Love this site. Had some run in's with some mods in the past but everything is good, it was mostly because I'm very blunt and thought a mod was being a prick when he was actually just doing what he was supposed too lol. (my bad and sorry which ever Mod that was lol) .
Anyway, I'd really like to help Bluelight stay alive and I'm sure the monthly/yearly cost of keeping it up isn't exactly cheap.
Before donating I do have a couple questions.
1. If I was to submit a large donation in excess of over $5,000.00 (five thousand U.S. dollars) how much of that would be going directly to keeping bluelight alive (the servers up- and the website not shut down?)
2. Not sure if Bluelight does this- haven't really heard anything about it, but does bluelight recognize people by making a post about them thanking them for the donation, send them a shirt , etc. for members who donate a large amount ? (I'd love a bluelight t-shirt LOL, a post thanking me would be nice too lol)
3. Is there a maximum donation amount bluelight is willing to accept? (Some websites will not accept donations largers then a few thousand.)
Thanks, look forward to contributing to BL to keep the site going for as long as possible.
-Skateboard (Aka Ryan)
Ryan,
In lieu of the ability to answer in unison (at this very moment) with TLB, I'd like to reply to your questions in general, which I imagine will suffice for the sake of this thread:
1. Unless you're planning to donate WELL over $5K (meaning $10K plus) I am confident in saying all of your donation would go towards "keeping the lights on," which I define as paying our server fees and any upgrades to software. There has never been an excess at the end of the year. Neither TLB nor I have ever taken a penny in payment or reimbursement for our personal efforts. Ever.
As a matter of fact, both TLB and I share the same conservative attitude towards Bluelight's financials -- which is to say that we see Bluelight as a labor of love, and maintain a sincere respect for each penny donated by our members or paid by our partners, (such as Inflexxion). Recently, TLB travelled up to stay with me in Boston for a "Bluelight planning weekend." We "Brainstormed Bluelight" virtually every waking hour of each day, and Reed paid for his plane ticket (as we do every other expense) out of pocket. I will be doing the same when I travel down to work with him. It didn't even occur to us to do things any differently.
There's a great pride we both take in "giving" to BL without having to take from it, and I can tell you it has surprised and impressed many of our other friends involved in the online psychedelic/harm reduction community that we choose to operate so bare-bones and refuse to take any sort of a salary.
So, in a nutshell, your donation (like any other) would be applied directly to operating costs, and we would have no problem with providing you with an accounting trail to that effect. Such a donation would go through MAPS.org, a federally recognized 501c3 (non-profit) which you could also deduct from your taxes.
2. Ryan -- if you were to personally make a sizable donation to Bluelight, we would be happy to recognize you however you like. If you are serious, and I hope that you are, it would be a nice way to launch a "Bluelight Benevolent Sponsors" page, in which we could list your inaugural donation along with your real name (or BL name if you prefer) and year. It might also encourage others to donate. Want a T-shirt? Consider it done. Heck, send me your size and I'll make you one from scratch.
3. No, there are no limits on the total amount of a donation -- it may be as large as your heart is generous.
If you would like to discuss things further, I encourage you to send a private message to both TheLoveBandit and myself. I'll be happy to speak with you by phone about the donation (as I'm sure TLB will also be) as well as potential mechanisms by which you can be assured your donation will go towards operating costs.
Best,
SG