Time to get rid of the FReepathons!

FR | 10-16-03 | Bob J

[Bob J]

The latest quarterly FReepathon was a success and is over now. However, these events are a pain in the butt for those that run and operate them and for two to three weeks they dominate the sidebar and each thread. It is time we work to eliminate them once and for all.

Monthly Donations!

Many FReepers of good will are signed up for a monthly donation to FR as opposed to making a quarterly contribution. There are advantages to this system for both the site and the donor. FR can operate on a sounder fiscal basis by having money coming in monthly and as a donor you can spread your contributions out in smaller increments over an entire year.

Currently FR gets about 7k in monthly revenue. If we could get this up to 25k, there would be no need for the FReepathons. You can sign up for a painless $5-$10 a month (more if you are inclined, several people are at $50-$100!), which would be processed through a secure server by Jim and his family. Plus, running bulk CC donations on a monthly basis is less expensive than using PayPal. Even if you can only afford $2-$3, it would be a tremendous help!

It's time we help put FR onto a more secure and professional revenue plan! Please, bump this thread and use your ping lists to encourage your friends and family to GO MONTHLY!

We need to get 1800 FReepers who would be willing to donate an average of $10 once a month!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR A MONTHLY DONATION!

[BJungNan]

Put a PayPal link somewhere at the side of the page, maybe at the top of the list of categories to the right and you will get people making donations.

Nothing big, obtrusive, over powering. Just a logo and the link.

Many have PayPal. It is easy, quick and painless.

The idea of monthly fee is great but some will not want to get connected up like this. For those that do, great. For others, a quick donation link will likely bring in a lot.

There is my 2 cents worth. Put up a Paypal donation link and I will double my donation in the last FReepathon(and yes I did donate on the last one).

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

You're asking the wrong guy.

[Jim Robinson]

Ok, thank you very much!

[Jim Robinson]

Latest incoming:

$10 monthly from Maryland
$5 from California

Thank you Maryland and California!!

[Jim Robinson]

Thank you, BJungNan!

[cyborg]

sign up when I find my Amex card...hee hee BTTT

[Brad’s Gramma]

Just in:

$10 monthly from California

Thank you California!!

[Mo1]

Mugs will be ready to ship around the beginning of Dec!

Cool .. that's my Birthday .. great timing ;0)

[unsycophant]

<< Wake up Xmas morning to a hot steamy cup of Joe >>

.

[Jim Robinson]

Latest incoming:

$10 monthly from California
$10 monthly from Florida

Thank you California and Florida!!

[RottiBiz]

   Q4 2003 Scoreboard -- ranked by total receipts   

Rank	Location	Receipts	Donors/Avg		Freepers/Avg		Monthlies
1	California	$6,497.93	185	$35.12	1,716	$3.79	$1,214.56	85
2	Florida	6,163.00	81	76.09	740	8.33	408.00	28
3	Texas	3,553.00	96	37.01	1,493	2.38	684.00	46
4	Virginia	2,402.00	48	50.04	559	4.30	457.00	21
5	Washington	1,771.00	48	36.90	429	4.13	230.00	16
6	Pennsylvania	1,563.00	47	33.26	483	3.24	220.00	14
7	Michigan	1,530.00	20	76.50	337	4.54	130.00	9
8	New York	1,511.00	49	30.84	612	2.47	268.00	16
9	Massachusetts	1,311.00	30	43.70	249	5.27	145.00	10
10	Ohio	1,235.00	34	36.32	402	3.07	552.25	14
11	Tennessee	1,180.00	28	42.14	304	3.88	76.00	8
12	Maryland	1,120.00	29	38.62	318	3.52	180.00	11
13	Montana	1,105.00	6	184.17	31	35.65
14	Illinois	991.00	31	31.97	401	2.47	258.00	18
15	Missouri	971.00	27	35.96	308	3.15	138.00	12
16	New Jersey	951.00	25	38.04	321	2.96	170.00	8
17	Alabama	843.00	24	35.12	188	4.48	258.00	16
18	Georgia	820.00	31	26.45	403	2.03	120.00	10
19	Arizona	818.00	27	30.30	318	2.57	95.00	9
20	Idaho	765.00	7	109.29	80	9.56	45.00	2
21	North Carolina	764.23	27	28.30	404	1.89	342.00	21
22	Colorado	675.00	21	32.14	278	2.43	165.00	11
23	Connecticut	575.00	17	33.82	174	3.30	35.00	3
24	Wisconsin	545.00	20	27.25	232	2.35	140.00	9
25	Indiana	535.00	22	24.32	251	2.13	80.00	6
26	Nevada	535.00	9	59.44	108	4.95	40.00	2
27	South Carolina	407.50	13	31.35	185	2.20	13.50	3
28	Minnesota	390.00	16	24.38	228	1.71	90.00	6
29	Kansas	367.00	12	30.58	148	2.48	100.00	4
30	Kentucky	365.00	10	36.50	169	2.16	10.00	1
31	Arkansas	355.00	10	35.50	112	3.17	55.00	5
32	Louisiana	350.00	9	38.89	163	2.15	30.00	3
33	Oregon	305.00	10	30.50	203	1.50	68.00	5
34	Hawaii	295.00	8	36.88	39	7.56	35.00	2
35	Utah	285.00	11	25.91	77	3.70	90.00	4
36	New Mexico	270.00	5	54.00	88	3.07	50.00	3
37	United Kingdom	185.00	4	46.25	115	1.61	30.00	1
38	Mississippi	180.00	5	36.00	96	1.88	30.00	3
39	Delaware	150.00	2	75.00	24	6.25
40	Canada	140.00	6	23.33	158	0.89	20.00	1
41	Maine	137.00	4	34.25	76	1.80	10.00	1
42	North Dakota	125.00	2	62.50	24	5.21
43	Nebraska	123.00	6	20.50	71	1.73	3.00	1
44	Iowa	115.00	4	28.75	126	0.91	15.00	1
45	Oklahoma	108.00	7	15.43	188	0.57	60.00	6
46	Chile	100.00	2	50.00	5	20.00
47	West Virginia	70.00	3	23.33	61	1.15	30.00	2
48	South Dakota	70.00	2	35.00	41	1.71	10.00	1
49	Norway	60.00	2	30.00	11	5.45
50	New Hampshire	60.00	3	20.00	89	0.67	30.00	1
51	Latvia	50.00	1	50.00	1	50.00
52	Ireland	50.00	1	50.00	22	2.27
53	Alaska	50.00	2	25.00	71	0.70	181.00	4
54	Vermont	40.00	3	13.33	27	1.48	43.00	4
55	Armed Forces - Europe	40.00	3	13.33			35.00	3
56	Rhode Island	25.00	1	25.00	26	0.96
57	Panama	25.00	1	25.00	5	5.00
58	Mexico	20.00	1	20.00	8	2.50
59	Kenya	20.00	1	20.00	3	6.67	20.00	1
60	Wyoming	20.00	1	20.00	25	0.80	30.00	1
61	District of Columbia	15.00	2	7.50	37	0.41	10.00	1
62	Albania	10.00	1	10.00	1	10.00
63	Armed Forces - Pacific	10.00	1	10.00			10.00	1
64	South Korea	10.00	1	10.00	5	2.00	10.00	1
Never Never Land		1,526.50	66	23.13			220.00	16
65 locations total		$47,654.16	1,231	$38.71	16,058	$2.97	$7,789.31	491

[RottiBiz]

MONTHLY DONORS PROGRESS REPORT 10/17/03:

From the Scoreboard yesterday: $7,499 per month from 468 donors.

From the Scoreboard today: $7,789 per month from 491 donors.

That's an increase of $290 per month and 23 new donors since yesterday.

Thank you, Monthly Donors!

[Tijeras_Slim]

Coffee mugs! Cool.

Regards, Slim (The first and only dollar-a-day New Mexican)

[TheRightGuy]

Everyone who is a monthly donor by Dec 1 will get a SPECIAL FR coffee mug for Xmas!

Do these mugs have spillproof lids to protect keyboards and monitors?

[Becki]

I just became a Monthly!!

Thank you!

Becki

[RottiBiz]

Thank you, Tijeras_Slim!

[RottiBiz]

Thank you, Becki!

[Coop]

BTTT

[glock rocks]

Bump!

[EdReform]

"A monthly pledge becomes very easy once we decide to do it.

I suggest to people to start out with an amount that they can afford like $5, $10 or $15 per month. There are many ways to find that money with the loose change, the 17 cents per day or cancelling your local daily fish wrap, to the suggestions you made.

Once the monthly pledge to FR becomes a regular habit, it becomes part of our monthly routine until we decide to increase it..."

That's exactly how it went for me. I was hesitant at first, but I made adjustments to the budget and started with a monthly I could afford. Later, it became easier to find the extra money to increase it. Sometimes the increase is only a dollar or so. Sometimes I can't increase it at all.

As has been pointed out by others in this thread, what's really nice is that you receive a notice about a week in advance of the date your CC will be automatically charged. You can easily change your contribution using the monthly pledge management tool via secure server.

I really like the convenience of the monthly donation via CC and would encourage others to try it.