At it’s heart 2D Con is a charitable event run by a team of dedicated volunteers, this allows us to give as much as we can back to the community and those in need.
Each year we host various charitable events during the convention such as silent auctions and raffles. Our main donations come from viewers of our Twitch stream, and from our over 3000 attendees.
Since 2D Cons inception in 2015 we have raised more than $100,000 for various charities, and we have no plans on slowing down. We firmly believe that gamers are one of the most charitable communities around. Through charity livestreams, fundraising campaigns, and volunteer work, gamers demonstrate their unwavering commitment to supporting causes they believe in.
2024 Charity Partner
2D Con’s official charity partner for 2024 is Guild.
Guild is a not-for-profit (501c3) organization that offers integrated mental health, housing, and employment services to individuals living with mental illness and/or experiencing chronic homelessness.
We feel very passionate about this cause.
Get to know Guild
Mental illness is common—1 in 4 adults live with it. At Guild, we believe this is nothing to be ashamed of. We also believe it shouldn’t be a barrier to finding safety, security, and community.
What We Do
Health
- We provide community-based, comprehensive mental health services including ACT and Youth ACT, community support programs (CSP), intensive residential treatment, care coordination, crisis stabilization and more.
- 95% of individuals leaving their home to be admitted for short-term crisis residential services stabilized their situation without high-cost hospitalization.
Housing
- Through street outreach work, housing stabilization services, and ongoing case management, we help individuals find safe housing in communities of their choosing.
- 81% of housing clients obtained/maintained housing.
Jobs
- We partner with our community to help clients, both adults and youth ages 16 to 24, secure and maintain gainful employment.
- 70% of individuals in our Employment Program obtained work experience.
Who We Serve
We serve individuals 14 years and older who live with serious mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder. Half of our clients have a co-occurring disorder, which means they also manage a medical condition or substance use disorder. Our services aim to prevent homelessness, unemployment, the use of high-cost emergency rooms and hospitalization services, and involvement in the criminal justice system.
- “On any given day, 480 services are provided to our clients in the Twin Cities metro area”
- 386,574 miles travelled by our team members to offer our services
Our four facilities welcome clients from a seven-county metro area. This includes Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington County!
Why It Matters
We provide a spectrum of services because mental illness is different for everyone, and everyone is worthy of shelter, connection, and stability. Mental health, housing and employment supports matter to our individual clients, and they matter to communities and to taxpayers. For instance, according to the Minnesota Hospital Association, the current average per day charge at urban hospitals for psychosis is $4,036. Alternatively, the Guild South daily rate is $555 and Guild Crisis & Recovery Center, Scott County is $529.
Guilds History
Our roots date back to the 1970s, when the Hastings State Hospital closed and left patients without a place to go. Volunteers from the Guild of Catholic Women stepped up to provide housing for the most vulnerable patients, those with a serious mental illness. Although we started as a Catholic volunteer organization, mental health issues aren’t confined to any faith, race, age or gender, so we became an unaffiliated nonprofit, in 119.
Today, we serve clients across the metro area. We’re opening a new Crisis and Recovery Center in partnership with Dakota County, and our Crisis and Recovery Center in downtown Savage is the first and only residential mental health treatment facility in the southwest metro. In 2023, we served 2,185 people.
- 88% reported that they were satisfied with the services we provide.
- 79% of clients were housed.
- 69% of individuals served are employed
So, it’s not surprising that Charity Navigator, an independent organization that evaluates nonprofits, gives Guild a 96% score, and 4 out of 4 stars.
