Your Support
 

Dear Eratosphereans,

This is one those posts that I don’t make unless it’s unavoidable. As always, I’ve been running the financial end of things here solo and they’ve been at a stage that those who issue alerts would deem condition orange for a several quarters now. Of course, the challenging economic climate everywhere that has now become almost cliché has only exacerbated matters. It’s probably been too easy to miss the donate link given how little trickles in quarters apart, still I’m most grateful to those few.

Apart from the recurring fees for monthly server rental, the server and forum software license fees, the technical maintenance and upgrades which luckily I can mostly tackle with only the outlay of time, there is now a need for critical upgrade, especially of the storage due to the large amount of data for backups and stream of new data.

So, I’ll simply point out that donation link is at the top of most forum page, here . The available methods are credit card (through Google Checkout), Paypal (indirectly through 2Checkout), or check by snail mail. And every little bit helps.

I’ll leave this up for while as a sticky post -- long enough for those who might interested in helping to see it.

Thanks!
…Alex

Alex, Is the snail mail address available too?

David, Click on underlined "here" in the post above. Scroll down to the bottom.

I've just sent off an overdue contribution - Alex has always been clearly uncomfortable asking for money, and while this is normally an admirable quality in a person, it does not make for a good fund-raiser - and it's very obvious to me that if Alex comes out this bluntly and says that the Sphere needs money - The Sphere Needs Money!

I suspect that the situation with many of us has been what Alex hinted at. The donation link is overlooked, there is almost no pushing, and people forget to contribute. The Sphere is a massive asset for our community of poets, we need the occasional kick in the rear end to remind us that it doesn't come free and to help maintain it, the reminder has been administered, and I hope that as many as possible respond.

Thanks, Alex!

Even embarrassingly small donations add up. At least, that's what I'm counting on (blush). If you're thinking of not donating at all, please consider making a really small donation so that mine won't look so bad.

Got it. Donation on the way.
Dave

Sorry if this is a crass question, but I'd like to know how much of a donation seems appropriate to folks. I know giving what we can is appreciated, but how much does the sphere need from each of us to survive? I'm a schoolteacher with small children who may one day want to go to college, so I can't donate as freely as you childless gazillionaires, but I love it here even when not posting often. What sort of a donation-range seems appropriate to you guys? What would be a reasonable "subscriber's fee" here if we handled things that way?

(I pledge to donate some amount after I think on this for a bit...)

I'm quite poor. Twenty quid is my thought. Though will you need it in dollars Alex? I THINK I can do paypal.

Simon, if you click on the Paypal link, and then on the 2Checkout one on the next screen, you'll find a list of suggested amounts ranging from $10 to $1,000.

I imagine that contribution levels will vary widely by individual and think it unlikely that the total will come near to compensating Alex for out-of-pocket expenses, far less time, so I don't think it's possible to give you a formula.

It might be helpful to look at it this way: "If I had to pay a fee to participate, above what price-point would I decline?" The answer to that question will reflect both a member's personal financial circumstances and the Board's value to them.

John

Maybe a $10 (or equivalent) minimum membership per annum (or some multiple of that) starting after a six-month trial period would be reasonable. Where it might be most convenient, this could be remitted by cheque in USD sent directly to Alex's address by postal mail, thereby doing an "end-run" around the fees charged by credit cards and other services.

Thank you all, especially those who've responded to the call for support. Still, the response has been lukewarm, hence this follow up in the hope that more will see this note and contribute something, no matter how small. Every little bit helps, and little bits from more members especially so.

Cheers,
...Alex

Trying to collect information from other sites has made me appreciate Alex's steadiness over the years.

Other forums have gone defunct, or crashed and moved repeatedly, losing all their data each time. Nobody knows who's in charge of the technical stuff - or they do know, but whoever it is doesn't respond. Forums that use free hosting services are continually crashing, or out of service for days at a time without warning while software is updated; and when they're up, they're always bombarding you with advertisements.

We don't take much notice of Alex around here because he's quietly competent. The Sphere has suffered one or two crashes (that's inevitable), but as far as I know, no data has ever been permanently lost. When we want to revisit a Bake-off sonnet from 2004, all it takes is a simple search, and voila - http://www.ablemuse.com/erato/showthread.php?t=5608 - there it is.

Another thing is, people who aren't technical often don't appreciate what goes into creating and maintaining a site like this. They tend to dismiss it as "that voodoo that you do". Well, it's not voodoo. It takes time, effort and brains. With his skills, Alex can probably command a pretty good hourly rate even in this economy, yet he spends time on this site for free. That alone is a generous gift, independent of what he spends out of pocket.

When stuff needs to get done, most people are fond of saying they want to help. What that usually turns out to mean is "I'm willing to complain, dispense patronizing advice, contribute vague and/or redundant information, and generally pretend to be concerned, but I'm not willing to exert myself in the slightest, physically, mentally, or financially." Alex deserves better than that.

Check made out, in envelope, addressed, ready for tomorrow's mail.

Thanks for everything, Alex.

What Rose said. I hope that those who haven't seen the notice before, or set the reminder aside as we all frequently do, will send what they can afford. Thanks all for the help - it helps us all.

Check sent early this week -- hope it's arrived!

I'm still trying. It valued Australian dollars at almost half their real value. Still struggling but help is on the way.
Janet

It gets worse and worse. I get so far, invent pass-everythings and phrases and think I'm home and dry and then I get this:
1.0.21010This session is invalid. Please try again.This session is invalid. Please try again.
That was the third attempt.

I have sent money to the Sphere before and it was always hard but now it's in the realm of madness. The problems are with my bank I think. Working on it.

We have about 231 active members today. Each giving only $25 or equivalent yields $5775 USDollars.

Is $25 so much to find? (More or less 15 GBP.) The price of a decent meal or a meal with a friend?

Most of us can double or triple that, or more.

Consider what you get : critiques, giggles, annoyance, success, news, all in one slot.

Google check-out is a simple process for us non-Americans. I did it this morning in less than a minute. Janet - a $25 American dollar donation costs $28 Australian dollars at the moment. If it's telling you otherwise, there's something terribly wrong. Don't press any buttons! I don't know which option you're using? Can I help at all? While I was at it, I set my Google calendar to alert me every quarter to make a donation. Perhaps you can post this sticky every quarter, too, Alex, to prompt our forgetful or tardy minds.

Imagine if Eratosphere simply ceased to exist.

Cally

Thanks Cally. Done!

(My problem was that I'd said: "Google? Be serious!" And then found that serious was a disaster.)

Cally, smart lady, a regular flow of revenue is key to any enterprise. Good solution.

Also, what Rose said.

Due to this vivid word portrait of me
I'll pony up, ASAP.

There's a funny poem in there, Rose. You should write it.

Come on you Brits. Forget all that paypal crap. Alex says you can just send him a cheque by snail. Of course, being beleagured brits it will be (as in my case) a small cheque. Is that beleagured spelt right? It looks funny.

I had hoped to avoid mentioning actual amounts on this thread, but others have and I’m worried that the guidance has gone in the wrong direction. Let me do some guess-timating.

Alex hasn't raised funds for some time and does not do it annually. Ignoring his time, the costs of running the Board must be several thousand dollars per year. So let’s take a target of $5,000.

There may be many registered and active members but only a small number will have a strong enough attachment and enough concern to contribute. Let’s say we get 40 contributors. And let’s say we can break them into 4 groups of 10 each:
A – strong attachment, can afford a meaningful donation
B – strong attachment but short of funds
C – more casual attachment, can afford a donation
D – more casual attachment but short of funds

Now let’s say that, based on the discussion above, they contribute as follows: A - $40, B - $30, C - $20, D - $10. The result will be $1,000, or one-fifth of the target.

To hit the target on this model, we would need to multiply the numbers by 5, i.e. A - $200, B - $150, C - $100, and D - $50. If we reduce the A and B donations to C and D levels, we end up with only 60% of the target, so some donation activity at A and B levels or higher is needed.

I hope this at least suggests that “reasonable” donations should be higher than the amounts mentioned earlier in the thread.

Alex, if you are able to give us some information, it would be good to know if the above analysis is close to realistic. For instance, can you tell us the annual Board out-of-pocket running costs, and the number of contributors and total contributions so far?

John

If I accidentally seemed to guide anyone to a lesser contribution than affordable, I abase myself. John's breakdown above seems a good heuristic. Guess where I rank on it.

PayPal contribution sent this a.m.

I gave quickly, too, because I love this board...read it off and on all day long...but I have no idea if the donation I sent was received.

Today I received an e-mail from Google asking me to rate my Able Muse "purchase". I fear I was not very kind. It was not a "purchase" that arrived in time for me to wear on Saturday night. It was a donation for which I was charged and paid the bill, but with no acknowledgement that it was received by the intended recipient.

I am old fashioned, perhaps, but I like to know when I give money that the folks I gave it to received it. If the Gaz can acknowledge donations by e-mail, PMs...surely Erato can, too...one would think.

Pat

Google finally charged my credit card, so I assume the small donation I sent at last made it through. Good luck with this, Alex. A hard time for fundraising.

Jody

I don't disagree that it is a very difficult time for fund-raising. Retired, I am busy writing grants every day for not for profits that I care about and they are mighty hard to come by these days, but I still believe that one of the basic rules of fundraising is to thank the folks who responded.

That nit aside, what would it take to make Erato, or any good poetry board, journal for that matter, eligible for an arts grant? We have lots of talented folks here in all fields ( besides poetry) who could donate time and know how to the effort...not to mention you guys could snow anyone with your language skills...and, truth be known, that's what all good grant writers do. : )

Just wondering...why not a grant for a respected online board?

Pat

The status quo of Eratosphere administration has several big advantages over incorporation as a not-for-profit entity, which is the only way to be eligible for most grants:

http://nonprofit.about.com/od/nonpro...rtingsteps.htm

If it's a question of Alex spending his limited time on tech headaches or tax headaches, I think we'd all agree which gives us more direct benefits.

Well, I've enjoyed my first day here. Some of you seem rather quirky, but, then, so am I. So I'll pony up! Alex, a modest check coming your way. I wish I could do more, but we'll all chip in, won't we?

Count me in, but I hope this is not time sensitive, as I could see doing a few Cs over the course of the year.

Alex, I hope you don't mind a practical gift exchange for Christmas.

Thanks for gift of Eratosphere, and all you do in maintaining it!

Donna

Oh man. I never look at the general discussion board unless
its by mistake. If there had been a sign on the front door you
could have had my money years ago.


Dave Condell

Alex, I meant to send you 50 dollars yesterday. I appear inadvertently to have bought subscription. But what I MEANT to do was send you 50 dollars.

Will do, John. Thanks, for the support!

Cheers,
...Alex

Hi Alex,

Payment made (I think). Thank you for your tireless work.

Cheers,
John

The actual PayPal link seems to have disappeared. I know I used it last time I donated but now even when I click on PayPal it takes me to "Square Connect" which doesn't work for me. Help?

Thanks for all you do, Alex, and the check is in the mail. Really!

That sounds like a horrid tangle of servers and pages. I have donated, and thank you so much. I cannot donate as much as I'd like but if you ever want an image or social media banner etc making to spec, I'd be happy to volunteer my time to support.

best wishes,

Sarah-Jane

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So glad to see this thread has been revived... It serves as a virtual tangible reminder (if there is such a thing) for me. I will send along what I can... And deep thanks for what must be a 24/7 vigil to keep this site working as well as it does. Best, Jim

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