Ideas to raise money for PHO

[frost]

I like the direct debit or standing order idea. Can we have the bank details to set up?
I've heard that using paypal out with eBay ain't always safe. Not sure if that's true or not.

[Darren.]

if it meant making pho a charitable organisation im sure members would be willing to assist in any way they can, if this is a goal that would benefit pho
i certainly would help in anyway i could and im sure other members would

on the thought of sending out reminders, its what charites etc do on the tv so it must work to a degree

think nitronick has a great idea on the regular donations by regular people if they want to do it

 

[OOHSUITUSIR!]

E mail reminders are a good thing, I have to admit that when I saw a message from 'the mods' I thought I was in for a bollo cking!!

Just reading the above replies, it appears that the email has generated 3 monthly DD's and a bung from me which isn't a bad start

[Luvvi]

I honestly think we just have to be more proactive in reminding people that donations are necessary to keep the site running.

When the email goes out asking new members to activate their membership does it include advice on running costs and contributions? 

As for donating by PayPal its what I do and apart from when my Maestro card was renewed and I forgot to update my details I have never had a problem with my monthly donation.

Perhaps an annual sponsored event would give us a boost of cash.  Something that we could do simultaneously across the country.  I recently participated in a Zumbathon (3 hours) for TB Research.  Takes a bit of organisation but with the talented folks on the boards should be achievable!

[Pieman]

some great idea's coming in...thanks also to all who have pm'd their messages

I haven't directly donated before...but have now!

we have raised pho cash at flakebreaks via raffles etc...
i think it would be a good thing to have more frequent fb's maybe on a regional basis
to raise funds...alongside annual "big" pho do's

keep it coming peeps...
pie

[JackieM:)]

I really like the idea of regional flake breaks, unfortunately they only seem to be down south. We need some up in the north east.         

I never thought it could cost so much to run this site, I would like to contribute either annually or monthly but I'd like to know it was secure.

[frost]

I thought PHO didn't like being associated with flake breaks

[Peripatetic psoriatic]

Noooooooo adverts! PHO website with adverts isn't the PHO website!

One of the things I massively value PHO for is: its just about the only place on the web I can guarantee safety from the peddlers and pushers that circle around desperate P suffers.

I know people are saying just having them in the chat room but that is a slippery slope....

I never knew the PHO website relied on donations so this is the first time I've donated but will keep doing so every month.

I think the option of setting up a direct debit and requiring people to make nominal donation after joining for a certain period would help a lot.  Also more reminders would help because like I say I didn't know about the need for donations until now.

Perhaps another way would be to restrict access to certain features unless people donate a small amount every month.  For example, only paying members could view other members profiles, blogs, photos etc.

[SJ]

I thought PHO didn't like being associated with flake breaks

??

Many of the early FBs were organised by PHO...later ones by members without any input from us (although some mods are able to attend).

[Michael]

Thanks All,

Really appreciate the feedback...

Advertising/Sponsorship is not something we are particularly comfortable with but we will discuss again based on the feedback.

Charitable Status is something we looked into some years ago, in quite a bit of detail, but it is quite complicated and needs a greater investment in time which would be difficult as we all have busy lives outside PHO.

I quite like the "badge" idea e.g. "I Donated" or "I Subscribe" but it would need to be optional for members.

I am just a bit nervous about publishing the account details the internet, not sure if I should be or not but just being cautious. If anyone wants to set up a Direct Debit then I can email them the account details. You can subscribe monthly via PayPal.

I believe that donations and subscriptions via PayPal are completely safe and PayPal guarantee to sort out any issues. I have been using PayPal for many years and never had a problem, only ever a positive experience..

Re PHO using Google Adwords. A few years ago when we had a little bit more cash in the bank than we do now I set-up an adword account and paid for a few months advertising to help publicise the site and attract more members. We stopped paying for this sometime ago but the very nice people at Google keep sending me free adwords cards. So this is not costing anything at the moment. To date Google have provided £200 or free advertising

Thanks Again for the feedback and the donations...

Cheers
Michael