CFF Fund Raising
 

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Colonial Fan Force President Bill Gordon http://www.colonialfanforce.org has announced that CFF is organizing an effort to help fans of the original Battlestar Galactica aid in the tsunami relief efforts in southern Asia. "This is the greatest natural disaster we've seen in many years," Gordon stated, "and we are in a position to help."

Gordon went on to announce that CFF has received a refund from Cinescape Magazine. The full-page advertisement purchased by the CFF for release in September was ultimately produced in the Winter Issue of Cinescape Magazine in late December (and is on newsstands now); Cinescape has refunded the majority of CFF's investment due to the delay in publication.

"And it couldn't have come at a more advantageous moment, as it turns out," Gordon said. "We're grateful that Cinescape values customer service they way they do. They've really been quite gracious." But the refund, representing contributions from hundreds of original Battlestar Galactica fans worldwide, initially presented a quandary to CFF's organizers. "This money was collected to pay for the ads," Gordon admitted. "There were a number of options open to us, but we have the opportunity to do some real good with this windfall."

CFF's West Coast coordinator John Pickard echoed Gordon's sentiment. "This refund from Cinescape , though, is seed money," Pickard added. "We hope the fans who stepped up for the ads will step up again, and in a big way."

Gordon went on to detail the CFF's plan. "The refund from Cinescape , a total of $4,000.00 US, will be donated immediately to Oxfam," Gordon said. "Oxfam http://www.oxfam.org was selected from a number of worthy charities primarily because of their impressive track record, but also because they are a multi-national entity. We felt that was in keeping with the multi-national nature of CFF." In addition to encouraging donations directly to that agency, CFF will accept contributions through their website, www.colonialfanforce.org, and will donate all monies collected to Oxfam on a weekly basis.

"It's also in keeping with the ‘spirit’ of Battlestar Galactica," Pickard said, referencing the 1978 TV series, "the strong protecting the weak, giving aid and comfort.”

Gordon expressed thanks, as well, to those who are jumping in to help spread the word on short notice. "Darrell Lawrence has executed an excellent poster based on a design he came up with in about five minutes," he said, "and we couldn't do this at all without the help and support of a bunch of people and websites - including 'Dirk Benedict Central' http://www.dirkbenedictcentral.com , Battlestar Galactica Club www.battlestargalacticaclub.com , The Cylon Alliance http://www.cylon.org, Colonial Fleets http://www.colonialfleets.com , Richard Hatch's http://www.battlestargalactica.com , and others, old friends and new, who have picked up the ball and are running with it."

Pickard agreed. "The fans of Battlestar Galactica usually come through when they have the chance," he said.

The Colonial Fan Force was originally formed in the spring of 2004 to raise money for the purchase of full-page ads in Daily Variety and Cinescape magazine. The ads were intended to send a message of support to series creator Glen A. Larson (who holds the movie rights to the Battlestar Galactica franchise) and X-Men Producer Tom DeSanto, whose efforts to create a television continuation of the original Galactica were unfortunately derailed. The campaign successfully raised $12,000 for the purchase of the ads.