Support Fur Affinity: Honoring Dragoneer's Legacy

**Updated 8/15/2024- please scroll down to see the notes added

"Sometimes the most important thing a person can ever say is 'I was here.'" -Dragoneer 2024

Banner art by ArtieNuki

I am sorry to be coming to you all like this. As the majority know, Dragoneer passed away on August 6th. I have been asked to keep Fur Affinity going in his stead. I will be honest. It is terrifying. I've lost my best friend. Someone that I always thought would be there for me and lift me up. The grief is monumental, and this was not a position I ever thought we would be in.

I know that Dragoneer wanted Fur Affinity to keep going after his passing. And that is exactly what we want to make sure happens. But we cannot do it on our own. We are calling on the community to come together during this hard time to keep our online home going. Not just for ourselves but for everyone else that considers FA as such. He was a good man and always put the community before himself. He would rather go into debt or go without than let FA close. He knew what it meant to the community. So many people still rely on Fur Affinity. It's where many of us started out nearly two decades ago. People have built friendships, relationships, families, communities, and careers on FA.

We are also here to ask for assistance for his mother, Rita. She has been going through such a difficult time. Dragoneer's father passed away two years ago, she recently lost her sister, and now her only son has also passed. She is devastated. I have known her for 14 years, and never once has she asked for any kind of help... but she needs it now.

We need help covering a variety of unforeseen expenses: the medical bills left behind, funeral costs (there will be a private family and public celebration of life), and making sure Rita has the means to get by while she manages his affairs. We also need help keeping the lights on at Fur Affinity during this unanticipated transition.

The goal is high, but please understand that it has all these things in mind. The minimum goal of $75k* ensures these unexpected needs are met for her and covers one month of the expenses Fur Affinity requires. We will be fundraising for as long as possible. If you've ever used Fur Affinity, or if Dragoneer/Preyfar/Wren has ever touched your heart with friendship, please share this around. Please help make his passing a little easier by taking care of his family and legacy. He put his all into FA; it's time we show him how much it all means to us, hold it high as a community, and keep it thriving.

Thank you for every bit of help.

With love,

Sciggles, Rita, and the Fur Affinity team.

*In the interest of transparency, the following is a breakdown of the costs. Many are estimates until we have specifics; however, we will be posting the Fur Affinity transactions as they happen. Anything sent to Rita will just be shown as a lump deposit out of respect.

$27k - Medical expenses

$20k - One month estimated FA costs to help with legal transition

$17k - Balance due to IMVU for FA’s buyback (estimated)

$12.6k - Six months mortgage on Dragoneer's house so Rita has time to sort things

$8k - Public celebration of life (estimated)

$3k - Medical examiner and cremation (estimated)

$3k - Family’s funeral (estimated)

$1k - Urn (estimated)

$1k - Rita’s travel costs (estimated)

??? - IRS (unknown total at this time)

—8/15/2024—

Important: We have been made aware of fake fundraising pages. Please check the source before donating. The only official fundraisers are linked on furaffinity.net and Fur Affinity’s official social media.

Thank you all so much for the outpouring of support. Dragoneer’s family, Fur Affinity’s staff, and even many of you, are all shocked at just how many have shown up to support the cause. The initial goal was met in THREE HOURS and DOUBLED within 48 hours. Though we have to admit, we did make a mistake when adding up the costs on the original post. We set it at $75k, but then someone pointed out that we made a mistake with the math. We checked it again, and sure enough, the total of the listed expenses was actually $92.6k. But regardless, we still hit AND surpassed that goal overnight! Many of us were in tears, including Rita and myself. She especially just cannot thank you all enough, and neither can I. It is truly heartwarming and something to celebrate during this difficult time.

We apologize for taking so long for this update. We are all very worn down and still grieving the unexpected loss of Dragoneer. As a team we are working hard to make progress on sorting everything while continuing to serve the Fur Affinity community. Individually, we still need to take time to try to catch up on some much needed rest and make sure we are taking care of ourselves too. Speaking for myself, I know I have been on the phone pretty much from the moment I wake up until I eventually knock out for the night. It’s been exhausting trying to sort all of this out, but this has been such an inspiring and humbling moment. I hope that Neer can see how many of you have come together to keep things going and take care of his mom and the community he worked so hard to nurture.

As we continue to sort through the finances, we have unfortunately found more debts. We have added what we’ve found so far to the total. To continue being transparent, we’ve also included a quick explanation for why each one has been added. I hope we can keep pushing forward together on this. We don’t know what the future will hold. But right now, we feel optimistic and eager to not only keep Fur Affinity going but also secure its future through this transition. Dragoneer put his all into making sure our community went back to being independent. Unfortunately, the debt and burden are large because of it. Your support and kindness help ensure we can keep Fur Affinity going without being weighed down by any large debts.

Notes for any extra funds:

As we continue to go through and audit Dragoneer's personal and business finances, we will continue to update. The goal is to cover as much as we can so that Rita has nothing to worry about and Fur Affinity has a clean slate moving forward. If Rita encounters any road bumps or further legal fees through any of this, we will give the funding to her first. Excess funding will be saved in an emergency backup fund to cover unexpected expenses such as hardware issues, surprise bills, etc. We will be transparent about where the excess goes if there is any, but the goal is to keep our community safe from any surprises and out of debt.

One thing we have seen people raise concern about, and we do want to address, is why fundraising is also going to Dragoneer's debts. The legal process includes selling off the assets of the estate to pay for any outstanding debts. Unfortunately, Fur Affinity is an asset. To be clear, we have no plans nor desire to sell Fur Affinity. As such we need to pay those debts off to keep our community running.

In the interest of continuing transparency, here are some quick explanations of the new additions to the goal and why they are here.

$38.4k - Fur Affinity past contract services owed (expense found after GFM launch)

This covers contract work that was already completed for Fur Affinity but wasn’t yet paid for. While these are not an immediate need they are a required expense.

$32k - Working capital loan (expense found after GFM launch)

This is the remaining balance for a loan that was taken out to cover Fur Affinity expenses.

$20k - Second month estimated FA running costs during legal transition

Legally transferring everything takes some time. A second month of costs ensures we keep Fur Affinity safe during this time.

$11.3K - Additional medical expenses (expense found after GFM launch)

We were notified of more medical bills from early July through early August since our initial post. This brings the medical expense total to $38.3k.

July 6th ER $4.7k (CT, Ekg, ER, IV, Labs, Pharmacy)

July 6th ER $356 (Ecg, CT chest w/contrast)

July 30th PFT Procedure $2.4k

July 30th PFT continued $635 (Spmtry, Co Diffusing, Outpatient)

Aug 1st Surgery $917

Aug 1st Anesthesia $1.3k

Date unknown Acute Care- $985

$10k Fur Affinity back-up savings for any emergency hardware cost (expense noted after GFM launch)

As we are all painfully aware, unexpected things happen. We want to ensure any unforeseen situations don’t negatively impact Fur Affinity and the community.

$6.5k - Additional estimate for medical examiner and cremation (notified of extra expense after GFM launch)

We were notified of an additional $6.5k more than we originally anticipated for these services. This brings the total for them to

$9.5k. This may need to be adjusted as we learn more.

$6k - IRS (2022) (expense found after GFM launch)

This is the remaining amount for his owed taxes in 2022. As stated previously, these need to be paid off to keep Fur Affinity in the hands (and paws, claws, and tentacles) of the community.

??? - IRS 2023

We are still working on finding further information on this. We’re listing it to be transparent since it will likely be another debt.

$3.5k - Deed Transferral (expense discussed after GFM launch, this is an estimate based off past cost)

This covers the deed to Neer’s house being transferred legally.

$1k - Bereavement home services (expense discussed after GFM launch)

This assists Rita in handling the affairs involving Dragoneer’s home.

$500 - Estate Lawyer Retainer (expense discussed after GFM launch)

Lawyers aren’t free. Having legal assistance in making sure everything is done properly is required. This is the initial cost to bring a lawyer in for handling Dragoneer’s affairs.

??? - Estate attorney fees

We know there will be additional costs associated with the legal assistance; however, we do not have an estimate of the total costs.

And finally, here is a breakdown with the TOTAL of all the known expenses. Many are estimates until we have specifics; however, we will be posting the Fur Affinity transactions as they happen. Anything sent to Rita will just be shown as a lump deposit out of respect for her privacy.

Personal

These are necessary for taking care of Dragoneer’s family and affairs during this difficult time. As previously mentioned, personal debts must be paid to ensure the smooth transition of Fur Affinity from Dragoneer’s estate. These are listed from most to least expensive.

$38.3k - Medical expenses

$12.6k - Six months mortgage on Dragoneer's house so Rita has time to sort things

$8k - Public celebration of life (estimated)

$9.5k - Medical examiner and cremation (updated estimate)

$3.5k - Deed transfer fees

$3k - Family’s funeral (estimated)

$1k - Urn (estimated)

$1k - Rita’s travel costs (estimated)

$1k - Bereavement home services (added cost)

$500 - Estate Lawyer Retainer

??? - Estate attorney fees

Site Specific

These are for keeping Fur Affinity going for the time being. As previously mentioned, personal debts must be paid to ensure the smooth transition of Fur Affinity from Dragoneer’s estate. These are listed in order of priority.

$20k - First month estimated FA running costs during legal transition

$20k - Second month estimated FA running costs during legal transition

$6k - IRS (2022)

??? - IRS 2023 (unknown total at this time)

$32k - Working capital loan

$10k - Fur Affinity contingency savings for emergency hardware costs

$17k - Balance due to IMVU for FA’s buyback (confirmed)

$38.4k - Fur Affinity prior contract services owed

Total: $221,800



I know the new total may feel a little intimidating after blowing the last goal out of the water. But I want to reiterate how amazing and positive that was (and still is!) Some of these new added costs are also for securing longer term goals. We have hit the base needs for keeping the lights on and current bills paid, so we are confident we can keep things going at this time. We are getting closer to getting everything caught up, putting us in a much better position to keep all assets secured for not only the site but his family as well.

At this time nothing has been transferred out of the GFM, the moment we make withdrawals or payments we will make sure we let you all know. Again, thank you so, so much for all of your support. The loss of Dragoneer is difficult for all of us. With that in mind, we are taking the opportunity to move forward with a clean slate. We are working to be more transparent with the community, and of course we are still working hard to keep the site a safe place and to bring new features to you all. The community is what makes Fur Affinity such a cherished place. We are so thankful to be a part of it.