=][= DONATIONS ENABLED =][=

[Brother Tyler]

One of the things that drove the format experimentation (i.e., playing around with the sidebar on the main page) was the need to facilitate the collection of donations for the site. We don't want the site or its capabilities to ever sit behind any paywalls - we want all members of the community to have the same access to the site and its capabilities without having to pay money. In order for that to happen, we rely on donations from our members.

 

Our annual costs for hosting and maintenance come out to about $2,000 USD. We use PayPal to raise this money. Note that we are not limited to USD - members can also donate in AUD, EUR, and GBP. Also, and very importantly, donations to the site should be submitted to PayPal as gifts (and not as payments for goods/services rendered).

 

Members that donate money to the site will be awarded supporter badges. The first draft of these badges appears below (I really need to clean it up). Since PayPal only gives me the real names of donors and not their email addresses (which I might use to associate with accounts, but only if the address they use for the payment corresponds to their B&C account), members will need to contact me to let me know when they have made a donation so that I can award the supporter badge. We'll refine this process as we get more experience with it.

 

 

No, there isn't a badge for 2022 (but I really should fix that). Yes, I'm going to create better badges (i.e., the skull will be a lot smoother, the word "Supporter" may appear).

 

If we ever reach a point where we are unable to collect sufficient funds from the community, we'll have to resort to advertising. It is very likely that members that donate won't have to see the advertisements (though we'll make this optional since some members might want to see those advertisements). The way we can avoid advertisements, though, is for members of the community to donate.

 

Important: No members are paid for the "work" that they perform for the site. The Administrators, Moderators, and Sacristans perform considerable work in support of the site, much of it behind the scenes. This is all done on a completely voluntary basis, however. Your donations go solely to the costs of the site.

Edited October 23, 2022 by Brother Tyler
Old (craptastic) image gone

[Captain Coolpants]

Nice. But I really honestly don't mind banner ads and such. As long as they don't pop up and need closing or open new tabs or steal info ect ect. I only see them as a good thing. 

[Harrowmaster]

Nice to see this back, will the progress bar be making a return?

[Brother Tyler]

Yes, we'll probably see the progress bar return. I'll have to calculate how much we've raised so far this year, though, unless I decide to wait to kick it off in 2023. The issue that might complicate things is that we currently have donations in three currencies (not converting until necessary in order to avoid the conversion fees) so I'll have to figure out to get the total converted into USD without having it shift as conversion rates change.

[INKS]

Boom 2 bucks. That doesn't seem like much. But when I do it like 30 times a month or so it adds up. Thanks for bringing this back. giving a coffee's worth of cash now and again is much easier for me to do. Keep the banners, do what you need to do, but keep this as well. thanks!

[Beaky Brigade]

Just a heads up that the email address you are donating to seems a bit random and doesn't seem associated with B&C, I assume it's all above board but it would be good for user confidence to be sure it was a legitimate donation stream for the site :)

Edited October 23, 2022 by Beaky Brigade

[Brother Tyler]

When we create our formal fundraising and financial management post/article, the explanation for the email address will be provided. If we ever create formal B&C email addresses again, we'll probably switch to one of those. In the meantime, since I'm co-owner (with Brother Argos) and I manage the funds, it's my email address, as seen here.

[Brother Tyler]

We've received a number of donations today so I'm shifting my priorities to making a 2022 supporter badge (and improving on my previous meh effort).

[Brother Tyler]

New and improved supporter badge:

I'll start awarding these to this year's donors soon.

[Felix Antipodes]

Just donated.  Didn’t see an option to attach my user name and I use a different email address for PayPal, so not sure how that will flag with you.

[Grotsmasha]

Small, but regular donation set up

 

This is my go-to internet home, five a month is worth every cent.

[Axineton]

Just donated $25. Did it in American money instead of sterling (GBP) as it seemed easier. Didn’t get an option to do a family & friends payment or goods & services payment. Pretty sure my email address here and PayPal email are the same.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Axineton

[Dosjetka]

2 hours ago, Felix Antipodes said:

Just donated.  Didn’t see an option to attach my user name and I use a different email address for PayPal, so not sure how that will flag with you.

Quick PM to Brother Tyler with the details should do the trick.

[Xenith]

Monthly donation set up again - No option to add a note, but £2/month towards the site from me. It all adds up. 

[Jaipii]

Took a while to find out how to make the donation (I am using mobile site), but succeeded! Made the donation in USD instead of EUR so you don't need to worry about conversion rates.

[INKS]

Champions! All of you

[Chaplain Lucifer]

Sent some $upport! 

[Captain Coolpants]

Just sent a small donation too. Couldn't find it then realised its near the bottom ish on the phone version lol

 

Didn't give the option to select friends and family or anything. Just said thank you for your donation. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Captain Coolpants

[Grotsmasha]

I suspect, as it's set up as a donation, that it will default to Paypal NOT taking a cut.

[Noserenda]

Popped over a couple of quid, every little helps! :) 

[Emperor Ming]

Will there be a progress bar?

 

[Brother Tyler]

Eventually, but probably not until the final drive of the year. The exact timing will probably depend upon how close we are to our annual goal. If we're far (some milestone not yet determined), we'll start that sooner, say early August. If we're close, we'll start later, say early September. And if we've exceeded our annual goal, we'll post notification of that, too (we'll continue to collect funds, but they'll be counted towards our next fiscal year).

 

What we'll probably do throughout the year is post a different banner at different milestones, showing that we've reached $X. That banner will link towards the perpetual description of our finances/donations process. I'll need to determine ongoing conversion rates from AUD, EUR, and GBP into USD to calculate the total. I'll update the banner as we reach each milestone.

 

For those that are interested, over the last seven days we have received 5 AUD, 40 EUR, 59 GBP, and 256 USD in donations from generous members of the community.

[aa.logan]

The only thing stopping me from setting up a regular donation is the fact that I can’t find a link to do so on the mobile site…

[Jaipii]

19 hours ago, aa.logan said:

The only thing stopping me from setting up a regular donation is the fact that I can’t find a link to do so on the mobile site…

Just scroll down the front page further than you would normally like to  Once you reach the depth of "Ordo administratum" you've gotten close. A donation box appears between that and the "Newest topics" -headline.

[Brother Tyler]

Yes, one of the unfortunate aspects of viewing the site on a mobile device is that the smaller display forces changes to the format, with the sidebar blocks (on a PC) appearing at the bottom of the screen on a mobile device.

 

Eventually there will be a pinned topic about the site's financial management and donations. The placement for that is up for discussion, but the most likely place is in the Ordo Administratum, which is way at the bottom of the forums.