Halfway Through Fundraising Campaign Harry Potter Alliance has raised over 80 Percent of $50,000 Goal for Equality Campaign

Boston, MA – Today, at $43,427, the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA) is more than 80 percent to the goal of $50,000 to support a year's worth of unprecedented "fan activism" for equality campaigns on education, immigration, and LGBTQ issues. The fundraiser, called Equality FTW (for the win), is being held on Indiegogo.com where "perks" are offered to donors who give certain donation amounts. With one perk by Harry Potter actress Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) sold out, and many of the others with hundreds of orders, the HPA is likely to surpass its goal of $50,000 by the end of the campaign, September 8.

"We feel incredibly grateful and humbled at the outpouring of generosity that has come from a generation that grew up with Harry Potter," said Andrew Slack, HPA Executive Director. "This unexpected support demonstrates that the Harry Potter Generation may as well be called the Equality Generation. We have grown up with values that stand boldly against political apathy regarding inequality to our fellow citizens."

Much of the success is a result of partnerships with celebrities such as Lynch, Glee actor Darren Criss, author of this year's number one New York Times bestseller The Fault In Our Stars, John Green, his brother and fellow collaborator on YouTube, Hank Green, Wizard Rock band Harry and the Potters, the Potter Puppet Pals, and more.

Perks include:

• "A History in Tweets" by bestselling young adult author and Twitter personality Maureen Johnson, which will cover the "real" story of the Revolutionary War through tweets from the founding fathers;
• "The Sequel," an excerpt from John Green's abandoned novel, much of which influenced his most recent novel The Fault in Our Stars;
• A signed copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by Evanna Lynch with her favorite section highlighted and a smiley face (this perk has sold out); and
• A Team Starkid (musical theater production company best known for their viral production, A Very Potter Musical) original doodle signed by the cast member. Three of these are from Darren Criss (of Glee) who plays Harry Potter in Team Starkid's Harry Potter musicals.

"Our partners aren't just donating these items," said Slack. "They are constantly out there on Twitter, Facebook, and live webcasts inspiring a generation dedicated to equality."

The HPA plans on leading robust phone banking for November's election around marriage equality ballot initiatives in Maine, Maryland, and Minnesota, building a library at a school in Chicago, and creating a dialogue around undocumented Americans that began this summer with HPA leader Julian Gomez coming out of the closet as undocumented on the HPA's YouTube channel in his video "Why I can't go to LeakyCon."

All of the perks, as well as more information on the fundraising campaign can be viewed at www.equalityftw.org

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The HP Alliance (www.thehpalliance.org) is a 501c3 nonprofit that engages Harry Potter fans in social activism. With over 70 active chapters and 40 volunteer staff, the HPA has donated five cargo planes of supplies to Haiti, 55,000 books to schools and communities across the globe, contributed to protection for thousands in Darfur, and made huge strides in anti-genocide, LGBT, media reform advocacy, and more. Covered in hundreds of major publications and praised by JK Rowling, Harry Potter celebrities, Paul Farmer, and a slew of NGO’s, the HPA recently came in 1st place in the Chase Bank Community Giving Contest on Facebook winning $250,000.