Submitted by .rbarenblat on 17 September 2009 - 5:33pm.
Thanks for your comment, Jessica! I'm the chair of the OTW's Development/Membership committee; it's our job to make sure that we raise enough money to support the OTW's ongoing needs, colo fees among them.
Fortunately, I don't think the nightmare scenario that you mention is likely to ever arise. :-) I can offer three reasons why I think we're in good shape. One is that we keep a "safety net" of money in our bank account at all times. This is good nonprofit fiscal practice.
The second reason is, we hold fundraising drives twice a year. Twelve months' worth of colo fees at $248/month comes to $2,976, and one option is to sequester the first 3K that we earn in our next donations drive (scheduled for October) as colo fees for the next 12 months.
And the third reason is, some of our members also donate on a monthly basis. One of DevMem's goals for the coming year (now that we know what our colo fees will be) is to line up more monthly donors -- ideally, enough that the colo fees just flow in to our coffers naturally each month! If we can get 25 people to commit to giving $10/month, that would cover our current colo costs.
Given fandom's incredible generosity so far (especially during what have been tough economic times for most of us), I feel confident that we'll be able to continue to raise the money we need to pay our colo fees, most likely without ever needing to dip into our "safety net."
Does this answer your questions? If not, please feel free to ask more!
Ongoing costs
Thanks for your comment, Jessica! I'm the chair of the OTW's Development/Membership committee; it's our job to make sure that we raise enough money to support the OTW's ongoing needs, colo fees among them.
Fortunately, I don't think the nightmare scenario that you mention is likely to ever arise. :-) I can offer three reasons why I think we're in good shape. One is that we keep a "safety net" of money in our bank account at all times. This is good nonprofit fiscal practice.
The second reason is, we hold fundraising drives twice a year. Twelve months' worth of colo fees at $248/month comes to $2,976, and one option is to sequester the first 3K that we earn in our next donations drive (scheduled for October) as colo fees for the next 12 months.
And the third reason is, some of our members also donate on a monthly basis. One of DevMem's goals for the coming year (now that we know what our colo fees will be) is to line up more monthly donors -- ideally, enough that the colo fees just flow in to our coffers naturally each month! If we can get 25 people to commit to giving $10/month, that would cover our current colo costs.
Given fandom's incredible generosity so far (especially during what have been tough economic times for most of us), I feel confident that we'll be able to continue to raise the money we need to pay our colo fees, most likely without ever needing to dip into our "safety net."
Does this answer your questions? If not, please feel free to ask more!