We believe that volunteering is what fandom is all about: volunteering our time, our energy, our hearts (and yes, from time to time our funds—like when we pitch in to help someone travel to a con) in service of a thing we love and the people we love it with.

The people building the OTW are donating time and energy because we want the OTW to exist in order to serve fandom. Same goes for the people who build holiday fic exchanges, the people who run cons, the people who make fannish icons for free, the people who write all kinds of glorious stories and make beautiful vids for free. (Besides, doing this kind of thing with other fans is incredibly fun!)