Big Pond Fund

A precursor to TAFF, a fund initiated to bring a British fan, in this case Ted Carnell, across the big pond (Atlantic Ocean) to attend a Worldcon. Forry Ackerman first promoted the idea with the 1947 Philcon Worldcon as the target convention. (James Hevelin was the fund's California Representative and William S. Sykora was the New York Representative.) But insufficient funds were raised and the project was postponed; Carnell wrote a thank you note to contributors, in which he stated prophetically: "There is no reason why a delegate should not visit each other's country on alternate years..."

Carnell did eventually get funded over to attend the 1949 Cinvention Worldcon, but it was still largely "angeled" by Ackerman. It took the success of the WAW With the Crew in '52 campaign, launched by Shelby Vick, which solely via fan support brought Walt Willis to attend the 1952 Chicon II Worldcon, to launch TAFF and subsequently all other fan funds.

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

BIG POND, the Atlantic Ocean, hence BIG POND FUND, the movement to bring Ted Carnell to an American convention -- originally the '47 Philcon, tho he actually didn't make it till the Cinvention. Milt Rothman, PhilCon chairman, was the fund chairman too, tho Ackerman (who had kicked off the notion in the October '46 Shaggy) collected the geld. The idea was revived in effect in Shelby Vick's WAW With the Crew campaign. See also TAFF.

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Fanfund

1947

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