Tolarian Community College Fundraiser Shoots Past $425,000 Milestone

Last updated on February 14, 2025

Barrin, Tolarian Archmage | Illustration by Ryan Pancoast

Many Magic: The Gathering players ask the question: What is The Professor from Tolarian Community College doing these days? Turns out on top of hosting episodes of Shuffle Up & Play and playing his traditional Booster Box Game for new sets, The Professor's engaging in a bit of philanthropy. His recent fundraiser for Trans Lifeline began on February 12th, and in just two days brought in a staggering $430,000 in donations (as of early Friday morning).

To put that in terms Magic players might understand: That's enough to buy six Alpha Black Lotuses and have just enough left over for a heavily played Ancestral Recall. Translation: That's alotta money!

Who Is the Professor?

For those who aren't perpetually plugged into the internet and the Magic content creation game, The Professor is the name used by the creator of Tolarian Community College, the largest Magic-related channel on YouTube with over 1.1 million subscribers. He's known for building his own image and personality from scratch, and was one of the original successful Magic content creators who specialized in product reviews.

What Is the Fundraiser?

Trans Lifeline is an organization with a mission statement of connecting “trans people to the support, community, and resources they need to survive and thrive.”

Donation numbers as of Friday morning

As for the actual donation process, users can visit the Tolarian Community College Fundraiser link and donate if they wish to do so. The fundraiser is being held between February 12-15, and has repeatedly met its goal already (the goal number increases each time it's met). With over 10,000 supporters as of Thursday night, this is far and away the biggest fundraiser the channel's held.

If you've tracked previous years' fundraisers for the same cause, you'll know this has eclipsed the numbers from 2023, which hit its goal of $225,000 with just under 8,000 supporters.

Of course, the Professor isn't necessarily one to just ask for money; there's potential rewards at stake here! Donating any amount in multiples of $4 enters your name into a contest to receive something special directly from The Professor himself. In a video simply titled “It's Happening!” on the Tolarian Community College YouTube channel, The Professor promised to give away one booster box of each Masters set (10 sets total) to lucky individuals who make a donation. That's a fun giveaway already, but it seems like many members of the Magic community decided to up the ante.

What Other Prizes Are There?

Tons of prominent community members stepped up to sweeten the prize pot for this fundraiser. The full list of potential prizes is actually pretty impressive, and can be tracked in this Reddit threat. In addition to the original Masters booster boxes, the prize pool includes everything from Secret Lairs to Commander precons, serialized cards, special playmats, and even graded Magic cards. It's a jaw-dropping list of prizes fueled by other Magic personalities who wanted to donate to the cause.

Among the other patrons to the cause are popular retailers like Card Kingdom and CoolStuffInc., as well as notable Magic personalities such as Jim Davis, Amy the Amazonian, Josh Lee Kwai, and many more, each contributing cards or product from their own collections. With just about a day left to donate, there are likely to be even more additions to the prize pool. Regardless of where the final total ends up, it's clear the Professor has quite the influence in the community, and the fundraiser has been a resounding success.