcements on our socials and definitely on our website for sure what that time comes.
So, fans can keep an eye out but right now things are a little up in the air.
Ashley: Exactly.
Okay, so getting into the nitty gritty of the, you know, actual charity part of the CR Foundation. Your first partnership is with the First Nations Development Institute if I have that right.
Ashley Johnson: That is correct.
Okay! So what inspired you guys to make them [The First Nations Development Institute] the first partner of the CR Foundation?
Ashley Johnson: [The First Nations Development Institute], is an organization that I’ve had my eyes on for a while, but they really stood out for a multitude of reasons.
Their entire board is Native American as well as most of their staff, and not to mention they're the most highly rated American Indian nonprofit. I don't know if you keep up with Charity Navigator or if you know any thing about that but they received a four-star rating for the past eight consecutive years, which is very, very hard to do.
They're also incredibly transparent. And that's a big deal to us because we want transparency with our audience in our community. And that lines up with us.
And, you know, as we know, right now, COVID is affecting the whole world as a global event. And as we know, marginalized groups are generally the most vulnerable and also the most underfunded and the least taken care of so funding for native communities is paramount right now, and that was a massive priority for us. And we wanted to start with something that we all deeply care about and this is something that we've all been ionate about.
You know, one of the areas of their organization that needs the most attention is their native youth and culture program, which really lines up with Critical Role. And the youth aspect really lines up with what we do and what we care about and what we want to do.
We set up our first fundraising goal for $50,000 which will fund their native youth culture program for two of their tribes the Zuni Pueblo and Cochiti Pueblo
Working with them sort, getting to know them and being able to have these deep conversations with them has been incredibly rewarding and they're such an amazing organization. I couldn't be happier that [The First Nations Institute is] who were going out with straight out the gate.
They definitely are a great cause. I didn't want to interrupt you there because you had your train of thought going, but I did get to look them up before our interview here, and I actually have worked with some nonprofits in the past so I understand how hard that four-star rating is to get, it involves a lot of steps. They really are a great cause.
Ashley Johnson: They really they really, really, really, truly are. And, you know, we have a pretty extensive researching and vetting process. And we have so many other organizations that we really can't wait to work with and we are excited for the future of what this is all going to be and other organizations that we get to highlight and bring to but yeah, First Nations really stood out for us as a first campaign, especially right now.
So on the thing you actually just mentioned right there about other organizations you're looking forward to working with and, you know, I don't expect you to put anything on record because I don't want, you know, if things aren't finalized, then you don’t have to say anything.
But that goal of $50,000. Let’s say fans surprise us like they always do and raise $50,000 remarkably quickly. Is $50,000 a milestone before you guys officially partner with another nonprofit? Or would you keep working with the First Nations Development Institute even past that goal of $50,000 for a while?
Ashley Johnson: We would love to keep working with them. I mean [$50.000] is definitely a milestone but something else we’ve been discussing. You know, starting this foundation right now we sort of want to see what the community reaction is. You know, we're sort of in unprecedented times. There's a lot going on. We'll see where that goes. But we definitely want to keep working with First Nations and we do have future goals if we go past [$50,000], and I’m hoping we do because we will be able to fund more tribes and more programs in the Native Youth and Culture Fund.
We would love to keep working with them. And we do sort of have future goals. But we also have other organizations that we will eventually work with as well. This is definitely just the start.
That is, that's great. And, you know, like you kind of mentioned, the 50,000 would fund two, but if you can,, I mean, I'm sure the First Nation Institute would be ecstatic if the critical role fans showed up, we were able to, you know, fund three or four. Because, as Critical Role fans do, they pile on a topic.
Ashley Johnson: Yeah they really do, the community blows us away on a daily basis. You know, it's funny how sometimes we set goals and we're like, well, ‘I don't know, maybe,’ and then they blow us away and sort of go past that.
So we’re anxious and we're excited to sort of see what the response is. I know for me, this is something that I'm incredibly ionate about. And I have such an emotional connection to this. So for me I’m like ‘come on guys let’s go!’
But like I said, we’ll see. We’re in interesting times but I hope we blow past this goal for them because I just love this organization so much.
That would be amazing. They are really good charity and a fantastic cause, and especially like you mentioned we’re in stranger times so it’s a really great time for all of this to start, on the 24th.
Ashley Johnson: Absolutely and we talked about that too. We talked about creating positivity and creating positive change and I feel like now is sort of a crucial time to do that and we’re proud to have a platform where we’re able to do that.
That’s amazing. Speaking of unprecedented times because I have a decent segue here. One thing I did see about the donations is that you guys are putting 10% of donations away into a disaster relief fund, right?
Ashley Johnson: Yeah, this is something that we talked about a lot was the best way to sort of allocate funds and if we had to split up donations or… just a second I’m trying to find the number on my sheet.
It's also all good. If you say if you say 8%, and you meant 7% you can shoot me an email and we can get it corrected.
Ashley Johnson: Yeah, I mean, I know the numbers pretty well, but I want to make sure.
For every dollar donated. percentage will go straight to the organization, and then we're going to keep about 10% of it for an emergency fund and that will go towards things like the stuff happening right now, hurricanes, wild fires, and you know, it’s really important to be prepared for an emergency.
We want to be able to also respond in those times outside of just the organizations that we're working with. Like ‘Okay, this is a natural disaster that happened’ that we have a fund for that as well, that we've been keeping. And now we'll go out into the world to help.
Yeah so it sounds like it will be a bit like the charity sprints that you’ve done before. When other organizations will like, they will say ‘in light of recent events we’re going to start raising money for this.’ It sounds like you guys will be prepared for that which will be awesome.
Ashley Johnson: Yeah so it’s something we all talked about and sort of really tried to figure out the best way to do that. Because in the world that we’re living in it’s pretty important to be prepared as we have found. So 10% of every dollar will be allocated to an emergency fund and we’ll be ready to go.
Awesome. So on the 24th when this is all announced and everything somebody sees it on, you know, like cast Twitter or the official CR website, however the find about the information. Whether it’s a youtube announcement video or something. What is going to be the best way to donate? Will they be going to Critrole.com, will the Critical Role foundation have its own website, where should fans get going?
Ashley Johnson: Well once we make the announcement we will, of course, put it all out there, but you can learn more and donate at CriticalRoleFoundation.org. We have set up its own website and that’s where we will be directing everybody, to the website so they can donate there and it’s super easy. There will also be information on the current organization that we’re working with and it’ll all be there.
Okay, and just one thing I like to do at the end of every interview is kind of, ‘you have the floor’. If there is anything you wanted to share that I didn’t ask about or I didn’t mention you have the floor to say anything you want and it will be my fault.
Ashley Johnson: Oh boy. I mean, we already covered a lot. I know I already said it but this is something that we are all so excited about and something that, because of the response from the community that we’ve seen, it’s sort of lead us to [starting the Critical Role foundation]. This was never part of the original plan when we started playing D&D but through that we’ve realized that our audience is truly so incredible. And because of that we’re like ‘Man, our audience puts so much good out into the world and something we always talk about in the company is leaving the world better than we found it.’
This is pretty much community inspired and I think that our audience, our community should get some credit for that because this wouldn’t be happening if this wasn’t for them. They have inpisred us to give back more and make something that’s part of our lives 365 days a year, 24/7. I want to make sure the community gets credit for definitely inspiring us to make the foundation.
We're so excited. I mean, this is amazing work. And I feel so lucky to be the president of this. And I really take this role very seriously. And I'm, I'm just excited to learn and keep going forward and growing this foundation and… *excitement noises*
Well that’s absolutely awesome. Ashley, thank you so much for starting the Critical Role Foundation and for telling us here at Screen Rant all about it.
Ashley Johnson: Yeah thanks for being the first enger.
I didn’t expect to be the first enger but I’m very happy to be it.