Watch and listen to the exclusive Jane Horne interview on The Lightweaver Foundation at the Review’s Youtube and Spotify.
The Lightweaver Foundation is a charitable, nonprofit organization established by popular fantasy author Brandon Sanderson and his wife, Emily Sanderson. It began in 2015 as a way for the successful author to give back to the community. Jane Horne, the director of the Foundation, sat down with the Review to discuss their work.
The Foundation has remained relatively private, but as Sanderson’s popularity has grown, fans’ interest in his charitable work has increased, and some have been left wondering what The Lightweaver Foundation is. Horne explained their mission: “Feed bodies. Fill minds. Fuel hope.”
One surprising piece of information that Horne revealed is that The Lightweaver Foundation first began to help students at UVU and BYU publish their speculative fiction in journals like UVU’s “Warp & Weave” and BYU’s “Leading Edge.” She said, “The first thing that [The Lightweaver Foundation] set up, which was in 2015, was an endowment fund with UVU. They started it because of “Warp & Weave.” She went on to explain that “Warp & Weave” did not have the funding to keep going, and it is because of the continued patronage of The Lightweaver Foundation that it is still able to exist.
Speaking on why they felt the need to help keep these journals alive, Horne explained that their primary concern is to provide necessities such as food, water, and shelter, but they see literacy as an important next step for improving lives. Things that promote literacy are therefore a big part of what they look for when considering where to contribute.
One such organization that promotes literacy in children which The Lightweaver Foundation contributes toward is Operation Literacy. They host projects such as Teen Author Boot Camp, a writing conference for teens looking to become authors, and Book Drop, where popular authors speak at schools and give out copies of their books to students.
The Lightweaver Foundation’s biggest fundraiser happens each year at Christmas when they sell Christmas decorations based on Sanderson’s books. This year, all the funds raised went to assisting the Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital with their School Zone program, which offers creative and educational resources to children in need, and the new Miller Family Campus.
Horne revealed that “Over the course of the month, with the [Dragonsteel] con, we raised over $100,000…and all those funds are going to Primary Children’s in one way or another.”
Fan contributions were so large last year that it prompted Sanderson to increase his own personal contribution. Horne explained, “[Sanderson] wants his personal donation to always be more than what his fans are contributing, and just this last year I was like, ‘Brandon, you have to put more money in, your fans are surpassing you.’ He was like, ‘That’s what I need to know and that’s awesome.’ Fans are pushing the bridge to where Brandon has to change his personal donation, and that’s what he wanted.”
The Foundation’s contributions are mostly centered around their local community, but they are beginning to expand their efforts. For example, they were able to contribute around $40,000 to food banks in Maui during the 2023 wildfires. They raised these funds by auctioning off numbered and signed copies of Sanderson’s books. They also frequently contribute to fellow fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss’s charity organization, Worldbuilders, which works with global organizations.
The Lightweaver Foundation is still learning and developing its mission, but as Horne described, “Our passions and our donations are starting to make more of an impact.” Championed by Brandon and Emily Sanderson, The Lightweaver Foundation stands as a beacon of hope and generosity.
To stay up to date with The Lightweaver Foundation, visit their website at lightweaverfoundation.org.
