We need your help!
Why we need help
Our goal is to engage as many people as possible with mathematics. Because of that, Puzzle of the Week has always been completely free to the hundreds of schools that have registered from dozens of different countries since its inception in 2016. The site is run by two volunteers (Andrew Sharpe and Jennifer Dickson) who give up their time to write the puzzles, communicate with teachers, and manage the tens of thousands of entries that are submitted annually. As Puzzle of the Week has grown, so too have the required work load and running costs. We have reached the point where we must either reduce the workload, generate income, or both in order to keep the competition running.
How you can help
Obviously we would love to find a sponsor for Puzzle of the Week who could support us financially in return for publicity on the site. If you are interested in becoming such a sponsor, or know somebody who may be, then please get in touch with andrew@puzzleoftheweek.com. Otherwise, the two primary types of help that we need are financial donations and/or the volunteering of your time.
Financial Help
You can now donate to Puzzle of the Week through Patreon! Anything you can give could help keep the competition alive. You can give as little as £1.41 per month or if you're feeling extra generous why not become a Pi-tron for £3.14 or a Tau-reffic Puzzler for £6.28? There are extra benefits that Patrons receive, to find out more about these (or to donate now) click on the button below or go to www.patreon.com/puzzloftheweek
Volunteering
We will be grateful for any help you are able to offer.
At the upper end of the volunteering spectrum we are currently looking for one or two volunteers who can donate an hour or two each week to help develop the site. In particular, anyone who can help format and edit puzzles would be a great help (a high level of mathematical knowledge is not necessary but would obviously be a bonus). Please get in touch with andrew@puzzleoftheweek.com if you are interested in volunteering. There are a vast number of jobs need doing so please don't think that only highly skilled people need apply!
If you can't commit to helping on a regular basis then please consider joining the development team. They help out whenever they can in various ways but mainly by checking puzzles and giving feedback on them. You can find out more on the development team page.
Why Puzzle of the Week is free
With our goal of engaging as many people as possible with mathematics in mind, we believe it essential that everything remains completely free because:
Putting the competition behind a pay wall for users would mean students from less affluent backgrounds would not be able to compete.
We know (first hand) the financial pressures schools are under and understand that charging schools (even a nominal fee) to register would again restrict student participation.
Even if a school is able to pay, the additional work required to secure funding by teachers would greatly reduce the number of students able to participate.
Why Puzzle of the Week is worthy of your help
Puzzle of the Week provides a fantastic opportunity for young mathematicians to develop their problem solving skills and raises the profile of mathematics in every school that participates. Parents and school staff regularly submit answers and puzzles from the free Puzzle Library are used daily in classrooms around the world and have been featured in books and blogs. The feedback on social media is fantastic and there are clearly thousands of people around the world who enjoy the mathematics and competition. On top of all of that, we love doing it! We enjoy writing the puzzles, hearing people's solutions and we have many creative ideas for how the site can develop further.