Fuel the Future of Fun, Faith, & Fandom: Donate Now to LegendHaven's Epic Fundraiser!
Fuel the Future of Fun, Faith, & Fandom: Donate Now to LegendHaven's Epic Fundraiser!
Your support will make LegendHaven free for all, spotlight creators, and bring our community together in an epic adventure!
Hey Catholic & Orthodox nerds and pop culture fans! Here's the deal: we're bringing together the most driven gamers, creators, and authors who share our Catholic and Orthodox values. This isn't just about playing games or telling stories—it's about taking the energy, the problem-solving, and the relentless drive we use in our imagined worlds and channeling it into real-world impact. Some people call them "super-empowered hopeful individuals"—we call them the future.
We're on a mission to unite these powerhouses for an epic adventure that goes beyond the screen. We're not just dreaming of a better world; we're building it, right here, right now. Ready to join a movement? Want to take your passion and purpose to the next level?
We’re fundraising $2524 right now to help us kickstart two things:
Pay for the convention software so that our annual, online convention called LegendHaven is free for all!
Pay for a PR campaign to bring this convention to thousands and thousands of Catholics across North America.
We need your help! Read on, donate any amount, and share the news! Help us build something so epic that Catholics will wonder why no one ever made something like this before.
Let’s face it—most Catholics and Orthodox probably know more about the Silmarillion or the Outer Rim than they do about the Gospels.
We’re more familiar with earth bending than encyclicals. We know more about the herbology of Hogwarts than the Liturgy of the Hours. And you know what? We think that’s a fantastic place to start.
Legend Haven is a place where you can love your Catholic/Orthodox faith... and geek out about pop culture! That's because fiction and games are how we learn truth through our imaginations. And our world today is starved for imagination that builds up people who want to thrive in life.
Our souls must be thick and thriving with stories and games, so that we can find ourselves, discover meaning around us, and see each other. It's only on a healthy foundation like this that we are able to meet and model Jesus Christ - not as we want him to be, but as he is. He is the Lord of Lore and Legend.
That’s why a group of volunteers have stepped up to do something ludicrously epic, and we want you to be a part of it. We’re announcing the third year of LegendHaven, the epic online convention where fun, faith, and fandom come together.
This is where Orthodox and Catholic creators and fans - who are passionate about our faith and fandoms - can meet up to talk about... everything! More importantly, we can all discover and support creators, artists, authors, new novels, boardgames, indie films, and more!
Here’s the Deal
We’re building LegendHaven, an annual event that you can look forward to year after year. Picture this: trailer drops for the latest blockbusters, first looks at new book releases, gamers sharing their latest achievements, and creators announcing incredible new products. This is the event where it all happens for our community.
And this year, we’re taking it to the next level with HaloZest, our brand-new home for all this crazy energy. HaloZest is the official magazine where creators can post updates, share insights, and stay connected every day of the year. It’s for fast, fun, faithful stuff in Catholic nerd culture.
Why This Matters?
The Catholic nerd culture scene has been overlooked for too long. Most of us are massive fans of Marvel, Avatar, GoT, Lord of the Rings, Eragon... and a metric ton more. It's the first thing we love to talk about with others. And if you're a creator, you're adding new worlds and lore and legends to this culture.
But most groups and blogs and parish committees aren't equipped to help creators explore the enchanted wilderness of imagination. Instead, everyone returns to sermons and soapboxes to share the truth. Sermons on blogs, sermons at each other, sermons on YouTube. It's not good enough.
Creators can train themselves to resonate with the Holy Spirit, and re-imagine ways to share timeless meaning and truth in ways that thrill, enchant, move, and interest us. Basically... it's called evangelizing the culture - through a return to epic quests, mythic meaning, and problem solving. Also called... fun!
We learn truth in many ways, and cultivating imagination through mythic worlds like Star Wars and Studio Ghibli are almost more important than publishing another tract from St Thomas Aquinas. Plus, they're crazy fun, and instant conversation starters.
Supporting our fundraiser, and you’re helping to create a space where we can geek out over our favorite stories and explore the deeper meanings behind them. Fiction and games help us learn and grow, and we want to celebrate that. We can empower creators by making it easier to meet audiences, to learn together, and swap war stories from the Fall of Reach.
Who built this project?
LegendHaven and HaloZest are projects by Dominic de Souza , (yours truly!) a mega-nerd and cradle Catholic who loved writing fantasy novels and inking boardgames on art pads. During the pandemoc, he launched these websites to meet people, share his love of dorkdom, and discover all the thrilling epic stuff going on in the world.
He realized that there are too many walls, keeping Catholics stuck in virtue-signaling purity spirals. He wants to rewild our faith, and that begins with following Pope Francis' call to 'get out there and make a mess.' Not huddle in the pews. We have a call to festivals, food, fun, fiction, and friendship. And fandoms.
We need to stop counting down to the kingdom. We must be merry and brave as get to work building the kingdom! Let's put some zest back into your halo :)
How You Can Make This Happen
Here’s how you can help us build this epic future:
1. Donate to this fundraiser: Every dollar counts. Whether you chip in $5 or $500, your contribution will help us spread the word and make LegendHaven and HaloZest a success.
2. Light the Beacons: DM this GoFundMe to your friends, your Facebook nerd group, and talk about it at your parish coffee hour. Anyone who loves a good story and values their faith needs to get in on this. Let’s get the message out there!
3. Join the Community: Follow us on social media, tell us what you think, and join us! There's something for everyone.
What’s in it for You?
Help us to make LegendHaven free for Catholics, Orthodox, and nerds everywhere. Help us meet our first funding goal, and we'll make the tickets free for all!
VIP Access: We'll host a LegendHaven event only for the legends supporting this fundraiser. You'll get to meet everyone who believes this vision, and make newfound friends. Hosted by Dominic, the founder!
Be Part of the Story: Every gift of $25 or more means your name gets featured on our website as a founding supporter, making you a permanent part of the LegendHaven.
Every donation of $100 gets a personal video from Dominic to thank you, and answer a question!
Every gift of $300+ means you can schedule a half hour meeting with Dominic to talk about anything you want. Your ideas, questions, chat about coffee, marketing, and more.
Plus there's more:
If we meet our first goal, we'll add our first stretch goal! We want to bring LegendFiction and HaloZest to SEEK 2025, by getting a vendor spot in their app. The fee is $500 (+ processing fees).
In 2024, 24,000 people went to SEEK, most of them young people. Can you help us reach the future of creativity when they're all gathering together?
If we pass that stretch goal, here's what's next:
We want to launch the Legend Awards at LegendHaven this year. We dream of this being an annual callout to every indie Catholic & Orthodox author with a tale worth telling. The Legend Awards will recognize the most popular in categories like Best Author, Best Fantasy Title, Best Cozy Fiction, and more.
Winners will be announced at LegendHaven, our annual convention event that’s designed to put creators front and center. Plus, we’re not just handing out a digital badge for your website (though you’ll get that too); we want to give the winner an engraved sword. Because your work is worth fighting for!
Can't make a gift?
Invite Dominic to chat with you on your podcast or radio show! Help us get the word out.
Join the adventure with us today!
Make a gift of any amount, and send in your support and your questions, or drop a comment right here.
We can't wait to hear from you!