Info Donations Discussion thread

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We are pleased to say that we've updated our current financial situation data to better reflect where we are today (and somewhat sad to report how low it is):

Needs for the year are 6.5k euro, we have 700 euro in the account. We are still working on our research partnerships, but obviously anything and all that our members can contribute is very welcome. We thank you, and encourage you to utilize the subscription option now available.
 
I would definitely donate if I got some cool little tag underneath my name or maybe your name could be coloured because it would give me an incentive to vote and it's sort of like a badge of honour.
A gift system also sounds like a great idea, like what Erowid does. If I had a spare $5000 i'd be donating it super fast for that Hoffman blotter.
But with regards to donating how could I donate by mail rather than credit card?
 
Most of your suggestions are valued and have been raised and discussed in this thread if you'd like to read back a bit on what we hope to offer in the way of 'perks' or gifts, and what things we would prefer not to offer. This subject remains open for discussion.

You don't have to save up $5000 to donate - you can donate superfast with just $5 :) It all helps.

To answer the last question, the bottom of the donation page indicates the following:
If you would like to make a donation, but are unable to do so using the
online method we will accept your money order by mail. Please mail to:

(Primary Address)
Enlighten Harm Reduction
PO Box 410
Flinders Lane Post Office
Melbourne 8009
Australia​
Click to expand...
 
Hold that US postal thingy for a bit, please. I need to verify that PO Box in conjunction with a few other things we're trying to get aligned. Should have a US postal option validated, updated if required, and fully operational shortly after the turn of the year. Thank you.
 
*BUMP*

A Dutch or European account would be nice being Dutch and having access to both online banking and enough cash to donate as I PMed multiple times, HOWEVER (and still waiting for any reply...) I am only willing to use secure online banking methods because 1). I Do not have a Credit Card; however safe, private money transfers within Europe using IBAN / BIC or direct deposits are fine. 2). AlertPay looks dodgy, and they have horrible fees. I know some good ways to donate without any unwanted 3rd party interest as well. ;) =D 3). I donated before so you can trust me, I might open a harm reduction website in the near future as well because we have a ongoing war on drugs here as well and most young people here are poorly informed about drugs in general. I have experience with webhosting / developing / databases / message boards / etc :). I studied for manager in the IT bizz (Cisco Network Academy, Office and Windows, webdeveloping, languages, AutoCAD 2000 projects, and lots of Unreal Tournament =D) and followed various webdesign courses and trained for 1,5 years to become a "Private Electronic Decective", CSI style baby...

Time to rizzze up and remember: knowledge = power :D Got a nice name already xD Rexeh's "RedLight District" <3

€500 for the first caller! 8)

peace o/
 
Not currently, theres been some discussion here and there for things like that, but at this point theres no plans to create anything like that, at least that I am aware of.
 
Dr. Funkenstien said:
looks like its time to go pick up a money order...

is there a US PO BOX address?
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TheLoveBandit said:
Hold that US postal thingy for a bit, please. I need to verify that PO Box in conjunction with a few other things we're trying to get aligned. Should have a US postal option validated, updated if required, and fully operational shortly after the turn of the year. Thank you.
Click to expand...


Fixed. Apologies for the delay.

(Secondary Address)
Enlighten Harm Reduction
PO Box 472
Enola, PA 17025
USA​


Rexeh said:
*BUMP*
Click to expand...

Apologies. We were trying to find an online solution, and AlertPay was the one that fell into place for us - it just took longer than expected to get even that one online banking resource aligned. Your credentials are not in question at all, and I'll be in touch via email within 24 hrs regarding the rest of your ideas. Thank you for your patience. :D
 
I feel like I'm missing something here. So exactly how would my money be used? Who is profiting from the forum?

I like BL and I'd love to donate it's just that 6500 is alot of money compared to other similar type boards that usually require no more than 1000 USD a year to stay afloat.

Why no merchandise? When I joined NORML i got something for it even though I would have done it anyway. I'm sure people would gladly buy a BL tee-shirt or coffee mug or even a lowly pen. I really feel like I have no idea where my money would be going as if I gave it to a crackhead that may or may not return with my drugs. If I was told that 50 bucks would get me a BL mug or beer glass then I'd be a lot more comfortable then I am now. I mean what happens if we don't raise all of the money? My 50 would be forfeit? maybe if you could show us how you'd allocate that to a charity or something...

So far all that I know is The Netherlands+hosting=6500. I'll happily donate if I could just get some more detail itemized. I really think you guys should consider merchandise as well. Making a donation an actual purchase will surely get ya more money faster.
 
Hello, and thank you for not reading the thread or even clicking on the red DONATE link atop the page which would provide this information. :) I don't mean to sound ungrateful, as we'd appreciate the donation, no matter how small, from anyone - and we've set about explaining how the funds are used as best we can. That you prefer to not read it, and hold back on donating because you won't read it....what can we do? In brief, the funds are for a) server, b ) bandwidth, c) legal funding for the site (ie, to get charity incorporation, to prepare in case of any legal issues, etc). All staff are volunteers, even the owner is not using the funds for any personal use. ALL funds go toward keeping the site up and running. For a more detailed breakdown of our exact server costs, if it isn't already published, we'll try to get it out there - it isn't rocket science or some conspiracy, and we would agree the better visibility to such things, the more trust and the more willing people may be to donate. But they still have to read such information at some point, don't you agree?

As to the merchandise....great idea! Have you seen this thread where the topic has been discussed? It also details other perks we have put on the table for consideration (ie, titles, private forums, etc), and when those might be brought into actuality pending other more critical steps in securing funding. Give it a read - I'm sure you'll find it enlightening.
 
donation rollcall

Money is bragging rights. Money is love. Money is respect and power. Well, whatever money is to you, you want people to see you have it, right?

Until/Unless we put some kind of special title or sticker for donors, we want to feel somehow honored or empowered or self-actualized if we are to throw money at bluelight.

And so... SIGN HERE if you've donated to bluelight in the year 2010! (Or maybe a little farther back if there's no response.)

I threw down 100 USD today.



..this thread was brought to you by DXM (so I understand if it gets closed). But I learned this technique being a crackhead. Peer pressure can be used as a tool get money! Go peers! And non-peers too please (you guys have more money).
 
TheLoveBandit said:
Hello, and thank you for not reading the thread or even clicking on the red DONATE link atop the page which would provide this information. :) I don't mean to sound ungrateful, as we'd appreciate the donation, no matter how small, from anyone - and we've set about explaining how the funds are used as best we can. That you prefer to not read it, and hold back on donating because you won't read it....what can we do? In brief, the funds are for a) server, b ) bandwidth, c) legal funding for the site (ie, to get charity incorporation, to prepare in case of any legal issues, etc). All staff are volunteers, even the owner is not using the funds for any personal use. ALL funds go toward keeping the site up and running. For a more detailed breakdown of our exact server costs, if it isn't already published, we'll try to get it out there - it isn't rocket science or some conspiracy, and we would agree the better visibility to such things, the more trust and the more willing people may be to donate. But they still have to read such information at some point, don't you agree?

As to the merchandise....great idea! Have you seen this thread where the topic has been discussed? It also details other perks we have put on the table for consideration (ie, titles, private forums, etc), and when those might be brought into actuality pending other more critical steps in securing funding. Give it a read - I'm sure you'll find it enlightening.
Click to expand...

The problem is that donating money is usually broken down a bit. I did click on the link. That's how I ended up here. I guess I was supposed to somehow know what you meant by incorporation because it simply isn't clear. I did read the entire page and there is no breakdown what so ever.

There is nothing stating what would happen to the money if the goal isn't met. A simple donation to a named charity was my suggestion to that.

As far as the merchandise goes, no I didn't read the thread. I have offered in the past to help. One of my best friends owns a printing company and would gladly help print anything from calendars to mugs but, that idea was left dead in the water. This is why I asked why no merchandise because the last i heard someone else was going to take care of that.

I don't want a title a place to say I donated or a private forum. What I want is to know what the money is used for. I didn't say the staff profits from the site. Someone is getting paid (it's not rocket science after all) and that's not to say that it's anything crooked or a conspiracy.

I just don't get why there isn't something somewhere showing allocation of funds. It's common practice with all things money related to show an itemized description right? The most common of which being a simple receipt. I mean you arrived at 6500 somehow right?

I clicked the red donate link. I read the page and saw how vague it was. Crazy as I am i decided to ask in the appropriate thread rather then just say fuck it why bother. I'm sorry man really I am8)
 
Johnny blue said:
There is nothing stating what would happen to the money if the goal isn't met. A simple donation to a named charity was my suggestion to that.

As far as the merchandise goes, no I didn't read the thread. I have offered in the past to help. One of my best friends owns a printing company and would gladly help print anything from calendars to mugs but, that idea was left dead in the water. This is why I asked why no merchandise because the last i heard someone else was going to take care of that.

I don't want a title a place to say I donated or a private forum. What I want is to know what the money is used for. I didn't say the staff profits from the site. Someone is getting paid (it's not rocket science after all) and that's not to say that it's anything crooked or a conspiracy.

I just don't get why there isn't something somewhere showing allocation of funds. It's common practice with all things money related to show an itemized description right? The most common of which being a simple receipt. I mean you arrived at 6500 somehow right?

I clicked the red donate link. I read the page and saw how vague it was. Crazy as I am i decided to ask in the appropriate thread rather then just say fuck it why bother. I'm sorry man really I am8)
Click to expand...

Okay, I'll start with an apology - a sincere one - as I blasted you, and you didn't fully earn it. I mistook your statement of "Who is profiting from the forum?" as an accusation, so I countered with the fact that nobody is - at least nobody related to the site. You're right, there is a host who offers their service and makes a profit from it.

Also, I'll owe some apology based on the fact that I tend to discuss these things in multiple places, and may lose track of what is in the public arena and what may only be in staff discussions (and even then, perhaps only with sr. staff or admin only). So I may think something has been talked about in great detail, but have forgotten where, or who has visibility to it. So I do apologize on that account as well.

I'll start over, going back to basics. What happens if the goal isn't met? The site goes offline. Simple. Now, to add wrinkles to that, the huge target was intended to pay for the year's hosting in advance. Obviously, we didn't have the full amount at the turn of the year. Instead, we're adjusting from a 'year in advance' discount over to a 'pay as you go' pricing (quarterly, semi-annual, monthly? I can't say - I simply don't have that information in hand to offer). Suffice to say we had enough from last year to keep us going for a bit, but we'll need more money to stay up for the year. Most of these financial details are in the hands of the site owner, johnboy, who responded earlier in this thread over a year ago to questions over details, but the current information is not in the hands of the admins at this time. We're working on getting those details more available, because as you note - why not keep them public? That would be the intent. But how much are we paid through right now? How much has to be in hand, and by when? We don't have that in hand right now, but are getting it from the owner. We'll update the public information accordingly as soon as we can.
 
Idea to Increase Donations

Would it be a good idea to offer greenlighers and bluelighters a "I Donated" or something similar title as a replacement of "Bluelighter" or "Greenlighter"? I think it would give a lot of people incentive to put in $5 or more, etc.

If it's not the best idea that's OK I just thought maybe it'd be a cool idea. I liked the "Naughty" and "Nice" list thing that was done at Xmas.

Any thoughts?
 
i like the idea of giving contributors a widget of some sort, but a lot of people don't like it. it's elitist, it makes people with lower amounts of disposable income feel guilty, etc. etc. etc. :\

messing with usergroups is probably asking for trouble. perhaps the next version of the software will be able to handle something easier/better. :)
 
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