For Shame: Updated

Storque article

CCCOE Team Thread

To buy raffle tickets (Drawing is tomorrow Aug 9th)

Matt posted the following in the comments section for the Dorque article (yes I know it's called Storque - but Dorque just feels so much more accurate).

In recognition of a worthy cause, Etsy today donated $250 directly to the New Directions charity (http://www.ndvets.com). The SoCal Bench Project Etsy Team is holding an event this weekend to support veterans through this organization.

Etsy previously announced that the SoCal Bench Project Etsy team would receive a $200 grant to help offset the printing costs associated with this event. The Grant was not ultimately funded because deadlines were missed. We apologize for the poor timing of these announcements.

Etsy Grants is a new program designed to help Etsy Teams hold events and promote their shops and Etsy. It’s important that Etsy diligently adhere to the rules and deadlines associated with the Grants Program so that we can be responsible stewards of our funds and so that we can offer monies in a timely way.

We understand that our communication around this specific Grant could have been better. And, while we remain committed to enforcing the rules and deadlines associated with the Grants Program, we don’t want the New Directions charity to miss out on this opportunity to positively interact with Etsy sellers and Etsy.

To avoid this type of confusion in the future, Team Grant winners will now be announced after the Grant funds have been submitted to the Team.

Thank you.

Word is donations and raffle tickets are flying in after the news of this debauchle broke, and many of the 'Bitches' have made personal donations as have many of our readers as well other Etsy folk to the point they are "overwhelmed" by the response and processing. That is fantastic!

Being that EB Never misses a chance to make Etsy look as bad as they truly are we've also donated (as a group) the amount of $50.00 to the team itself to try to help cover the intital costs they originally applied for. Use it in good health folks - from us to you.

For Shame!

We here at EB are in absolute shock.

We knew Etsy could stoop low, but they have hit a new level of shame. One of last month's team grant winners, who was relying on the money to cover costs of a charitable event in California for one of the largest street teams, is not receiving the money. Why? We can't figure it out.

One of the organizers posted about it on her blog:

We applied for an Etsy grant and were awarded a team grant in July by Etsy Teams. We had to write up a grant proposal and submit it by July 15th. After being awarded the grant we were told that therewere two deadlines, one on July 24th for a printers proof and the other on July 31st where we were to submit receipts. Both of these tasks were completed in a timely manner.

Yesterday, just three days before The SoCal Bench Project Artisan Fair I received an email from Etsy Teams saying that they had emailed us last week saying that they were not going to give us a grant; claiming that we had not sent our proofs in on time and that they were a few days late. Silly, we had our event postcards printed a month before we even applied for the grant; it took me all of two seconds to forward them a jpg of our postcards. I was speechless for a few minutes before the anger sunk in.

First of all, everything was sent in when it was supposed to be. Secondly, we never heard any confirmation from Etsy that they received our information. No communication from them at all. Etsy's regular modus operandi. Etsy Teams said, "... Because we give out several grants each month and need to have them wrapped up before the following month's grants are awarded, we must stick strictly to the scheduled deadlines." When has Etsy EVER followed even their own guidelines. They do whatever they want so that it fits their needs. Hell, they don't even adhere to their own rules and guidelines.

Street teams have been the heart of Etsy's marketing. They are the grassroots underbelly that keeps that beast moving. And they do this bullshit to them?! I thought it was bad when they said street teams couldn't use the Etsy name, the well crafted Etsy banners were not being allowed to be used, and that they started the team grant program rather than supporting the teams as they had previously by helping with fairs, shows, fliers, etc., but this takes the frickin' cupcake.