<div><strong>On the night of September 17, 2025, the warehouse building at 481 Van Brunt Street caught fire.</strong> <strong>I'm Justin Neely and I'm an artist.</strong> For the last 12 years that building is the place where I've created many different kinds of artwork, shared hours and hours of conversations about life and the world with other artists and amazing visitors, and sought sanctuary from the relentless chaos of the ever-changing city in which I've chosen to live.
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<div><strong>It's one week later and I'm fresh out of eloquence and subtlety. </strong>Straight to it: I've opened a fundraiser for myself because the community efforts underway are beautiful, but won't make a meaningful difference to me. I'm in too deep a hole.
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<div><strong>I've set a goal of one million dollars, not because I think I'll get it, but to make a point. It's not outlandish. It's not a request to become rich (not in New York City). AND It's possible for anyone. </strong>
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<div>It's not even difficult. I've been in the rooms where people have the power to make that happen—not just for one person, but for a community.
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<div>I understand that those people have to draw a line, as we all do when passing any person in need. But <strong>THIS IS TO THE ARTISTS</strong>: You are entitled to ask without apology.
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<div>You shouldn't be embarrassed. You shouldn't feel like it's a zero-sum game and you're going to deny someone else resources. That's not the world we live in. The resources are out there and how they're distributed is a separate question.
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<div>A college friend disabused me of the notion that I deserve it less than others. Or that anyone gives to anyone on that basis anyway. What human doesn't deserve safety and peace of mind?
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<div>It's not a contest. It's not a fixed pool of generosity. We will rise or sink based on what society thinks our value might be. But we can't be helped if we don't own our vulnerability. All of it. The sacrifices we've made to live this life of creativity and that drain resources others have on a rainy, or fiery, day.
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<div><strong>Regardless of my cheek in this request</strong>, I believe the fire's blows will be softened by personal friends, other artists, and collectors who know me. That's coming your way, too, and you deserve it. Don't get in the way of people who want to help you, because you are the very people who help other artists (and anyone most vulnerable in society) when they're down.
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<div>To my friends and family, I hope I haven't offended you. But I can't do a simple and decorous marketing job.
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<div>I'm desperate and devastated and despondent, but life will go on whatever this GoFundMe does or doesn't do. I'd like a break from precarity.
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<div>I believe I'd use the space with less constant worry to lift up those around me and younger people now trying to find their way. But I'll do that anyway to the best of my ability.
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<div>This fire's brutally reminded me that I only have one chance to live authentically. My impulse to Zelig out and adapt to fade unobtrusively into my surroundings can be blessing, but it can also make it too easy to hide.
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<div><strong>I'm done hiding. I'd like as much money as I can get because I have decades of ideas for the world that I'd like to be in a better position to unleash.</strong>
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<div>I don't actually anticipate a miraculous windfall as a reward for being disrespectful of these fundraising norms, BUT I can use every single individual dollar. Nothing too small, because every single cent helps.
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<div>And, frankly, I take a dollar as a vote in favor of not letting algorithms or behavioral engineering dictate our appeals for empathy and humanity. <strong>Compassion doesn't have to be gamified. And I won't do it.</strong>
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Eleanor Kim

Anonymous

Greg Kleiner

Seito Deshi

Erin J Cowhey

Jessie Kilguss

Tom Sneeringer

David Collins

Marielle Reading

Joanne Barringer

Stephanie LaFera

Irene Wang

Deb Levine

Mark Mitchell

Fire relief plea & protest: Artists, ask for what you need!

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

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English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

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Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

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Mark Rieth IP Address

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desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

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Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

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Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

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Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

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AUD Donation Upsell audience

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Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

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Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

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Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

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UC Tipping v20250115 International

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Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

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Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

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start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

unclaimed charities

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AI Chatbot Audience

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UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

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GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

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Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

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Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

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Survicate

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New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

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NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Fire relief plea & protest: Artists, ask for what you need!

Still $989,275 to go. Help us build momentum.