[Harp-L] Update -- Annual Harp-L Fundraiser - 2020 budget

[Slim Heilpern]

> IMPORTANT: This post, while definitely meta discussion, has been approved by the list owner. Whatever you do, please do not respond to this post on harp-l. Instead, you may respond directly to myself (slim at xxxxx) or directly to the list owner (harp-l-owner at xxxxx).


Since my initial post last month, we've raised exactly two thirds of this year's goal. In the past we've reached our goal within a week or so of the 1st announcement and the bills are coming due in early January. So if you value harp-l, this would be a good time to contribute if you haven't already done so this year.

So far we have 16 donations at the $10 level and 8 at the $5 level, totaling $200.

Thanks in advance for your help!

- Slim

> On Nov 11, 2019, at 9:36 AM, Slim Heilpern <slim at xxxxx> wrote:
...
> 
> As you may or may not know, harp-l was privately funded for many years. But since 2013 Harp-L has been holding an annual fundraiser to offset the basic costs of keeping the list up and running and this has worked out very well. Please note that the real work, provided entirely by the list owner, has and continues to be done on a volunteer basis. The previous fundraisers have all been successful and now it's time for a repeat performance with regard to the 2020 budget. 
> 
> Yes, that time has come again for folks like me (and hopefully you) to step up and contribute to the basic cost of keeping the list alive. We are asking that those who can afford it and would like to help out donate $5 or $10 (absolute maximum) for the upcoming year’s expenses. 
> 
> To be absolutely clear, donations are voluntary and will not affect your status as a list member whether you contribute funds or not in any given year. It’s perfectly OK to not make a donation.
> 
> How to contribute to the fundraiser:
> 
> As in the past, I've volunteered to be the middleman for donations. The preferred way to donate is via my paypal account (all major credit cards accepted):
> 
> To contribute $5 via paypal, click on this link: http://tinyurl.com/95dfp7b
> 
> To contribute $10 via paypal, click on this link: http://tinyurl.com/9oo2ss2
> 
> If you prefer to contribute by personal check, please contact me off list and I will send you the details of how to do that: slim at xxxxx
> 
> More details:
> 
> Our goal for this year is $300, all of which will go to cover operating expenses for 2020. I will send another notification once we have reached our goal. Any contributions received in excess of the goal while the fundraiser is still open will be applied to 2021.
> 
> $10 is the maximum individual contribution. Payments greater than that will be refunded in full (or in the case of a personal check, it will not be cashed).
> 
> As far as I know, your contribution is not tax-deductible, although I’m not an expert on the subject.
> 
> At the request of the list owner, your donation details (such as your name, email address, how much you donated) will not be made public, not even to the list owner. However, I will post a summary of the amounts received on a monthly basis to the list until the goal is reached. In the interest of keeping this as simple and cost-effective as possible, we’re not setting up any kind of business account for the contributions and folks will just have to trust that I have no intention or reason to do anything with the money other than forward the funds to the list owner, who pays the bills. My role in this is strictly as a volunteer.
> 
> One final detail: During the first fundraiser there was some on-list discussion (and confusion) with respect to transaction fees when paying via credit card and the PayPal options to work around this. (Transaction fees are taken off the top of your contribution by PayPal). Please don't worry about the transaction fees as we're trying to keep this simple and I don't want to ask anyone to lie to PayPal as to the nature of their transaction. Rest assured, the transaction fee _will_ be covered by a matching donation, so your full contribution will be applied to the harp-l budget.
> 
> If you have any questions, please contact me off list: slim at xxxxx
> 
> Thank you in advance for your support!
> 
> - Slim
> 
> www.SlimAndPenny.com