About Sojourner's Portal
Sojourners Portal LTD is the non-profit behind Sustainable Collapse. It is a collaborative story telling venture dedicated to supporting and expanding the New England live-action roleplaying community by fostering diversity and acceptance as well as pushing the boundaries of what LARPing can be as a hobby. Read more about us here, or click to learn about:
​​​​​The Portal started as an idea to bring in a new era of LARPing. Most of the members of the design team have been playing LARPs for at least eight years, some as many as twenty-five. While our experiences within the greater LARP community were mostly positive, we believe that there is a way to do things better.
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Sojourners Portal LTD is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. In our experience, there are generally two types of LARP running companies: those who struggle to break even, and those who focus mainly on making money. Considering that storytelling and sharing a love of LARPing was more important to us than creating a profit, we decided that if we were going to be like the LARPs struggling to break even, being a not for profit was the best way to go about it. After examining the costs of running an event, it became clear that if we were careful with our planning, we might actually make some money doing it. Still, we don’t want to run games just to make money. We want to tell stories and create a safe place for others to enjoy them.
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That decision gave us a lot of freedom to explore ideas on what we could do if we found that we were achieving our goals and still managing to bring in more money than what was needed to keep the game alive. Some of those ideas include: donations to event sites that host LARPs for maintenance and site improvement, a scholarship program for cast members who are furthering their education in the arts, and outreach programs to educate ourselves and other LARP game runners in the best practices for creating a safe environment of inclusivity and mentorship, while removing bigotry and prejudice, to further expand the LARP community.
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“I can’t say when LARPing stopped being just a hobby. It has added to my life in ways I never saw coming: An adopted child and two beautiful grandchildren, friends I never would have found without it, stories that will never grow old in my mind because I lived them. That’s why I have to do this… so that others can have those same experiences.”
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-Dave Menard, CEO of Sojourners Portal LTD
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Our Commitment to the Community
At Sojourner's Portal, we believe in the importance of building a strong community where everyone feels supported and empowered to thrive. Historically, larping has not been a very diverse activity. We're working to change that.
By prioritizing diverse voices in both the creation and ongoing operation of our game, consciously challenging ideas based in prejudice, and maintaining an open conversation with our community, we have created a space that celebrates diversity, learning, collective growth, and accountability. We are committed to making a game that is fun for people of all abilities, races, gender expressions, belief systems, and more.
The more voices,
the richer our story!
Empowering Creators
Sojourner's Portal wants to empower creators of all types to do what they love and be part of a larger story. Whether you enjoy writing, studio art, prop creation, puzzle making, game mechanics, acting, music, cooking, or any other form of expression, there's a place for you to join in a community that brings stories to life.
Looking Forward
Our team has an unusual goal: We never want to get too comfortable. If we aren't challenging ourselves to expand, improve, listen, and learn, we're not at our best.
Right now we're running one larp: Sustainable Collapse, our fantasy/sci-fi/post apocalyptic crossover. In future we want to expand, running more games and creating more spaces for an increasingly diverse larping community. In addition, as we grow, we hope to provide scholarships for artists and writers, support community spaces, and fund other projects that align with our mission of diverse collaborative creation.
