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Fundraiser discussion.. again.. need help with ideas

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Darwin:
Let's see... you already give donators lifetime licenses and access to both discounts and giveaways... How about highlighting other already available benefits of membership? I'm only dimly aware of them myself - but there are (I think) webpage hosting, e-mail addresses that I can think of... Then there is the IRC channel. I don't use it myself, but it is a hugely popular feature.

Bottom line: I'd try to avoid anything that's going to put a strain on the coffers (ie mugs). How about one of those electro-static car window "thingies" that Univerities and Colleges hand out/sell ("Donationcoder.com for software connoisseurs")?

Would it be hard to make a version of each of the DC apps that can be user-personalized ("Darwins FARR" in the titlebar, for example)? I'm reaching...

Bring back user blog hosting (or at least make it more prominent). I miss the blogs from the beginning... Thus, a donator can set up his or her own blog at DC?

Darwin:
Oh! Had another - how about a special DC badge under the post count ("I dontated in the 2009 DC Fundraiser")?

mahesh2k:
Some of my suggestions :

- Can we setup payment systems like Western union or other payment transfers etc.
(As many members like me don't have credit card so can't donate via paypal etc)

- Other paypal, other modes of online payment transfer like ebookie,Alertpay,Stormpay should be considered.



Other than that Fundraiser banner is good idea. :up: I've seen similar banner on wikipedia.

40hz:
Having been involved in many fundraising efforts over the years, here are a few suggestions:

1. Ask. Don't be bashful or timid about asking for donations. If you are providing a worthwhile service (which you are!), it is perfectly reasonable to ask people to support it. People respect legitimate requests for donations.

2. Briefly explain what you are trying to accomplish with the fund raiser. Nothing too elaborate. Just saying something like "To help defer our annual operating expenses of $xxxx, etc." is plenty.

3. Stay away from gimmicks. I've found every fundraiser I was involved with that got into prizes, or gifts, or 'special thank-yous' wound up turning off a lot of the people we were trying to get to contribute.

4. By the same token, don't underestimate the importance of people feeling the need to belong to something worthwhile. Being able to call yourself " a member" packs a lot of punch for many people. A simple token or badge a contributor can somehow display is usually all the thanks they expect or want. I think Darwin had a good idea above - maybe even some sort of 'merit badge' type thing where each contributed year had it's own badge that got displayed.

5. Do your fundraiser once - or at the most, twice per year. Don't do the PBS/NPR mini-drive thing. It just gets people pissed off.

6. In the USA, the best times (so I've been told by the pros) are the spring (US Tax Refund Season!!!) and right around Thanksgiving when people are feeling generous but haven't gone completely broke buying Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yule/Durin's Day presents yet.

7. The thermometer idea is great. Always let the people who contributed know how it is going. It builds involvement.

8. Lastly, whatever you do, see if you can find a way to give Curt that third gold box he wants so badly? ;D

Darwin:
8. Lastly, whatever you do, see if you can find a way to give Curt that third gold box he wants so badly? ;D
-40hz (January 30, 2009, 12:43 PM)
--- End quote ---

+1 to this idea  ;D

Maybe you should start a new thread/petition?

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