As emotionally charged as this story has been in the last month, I'm glad to see a well placed, objective timeline laid out so well.

Hopefully it helps get this problem resolved and learned from, so we as an industry can move ahead and keep working on the intentions set forth by the Empowerment Fund, hopefully learning how to implement it better in the future.

Good work, Jen.

Inspired by Mr. Sizer's sentiment, the following is an imaginary statement which might have, or might not have been released by the Friends of Lulu Board of Directors at the onset of recent controversy.

What If... | FOL Empowerment Fund Statement

Official Press Release about the status of the Friends of Lulu Empowerment Fund project.

Last year, and in wake of a controversial incident of alleged sexual assault at a comic book convention, we at Friends of Lulu were presented by a fellow director of the board with an idea for a project. She proposed that we create a fund to distribute grants to women, who worked in the comic book industry, and sought legal assistance in the event of claims of sexual harassment. The rest of the board agreed that yes, this was a worthwhile project to consider and pursue.

While it is known that Friends of Lulu is a national organization whose main purpose is to promote and encourage female readership and participation in the comic book industry, the organization's entirely volunteer board of directorship and operations management is a critical key factor to executing its projects and goals. As in any organization of this nature, not all its members always agree completely on the methods and timing of any of our projects, nor are they all able to fully participate in all its pursuits. This synthesis of often extraneous conditions can sometimes give rise to controversy and even bewilderment within the organization. Friends of Lulu, however, remains committed to the Empowerment Fund and to the purpose it serves.

The Empowerment Fund launched two fund raising events at its onset, the proceeds of which were deposited into a PayPal account to be used for the Fund's expressed purpose.

The total amount of funds collected by the fund raising efforts and deposited into the PayPal account is: $X,XXX.xx.

As of today, funds have been expended on one case, the initial case which inspired the formation of the fund, which had been brought before the fund's directorship for the expressed purpose stated by the fund. No further cases, as of yet, have been brought before the fund for review.

The total amount of funds expended on this case from the PayPal account is: $XXX.xx.

The present balance in the fund's PayPal account is: $X,XXX.xx.

The fund remains at the service of all women in the comics industry who've suffered from sexual harassment and assault, and will review any and all appropriate cases brought before its board for the fund's expressed purposes, as initially stated by FOL.

While it is no secret that the aforementioned volunteer nature of the organization might deem it difficult to administer the fund's activities, should there be a dramatic rise in appropriate cases coming for review before the fund's board, we're pleased to announce that the relatively moderate proliferation of such cases in the comics industry today allows us to maintain the fund's presence and activity with relative ease, and to present a transparent accounting of the fund's finances.

Should this situation change in the future, or should the volunteer board members feel they can no longer administer a potential compounding of tasks needed to maintain the fund, FOL will then reconsider its position.

At the present time, however, and as expressive of our absolute resolve to advance the plight of women in the comics industry, and notwithstanding diverging board members' opinions as to the process within which the fund was initially established, the Friends of Lulu board of directors believes that maintaining the fund serves a far greater purpose, than the perceivable damage to this cause we all hold dear, which could result from terminating it at this time.

Thank you for your time and your continued support of Friends of Lulu.

The Friends of Lulu Organization
President and Board of Directors