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A-U Revival: funding
http://www.arwen-undomiel.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=21132
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Author:  Aredhel Ar-Feiniel [ January 16th, 2011, 5:57 pm ]
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Lothy wrote:
We can sort out a way to credit people later.

May as well get the matter over with now, since it's already been brought up. It's just a tiny thing that needs to be looked at. As has already been mentioned in the other thread regarding Ammy, it's not up to you to decide when we discuss what. We may as well discuss this along with other relevant things while people are PMing you. Again - not trying to be a douche here, but chill out hun. This isn't boot camp.

Author:  Eruraina [ January 16th, 2011, 10:10 pm ]
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@Lothy: You mean people who are willing to contribute in more than just finances?


And I'm liking all the ideas. Maybe as a way to credit people, we have a credits page, like movie credits if you know what I mean.

Author:  Lothy [ January 17th, 2011, 11:38 am ]
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^ No no, I mean contribute financially. It's just so we know if a member funded forum is plausible and do-able.

Author:  [ January 18th, 2011, 1:01 pm ]
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How's rasing the money and finding donors going? Does it look like we'll make it?

Or do we need to look into ways to reward donors.. or find other ways to finance the site?

Do you need any help with... anything? :)

Author:  Nurrantiel Mashiara [ January 18th, 2011, 3:15 pm ]
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I know there are a lot of ideas thrown out there and it seems to be coming together nicely, but I wanted to bring this up again.

Eruraina wrote:
But a donation button could also be used in case there are those who want to donate, in which case it can build a kind of emergency fund for tight times when the money can't be made from the volunteered donors or there aren't enough volunteers(such a time might happen like around major holidays such at Christmas time).


I really, really, really support this idea. There may be people who will decide every once and a while to donate a bit, which would set up an emergency pot in case we run into issues. It wouldn't be something that people would feel pressured to do or anything, but nice for people who can't or won't commit to every month.

Author:  Johnny's Fan [ January 18th, 2011, 4:12 pm ]
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^ I think that would bea good idea as well... but what if after the months fee has been paid by the regular donors, there is afterwards a flurry of donors? Would all that X amount of money go to pay the next month and give the regulars a break? Or use to tide over payment if one month there is a few dollars missing?

Author:  Eruraina [ January 18th, 2011, 5:36 pm ]
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^Depending on the situation, it could go either way. It would be an emergency fund/pot for times when we end up a few dollars short, or if there's enough in there, it could go to give regular donors a break. Like giving them a break, like I mentioned, during holiday seasons when money usually goes to other things and a website isn't on the top of your mind.

Author:  Johnny's Fan [ January 18th, 2011, 5:40 pm ]
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Good thinking with the Christmas period. :yes: That would be the worst time of year for anything to happen to AU, and as you said, the last thing donors would be wanting to put money towards at that time.

The donate button can only be a win win thing for all concerned then surely?

Author:  Minuialwen [ January 18th, 2011, 7:15 pm ]
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If I can just stick my newbie nose in here for a second, I agree with Nurr about the donation button. I am not going to be able to commit to every month or every other month-frankly, I'm not going to be able to commit financially to anything. BUT to have the option to help out a bit when I can, would be really nice. :)

Author:  Eruraina [ January 18th, 2011, 7:27 pm ]
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Elegost Eruaphadion wrote:
What are the opinions of those who have pledged money?


That has yet to be decided. Some have said a special rank or stars, others have offered graphics. The idea of having an insentive has been made, though. What it will be on the other hand... is yet to be decided.

Author:  Taurquende [ January 18th, 2011, 8:36 pm ]
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A few thoughts... :)

1) I would really hope that we could exist on donations alone. It might be that we have to put up reminders and hold fundraisers like they do on public radio, but if enough people possibly could or would contribute just a dollar or two, it can really add up. Setting up a few definite donors would probably still be a good idea, but I think they should be the back-up emergency plan, not little donations.

2) Assuming we do donations: people should get something special for donating. Not a special rank, at least on the forum; I think it's important to keep that separate because it measures your contribution to A-U in terms of substance, which is of course also very important. Maybe a different ranking system, though. In the arts (which is where I'm coming from here), we use tiers like Donors, Patrons, Benefactors, Angels, and Arch-Angels according to how much people have given, and in the programs their names are listed under the tier they belong in. So, transplanting that to the context of A-U, it would go like this:

A-U Supporters for May 2011

Arch-Angels ($11 or more)
Mr. & Mrs. Aragorn Elessar

Angels ($7-$10)
Bilbo Baggins
Elrond Half-Elven

Benefactors ($4-$6)
Frodo Baggins
Gandalf the Grey
Theoden of Rohan
Peregrin Took

Patrons ($2-$3)
Meriadoc Brandybuck
Gimli son of Gloin
Boromir of Gondor
Denethor of Gondor
Legolas Greenleaf
Galadriel of Lorien
Eowyn of Rohan

Donors ($1 or less, which would still be appreciated because every little bit really does count)
Treebeard of Fangorn
Faramir of Ithilien
Samwise I-got-kids-to-feed Gamgee
And many more, because, ideally, this would be the largest category by far.


Anyway, that's the general idea. All of the details are of course debatable, like the amounts or rank names.

3) A sort of Part Two of the above premise: contributors get shiny badges or something very nice to put in their sig. It could say, "Donor ~ September 2012" that identifies them as a contributor as well as the month in which they donated, because obviously we need people to keep donating.

A lot of all this is basically a more defined idea of what was suggested before. My number three is entirely forum-centered, but we can't forget about the taggers, and people who just pop onto A-U to use screencaps and things without joining the community. It's perfectly possible for them to donate, too.

Author:  Altariel Frodo [ January 18th, 2011, 10:56 pm ]
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In my opinion, the donation button = brilliant. I think it's very much possible to keep this going on member donations-- voluntary donations, that is. Not everyone could contribute, but a lot of us do have jobs now that we're all growing up.


As far as incentives to donate... I think that changing the member rank could quickly become overwhelming for the mods. Maybe a sort of credit page would work better, if donors were willing to be a little more anonymous (because realistically not as many people would look at a page to see who was donating, unless they were kind of nosy). We could even still have them listed under donor ranks, as Taur so brilliantly laid out above.


Or maybe we could create forum banners saying "this month of A-U brought to you by..." OK, maybe not. :-P

Author:  Johnny's Fan [ January 18th, 2011, 11:24 pm ]
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^ I really like that last idea. Arwen has a great code on the website for a scrolling thingy. It would look great if there was a banner that went along listing everyone who helped for that month. It would be easy enough to change, but effective. And eye catching as well.

Author:  Eruraina [ January 18th, 2011, 11:34 pm ]
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Elegost Eruaphadion wrote:
Eruraina wrote:
Elegost Eruaphadion wrote:
What are the opinions of those who have pledged money?


That has yet to be decided. Some have said a special rank or stars, others have offered graphics. The idea of having an insentive has been made, though. What it will be on the other hand... is yet to be decided.


I didn't mean that, lovely.

I meant what do the people who are offering donations think of having an incentive, and what ideas do they have for it. :)


Ah, sorry, misunderstood your question. Thanks for clarifying.


And I think all of these ideas are great ideas. I don't think I could really choose from one or the other.

Author:  Larael [ January 19th, 2011, 11:38 pm ]
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This thread has been a bit difficult for me to follow [and to be completely honest the idea of Arwen leaving us completely is still a bit difficult for me to swallow], but I would like to show a bit of support for the paypal donations button. A lot of sites have them nowadays, and it's not just members who donate. People might come to the site [once it gets revamped] and really be impressed by what they see. Also, I know I won't be able to donate right away, but there might be a random time during the month/year when I may, and I'd really like to have that account handy.

Author:  Sidawethiel [ January 20th, 2011, 8:28 pm ]
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Alrighty, so, this, in my opinion, is the most important aspect that needs to be figured out. Without dah monies, no AU.

I really like the idea of having a donation button. Because, I'm sure there are many people out there wanting to donate.

However, I think someone needs to take sole ownership (treasurer), who is willing to make the payments (as to avoid the site from being shut down). But they should also manage the donations.... They will need to be responsible to handle the money exchanges and donations.

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