Sixteen years ago I met a woodworker named Duane Moore who was fighting pancreatic cancer. Nicole and I drove out to Ohio to spend a couple of days at his bench, and that trip turned into Woodworkers Fighting Cancer. Since 2010, this community has moved more than $150,000 to charity, five and ten and fifty dollars at a time.
This year the event comes back with a new name, Woodworkers For a Cause, so we can support any cause connected to our craft. The initials stay WFC. Everything that worked stays too: an online auction full of donated tools, an all-day live broadcast, and companies who give product instead of buying ads.
For 2026, we are raising $20,000 for The Purple Heart Project, which puts hand tools, training, and a lifelong community into the hands of combat-wounded veterans. Selected veterans get a full scholarship to one of Rob Cosman’s week-long Training the Hand workshops, with travel and tuition covered, their own set of quality hand tools to keep, and a premium workbench built and delivered by Bench Brigade volunteers.
Dates to put on your calendar
| Now through Saturday, October 3 | The charity auction is live. Bid on donated tools at 32auctions.com/wfc2026. |
| All of September | Build anything you want for the Make It Yours challenge and post it on social with #WoodworkersForACause. |
| Monday, September 21 | Deadline for companies and individuals to get a donated item into this year’s auction. Email marketing@thewoodwhisperer.com. |
| Tuesday, September 30 | Last day to enter the challenge and be featured on the broadcast. |
| Friday, October 2, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Central | The live broadcast. Demos, sponsor tools, chat, and giveaways all day. |
| Saturday, October 3, 7:00 pm Central | The auction closes. |
1. Bid on the auction
The auction is our biggest single fundraiser, and donated tools routinely sell for more than retail because people are bidding for two reasons at once. Registration at 32auctions is free, and every winning bid is paid directly to the charity, not to us.
In the auction so far: the Fuji Spray Q5 PLATINUM HVLP system, an Oliver 13 inch HCX helical planer, the JessEm Ultimate Excel II router table package, a MICROJIG GRR-RIPPER AIR ULTRA anniversary set, a Norwood Frontier OS27 sawmill, an Ultimate Wall Control pegboard kit, 3 MaKRS finishing bundles, Titebond packages, Bell Forest Products and Woodhaven gift cards, Rob Cosman hand tools, Natura hard wax oil, a Calavera shop apron, a Wood Talk co-host for a day slot, a handmade quilt of my retired tshirts worn on the show and a few one of a kind experiences with me.
How it works: browse and bid, and if you win, we email you a link to pay your bid straight to the Purple Heart Project. Once the charity confirms the payment, we pass your shipping details to the donating company, and they ship to you directly. Nothing routes through our shop, which keeps shipping costs low. Items ship within the continental US unless a listing says otherwise.
Browse the auction and place a bid
2. Donate directly
If bidding is not your thing, give any amount through the official fundraiser. One hundred percent goes to the Purple Heart Project, and US donors get an IRS-recognized receipt from the charity. And you get recognized on the WFC website. We never touch the money.
3. Build something for the Make It Yours challenge
There is no community build project this year, so build whatever you want or need instead. Make something in your shop during September, post it with #WoodworkersForACause, and enter on the WFC page. Everyone who enters gets a coupon code for a free PDF plan of their choice from the TWW Store, anywhere in the world. One entry will be drawn for a tool donated by our sponsors; US entrants only for that drawing. Enter by September 30 to be featured on the October 2 broadcast.
Enter the Make It Yours challenge
4. Spend the day with us on October 2
I will be at the bench from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Central, running demos, stopping constantly to talk with chat, and walking through every auction item alongside the company that donated it. If you want to know what a tool is actually like to use before you bid on it, that is the day to watch. Donation totals update live on screen, and we run giveaways throughout.
Set a reminder for the live broadcast
The companies making this possible
Every one of these companies either donated product to the auction or gave cash directly to the charity: Fuji Spray, MaKRS, Titebond, The Wood Whisperer Guild, Oliver Machinery, Bell Forest Products, Woodhaven, Rob Cosman, JessEm, Wall Control, MICROJIG, Norwood Sawmills, Natura, Calavera, and Bloxygen. When you are shopping for tools, these are the folks who showed up for veterans. Please give them a look.
If your company wants in, email Nicole at marketing@thewoodwhisperer.com with the product name, a website link, and any images or copy you want us to use. The cutoff to get an item into this year’s auction is Monday, September 21. Details for companies are on the WFC page.
One ask
Telling one friend moves the number as much as a donation does. Share this, share the auction, and come hang out with us on October 2. Everything lives in one place at thewoodwhisperer.com/wfc.
Thank you. Sixteen years in, this still works only because you show up and join us.
Marc and Nicole