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Free Republic 2nd Qtr 2024 Fundraising Target: $81,000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $9,068
11%  
Woo hoo!! And we're now over 11%!! Thank you all very much!! God bless.


Freepathon Question

Posted on 07/03/2009 8:54:28 AM PDT by Rodamala

Edited on 07/03/2009 9:29:33 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]

I'm very new here and don't want to get perceived as a "troll", but I see the Freepathon fund drive meter every day and have a question. I don't even know if posting on the forum like this is the right way to ask.

Every quarter, there seems to be a fund drive for $80,000. I'd donate, but 1) money is tight right now, and 2) where does the $320k/year go?

I really like this place... I finally get to be around people that "get it". I feel I should contribute, but... well, see 1 & 2 above.

Rodamala

Q3 2009 Summary


Q-t-D Receipts
  $4,373.00
(includes monthlies to-date)

Monthlies
  $9,639.26
(pledged, not actual receipts)


* Donate!
* Donors
* Scoreboard
* Budget
* FAQ

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Free Republic Monthly Budget

Once we get our monthly donations to the point where they will cover all of our expenses, we will not need to have fundraisers.

Est. Recurring Monthly Contributions $9,639.00

Monthly Expenses
  Bandwidth and Colocation $2,430  
  System Administation and Programming 7,000  
  Administrative and Taxes 10,500  
  Legal and Accounting 1,000  
  Bank Fees, Credit Card Fees, Processing Fees 800  
  Equip, Maintenance and Repairs 300  
  Office Expenses, Rents, Insurance, Telephone, ISP, Supplies, Misc. 2,500  
  Travel Expenses 800 25,330.00
 

Est. Monthly Shortfall ($15,691.00)


Est. Recurring Monthly Contributions
This is the amount contributed by the monthly donors only. It does not include one-time donations.

Est. Monthly Shortfall
Amount needed in one-time donations per month or additional monthlies need to meet budget needs.

Source

Who runs FR?
Free Republic, LLC is a non-commercial, limited liability company founded and operated by Jim Robinson, a private citizen of Fresno California.

Free Republic is not a for profit commercial enterprise in the sense of a traditional business selling a product or service at a profit for its shareholders. We sell no product or service. We have no clients, customers or employees. We do not accept paid advertising. Free Republic is not affiliated with any political party, group, news source, government agency or anyone else.

Free Republic is not a traditional business. We are a political discussion forum and independent grassroots conservative activist group supported by donations from our readers and participants. When and if our participants decide we are no longer needed or viable, we will close down shop and go away.

Free Republic operates on an approximate $300,000 annual budget (click for breakdown) which includes equipment costs, bandwidth fees, consulting and labor costs, administrative costs, license fees, insurance, rents, communications costs, office expenses, advertising, travel, professional fees, banking and credit card fees, taxes, etc.

Free Republic is not a charity or IRS non-profit organization. We do not raise funds for charitable purposes or causes. We raise funds solely to cover our operating costs, labor, and all applicable state and federal income and payroll taxes.


TOPICS: Free Republic; Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: freepathon; freepathonfinances
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To: GovernmentShrinker

“FreeRepublic” link on upper and lower left of page takes me here..

http://www.freerepublic.com/home.htm

This isn’t the main page?


41 posted on 07/03/2009 10:34:21 AM PDT by divine_moment_of_facts
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To: Rodamala
Donations to Free Republic are voluntary and you decide how much you want to give. Whereas the government steals your money and gives it to those who not only don't appreciate it, but demand more.

If every FReeper gave $1 a month, the FReepathons would only last a couple of days. Much less than the cost of a daily newspaper and much more informative!

C'mon people pony up!


Click the pic!

42 posted on 07/03/2009 10:57:26 AM PDT by jellybean
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To: divine_moment_of_facts

The upper one does, but the lower one doesn’t (it is technically a link to www.freerepublic.com which automatically redirects to www.freerepublic.com/tag/*/index). The problem is, even the upper link isn’t labelled in an informative way. If you’re a newcomer and typed www.freepublic.com , you’ve been automatically redirected to the main forum index at www.freerepublic.com/tag/*/index. Seeing a bold heading at the top that reads “Free Republic” hardly looks like a link to a “Home” or “About” page. In fact it doesn’t even look like a link at all, but just like a visual heading on the page you’re on. Remember, newcomers have no way of knowing that there is anything like the home page. They went to the main domain name, and got a full forum index, and what they *see* there is all they know. Most websites have their main home/directory page at the basic .com/.org/.net domain name, and either have the general information about the site right there, or have a prominent link on that page labelled “Home” or “About” that leads to a general information page.

What page are you trying this from? I’ve checked both main forum index at www.freerepublic.com/tag/*/index and the News/Activism index which is reached from a link under the “Browse by Forum” list. In both cases, the bold “FreeRepublic” in the lower left does not lead to the home page. But as I noted earlier, there is and has been quite a bit of quirkiness in FR’s techincal foundation, and it’s possible you don’t get the same things I get, and/or that someone who’s not yet registered at all might get different results from what either of us get.


43 posted on 07/03/2009 11:00:33 AM PDT by GovernmentShrinker
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To: GovernmentShrinker
Perhaps you need to clear your cache. This takes me to FR's home page.
44 posted on 07/03/2009 11:00:53 AM PDT by jellybean
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To: GovernmentShrinker

I have it on the regular page that comes up when you go to FreeRepublic.com. I found the like by accident.. lol.


45 posted on 07/03/2009 11:09:53 AM PDT by divine_moment_of_facts
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To: jellybean

Yes, that takes me to the home page too. But www.freerepublic.com does not. And nothing on the forum pages is labelled “Home” or “About” so there’s no evidence of the existence of a home page. The fact that the link in the upper left is in large bold font, while all the things to the right of it, which have names clearly suggesting they are links, are in small non-bold font, makes the big bold “FreeRepublic” label not look like a link, but more like a logo. On most sites, a big bold label/logo like that with the site’s main name, is not a link to a home/about page, but is either just a decorative graphic or a more often a circular link back the same page that the main domain name brings up (see www.foxnews.com , www.cnn.com , www.theonion.com , www.washingtonpost.com , www.townhall.com — ALL of these have site name label which is simply a circular link, and separate link labelled “Home” which leads to an information page). If you want people to find a home page with information about the site, you need to label the link “Home” or “About” like every other website does.


46 posted on 07/03/2009 11:13:28 AM PDT by GovernmentShrinker
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To: Rodamala

No offense, but all the questions you have are answered right on FR’s Home Page - just scroll down a bit.


47 posted on 07/03/2009 11:21:57 AM PDT by Condor51 (The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits)
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To: Condor51
Thanks to everyone for your comments and to the Admin Moderator. I will certainly be donating in the near future! :)

Hope all the good discussion here gets a few lurkers interested in joining/donating!

48 posted on 07/03/2009 12:23:16 PM PDT by Rodamala
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To: Rodamala

I’ve never run my own website, but why does the site have to pay taxes?


49 posted on 07/10/2009 1:29:36 PM PDT by Repub_licans2010
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To: Rodamala
One of the donations is for $10 and another is _____.

I'm direct with people about giving since I'm pastor of a church. Everyone has 10 bucks. You will blow 10 bucks in the next 24 hours.

So far as where it goes, here's the link: budget

If the question is really, "Do I trust these people?", then only you can answer that question.

Other sites probably use paid advertisements or are funded by news media or other big bucks activists. Who controls those sites?

That's really above-board here: Jim Robinson owns and operates FR. Type his name into the search window, punch "users", and get all his postings. REad them and see what you think.

50 posted on 07/10/2009 6:45:52 PM PDT by xzins (Chaplain Says: Jesus befriends those who ask Him for help.)
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To: Rodamala
Some examples here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1378851/posts?page=338#338

51 posted on 07/10/2009 7:35:15 PM PDT by EdReform (The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed *NRA*JPFO*SAF*GOA*SAS*CCRKBA)
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To: EdReform

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1378851/posts?page=558#558


52 posted on 07/10/2009 7:41:50 PM PDT by EdReform (The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed *NRA*JPFO*SAF*GOA*SAS*CCRKBA)
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To: Rodamala

Kick in 5 or 15 bucks. I am military and I do not make a lot of money.

I figure 15 bucks a quarter is worth the Information I get from the site.

JJ


53 posted on 07/10/2009 7:42:17 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
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To: Jet Jaguar

Gave $10 this past Monday. Not much, but I aint freeloadin’!


54 posted on 07/10/2009 8:39:21 PM PDT by Rodamala
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To: Rodamala

Right on. I did $15 two days ago.

I will do the same next month if the drive is still going.


55 posted on 07/10/2009 8:42:35 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
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To: Rodamala

The budget breakdown pretty much sums it up. Systems and programming at 7k month (84k/yr)is to pay Jim’s Son, John, who manages the website and does the programming. Jim’s salary (admin) is at 10.5k/ month (126k/yr) and that includes disbursements to pay income taxes on his draw and accounting is the bookeepers salary at 12k/yr. So 222k/yr of the budget goes to salaries and the rest to other expenses such as bandwidth, system upgrades, travel and misc, etc.


56 posted on 07/11/2009 9:58:59 AM PDT by Bob J ("For every 1000 hacking at the branches of evil, one strikes at it's root.")
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