RoseFI
12-14-11, 9:48pm
Hi folks,
I will edit this post after year's end, when all expenses have been logged. But people have been asking about expenses, so here are some preliminary numbers.
This, the first year in a new "home", we kept the belt tight and just did the minimum while we got settled into new software basics, etc. (Plus, NRM did not want to let the community get out ahead of itself on expenses until we saw what level of self-sufficiency SLF could operate under.)
Total expenses for 2011 are estimated to be just under $2000, of which about $580 was server hosting, software & domain expenses, $1300 for approximately 80 hours of labor. (This is NRM paid staff labor "loaned" to SLF where/when needed to fill gaps in volunteer knowledge or time.) The rest is Paypal fees for processing donations. NRM has charged no admin fee for the work I've done overseeing things and running the accounts, or for other Board members tech work, and our level of involvement has been greater than we anticipated.
So far in 2011 we've had $1898 in contributions from 27 different members. That's results in about a zero net income to date, including donations and expenses that came in December of 2010.
My personal opinion is that there is a lot more to be done to get the forums running smoothly, not burning through mods or relying on NRM administration, and optimizing member experiences, as well as drawing in new members. The budget for 2012 will have $2000 as it's baseline, and I will start some polls regarding whether people want some enhancements (which will increase the budget).
MANY thanks are due to those people who have generously given via sweat equity and/or money to date (and very often, both!) But I would say that so far, the burden has fallen on a small minority, and the community as a whole has NOT generated the resources to pursue any of those enhancements, either by stepping up to volunteer technical and outreach/marketing labor, or by generating enough donations to buy those enhancements and labor. I personally feel it's very important that this site remain free and non-commercial (NO advertising), but it means people have to GIVE, rather than be demanded to PAY to play.
Bottom line, SLF is almost running even and fine as it is, but if you'd like it to be even better, step up! :help:
I will edit this post after year's end, when all expenses have been logged. But people have been asking about expenses, so here are some preliminary numbers.
This, the first year in a new "home", we kept the belt tight and just did the minimum while we got settled into new software basics, etc. (Plus, NRM did not want to let the community get out ahead of itself on expenses until we saw what level of self-sufficiency SLF could operate under.)
Total expenses for 2011 are estimated to be just under $2000, of which about $580 was server hosting, software & domain expenses, $1300 for approximately 80 hours of labor. (This is NRM paid staff labor "loaned" to SLF where/when needed to fill gaps in volunteer knowledge or time.) The rest is Paypal fees for processing donations. NRM has charged no admin fee for the work I've done overseeing things and running the accounts, or for other Board members tech work, and our level of involvement has been greater than we anticipated.
So far in 2011 we've had $1898 in contributions from 27 different members. That's results in about a zero net income to date, including donations and expenses that came in December of 2010.
My personal opinion is that there is a lot more to be done to get the forums running smoothly, not burning through mods or relying on NRM administration, and optimizing member experiences, as well as drawing in new members. The budget for 2012 will have $2000 as it's baseline, and I will start some polls regarding whether people want some enhancements (which will increase the budget).
MANY thanks are due to those people who have generously given via sweat equity and/or money to date (and very often, both!) But I would say that so far, the burden has fallen on a small minority, and the community as a whole has NOT generated the resources to pursue any of those enhancements, either by stepping up to volunteer technical and outreach/marketing labor, or by generating enough donations to buy those enhancements and labor. I personally feel it's very important that this site remain free and non-commercial (NO advertising), but it means people have to GIVE, rather than be demanded to PAY to play.
Bottom line, SLF is almost running even and fine as it is, but if you'd like it to be even better, step up! :help: