What is the GMaiOSDtMC Fund? It is the “Get Michael an iOS device that makes calls” fund. However, this is more than just a story about “fundraising” for a trendy phone. This is a story about how awesome and amazing the internet is. I will be the first to admit that it wasn’t a very serious thing, at first. I tweeted about it and wasn’t expecting much. This is especially true since I believe I first mentioned it at all on April Fool’s Day. To make sure it wasn’t instantly dismissed, I made sure to note it wasn’t a joke tweet, I just didn’t think much would ever come of it. Who would donate money to someone they barely know, for something like a phone? Right?

By Wednesday night, I had my list of people who had donated, willingly. There were 9 people in all, spanning three corners of the world, from the US to Europe to Australia. Their donations were in the range of $3, all the way up to $30, totaling $118. I meant to have a cap of $100, but the last donor decided to use playful blackmail by threatening to never play DrawSomething with me again if I sent any back. Who am I to argue? The following people are the 9 very generous donors, in no particular order. Most have twitter accounts that you can find by clicking on their name, if you want to follow them, and most are people who work to make the internet a better place, every day.

• Jacine Luisi – New York, USA
• Paul Maloney – Liverpool, UK
• Mika Epstein – Illinois, USA
• Rachel Baker – Illinois, USA
• Jonathan Dingman – California, USA
• Ryan McCue – Australia
• Tyrel Kelsey – Utah, USA
• Misty W. (e-step sister) – Minnesota, USA
• Grace Smith – Northern Ireland

I can not express exactly how humbled I am by these individuals. I am not sure why they donated what they did either. My two best guesses are that it’s because my intentions were for a iPhone, which I know has a lot of fans, and because of who I am. Someone that they’ve interacted with as best as possible can be online, and they felt was worthy of some of their hard earned money. No matter their reasons, once again I thank them. If any of you need me for a guinea pig for anything you’re working on, or need me to look things over and give critiques, do not hesitate to ask. I am in your debt.

I have seen, time and time again, especially in the past year, that the internet is full of wonderful, kind, helpful people. From this current example, all the way back to last year when I initially jumped into the freelance pool, they have been there for me, supporting me every way they can. This week is just the latest example. Hopefully I can pay it forward soon.