[Sly Fox]

We have reached a point where we needing to make some changes in regard to the operations of our beloved board. We are now in need of an administrator to step up and help us out. We will also need to resolve some hosting matters as well.

I will continue to serve in an admin role but by now I think most of you realize that I am by no means an IT genius. I have barely enough technical expertise to keep the place afloat. But now is an opportunity for someone to step up with their skills to have an impact on our entire community.

And then there is the matter of finances ... I wish I had Doc's fundraising skills when asking for donations. But as long as we operate as a non-for-profit entity we are going to need to have some people step forward to keep us on a server. Frankly the amount of money is not a huge total amount.

In the past we have visited the ideas of turning this into a advertising venue that could cover the costs and possibly provide some funding for advertising & events. We have also considered joining up with one of the major fan networks like Rivals or Scout which would cover all of our costs. The problem with any scenario involving advertising is that it opens up those of us who run the board for legal liability to a certain degree for things posted on the board. And believe it or not, we have had several of those issues pop up the past few years. The fact that no one is making any money off this place has been a defense for any legal actions. That changes when we start charging. So we have continued to operate on a donation basis.

What are your thoughts now?

[PAmedic]

I am in favor of keeping us as a "Stand-alone" venture. I don't like the commercial aspect of those other boards, and would gladly continue with financial support as able.

What would we need/where do we stand right now? ($$$)

Re: technical expertise- uh, yeah... a bit limited there

PS: I made this a sticky to keep it up top

[Sly Fox]

Financially we really only need a few hundred bucks a year to stay on our same reliable host. We might be able to move to a less expensive host but those of us who remember how unreliable cheap webhosting can be cringe at the thought.

Even if we stay on this host, we will need a tech savvy admin to step forward to help me out.

[jcmanson]

I'm with Medic.

Definitely don't have the technical expertise help out though.

[PAmedic]

haven't heard from SCORCHO in a while, but do we still have the account set up to receive donations?

[Cider Jim]

I'm with Medic & Manson.

[olldflame]

Add me to that list, and I'm willing to chip in financially.

[Sly Fox]

We could have a sort of share-a-thon where we take pledges and then use a PayPal account or Square to collect the money. What do you guys think?

I feel confident we can get the financials taking care of but I also still would love to find an experienced admin to help us out as well.

[Cider Jim]

How about if half of us raise the money, and then get HMO to match it?

[LUminary]

I'm new, but will be glad to chip in a few bucks. Please remember that "few" is relative, and in my case akin to potentially poverty stricken.

[Sly Fox]

Well it appears that everyone seems to be on the same page of keeping this an ad-free zone run on donations. Stay tuned for how you can keep the lights on around here on a reliable server. I hope to have it set up for donations soon. And before anyone asks, we are not a 501(c)(3) organization. So this won't be tax deductible. It will have to be truly given out of generosity and an appreciation for the community.

[TDDance234]

Count me in to chip-in as well. If all we're talking about is a $200-300, that shouldn't be a problem at all.

For as much time as I waste on here, it would pay for itself.

[PAmedic]

Count me in to chip-in as well. If all we're talking about is a $200-300, that shouldn't be a problem at all.

For as much time as I waste on here, it would pay for itself.

^^^ agreed. lets do this.

[jcmanson]

If it’s about $300 a year, then that means it’s roughly $25/month. That’s certainly doable. What if we had a sign-up for who can contribute and “assign” each a month? The year can start with July and run through June 2011. If we have just 12 people sign-up then each person would have a month. If someone was unable to contribute $25 they could talk with Sly or another administrator behind the scenes to get an additional “sponsor” for that month. If we have more than 12 sign-up then some months will have more than 1 person. So, for example July can be PAMedic month; August Jcmanson month; September TDDance month; etc.

If your month rolls around and you feel as though you can’t meet your obligation then you can discuss that with Sly behind the scenes.

We can make this fun and do something special for the sponsor during their month.

[PAmedic]

I'm into that. And throughout my month- you people have to mail me gifts. at least one per day. Make it something nice.

[Cider Jim]

June is my birthday month. If you haven't sent a gift yet, don't feel bad, because there's still time. On a side note, I can drop $25 on June 2011 for the cause.

[Kolzilla41]

That is a great idea. Count me in for November 2010.

[TDDance234]

I'm in. Let's do it.

[flamesfilmguy]

i'm in too.

[Sly Fox]

Give me an hour or so to take care of other matters and we'll get this rolling. I need to close out some other unrelated business matters first.

[SumItUp]

I'm in.

[Sly Fox]

It is all set up and ready to go in the FlameFans-a-Thon thread. Have at it and let's see how quickly we can fill up all of the months.

[flamesbball84]

I'd donate, but it's worthy of a celebration if I can get just 15 hours at my new temporary job, so money is as tight as it has ever been for me.

[Sly Fox]

Not everybody is in a position right now and we're good with that. But those who can are greatly appreciated.

SumItUp was the first to respond and chose this month. So all hail the month of June for SumItUp!

[Sly Fox]

And just like that, one of new posters has taken the month of January.

All Hail the Month of January to LUminary!