Best Fund Drive Ever

[John Bailey]

I know some are going to get after me about the stats with the fund drive. The fact is that we won't have a solid total for at least a week. It takes awhile to count everything up, get the totals, and wait for the snail-mail. But that's not going to keep me from making some good educated guesstimates.

Here goes:


New Members - 797
(This one is solid because I can look it up on the memebership list. Bet ya it's well over 800 if you include this morning.)

Contributions - 412 Final Tally - 444
(I'm out on a limb with this one. I'm usually somewhere between 30-40 behind the actual count when it comes. Last count from Keith was 372. So, being the optimist that I am, I'll add 40.)

Totals of Contributions - $8,240 Final Tally - $8,344.94
(I'm so far out on a limb with this one that the branch is about to break. However, in the past we've averaged just about $20 per contribution, thus using my addmittedly optimistic number of 412 contributors, that's where we should be.)

_________________________________________________



I'll edit this thread as I get some actual numbers. But, no matter where we end up, this has been a great drive and you all are awsome. We know it's tough to be a member supported site, but you have proven, being the good folks you are, it can be done.

Thanks a bunch,

John

[Carl Eyman]

Yes, it looks like we have enough money to operate for another year, but I am disappointed we did not get a LOT more participation. 400 out of 3000+ is not a good batting average. When one owns something one takes better care of it. Owner occupied housing is usually better maintained than rental housing, for instance. A larger percentage of "owners" here would make it even better - imho.

It is never too late to "buy a piece of the creek".

[Tom Henry]

This site is the BEST! I haven't been here a year yet and can't wait until the new hats and shirts come this new year so I can proudly wear my SMC gear!:D As much as I thought it would be a great idea for one add at the top because of the $$$ involved. I have to say that inside I feel as a group we did good!

[Jim Becker]

Thank you to all the financial contributors, but also thank you to everyone who contributes questions, knowledge and a sense of community. However you support SMC, it's stronger because of you!

[John Bailey]

It is never too late to "buy a piece of the creek".

Good point Carl, but I'm just going to enjoy the efforts of those who contributed for the time being. In the past, we've had many members contribute throughout the year, I'm sure we will again.

Again, can't say enough about you good folks,

John

[Keith Outten]

I can't add much to the stats yet, I am still inputting PayPal donations and checks but I am very near the end.

The last figure I have on my sheet is $7,434.94 so it is unlikey we will make the eight grand figure but a successfull fund drive and we appreciate your support. No matter what the final numbers end up being we will definately be Member Suported for another year and will be able to build a second server for The Creek. The new server will be used in conjunction with our existing server to share the load between web page hosting and our database. The new configuration will provide more serving power than we will need for some time to come.

I expect that we will be able to get our new server built and bring it online sometime during the upcoming holidays. We will require a maintenance shutdown to add the new machine and upgrade vBulletin plus a couple other support programs and last but not least reinstall our chat server. Aaron and I will also take a look at some of the recent vBulletin add-ons that would provide more features for our Community.

I'm already on it! I have contacted our vendor and we are putting together a spec for the parts we will need for the new server and I should have a final qoute later this afternoon.

As a kind of reward for having to put up with our constant nagging during November we have several FreeStuff Drawings coming your way. My signature indicates that a full set of Bowclamps are first up and there are more drawings on the way....good luck to everyone in our Drawings and thanks again for your continued support.

Keith

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[John Miliunas]

Good point Carl, but I'm just going to enjoy the efforts of those who contributed for the time being. In the past, we've had many members contribute throughout the year, I'm sure we will again.

Again, can't say enough about you good folks,

John

I'm thinking you guys already have what I was going to say covered quite nicely! :) Thanks again to all those who donated toward the fund drive, as well as to all those who continue to donate through your input here at the Creek! After all, YOU are the Creek! :) :cool:

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I'd like to thank John for taking this on again this year! Thanks for your efforts John!

But I have to admit......you're the first "cheerleader" I've seen with a beard....and the thought of you in a short skirt....Well I won't even go there!:eek: :rolleyes: :D

[John Miliunas]

I'd like to thank John for taking this on again this year! Thanks for your efforts John!

But I have to admit......you're the first "cheerleader" I've seen with a beard....and the thought of you in a short skirt....Well I won't even go there!:eek: :rolleyes: :D

LOL! :D Yeah, what Ken said! Well done, John. Thanks much! :) :cool:

[Dennis Peacock]

Many thanks to John B. for heading up the fund drive again this year and thanks to all You CREEKERS for stepping up to the plate to help keep SMC alive and running well. :cool:

[Al Willits]

Can I assume that for those of us that procrastination is a way of life, a donation coming in after the dead line is ok??

Al...who's gets a bit forgetful at times

[Dennis Peacock]

Can I assume that for those of us that procrastination is a way of life, a donation coming in after the dead line is ok??

Al...who's gets a bit forgetful at times

Howdy Al,

Sure....any time is fine. We all procrastinate from time to time, just some of us are better at it than others. :rolleyes: :D

[Andy Hoyt]

Dennis - isn't there a rule buried somewhere in the TOS about forgetful Minnesotans having to triple their donation?

[jonathan snyder]

I promised a donation if SMC remained advertiser free for 2007. I see Keith says that that will happen. My contribution is in the mail, snail mail that is!

This is a great forum, thanks to Keith, Jackie, Aaron, all the moderators, contributors, and members who make it happen.

Jonathan

[Lou Morrissette]

Snail Mailed mine on 11-13 and still have not been credited. You gotta cash those checks guys.;) :D

[John Shuk]

Thanks to all who gave. I get much more here than I could possibly give.
I bet if you were to match those with 10 or more posts the contribution rate would seem alot more "acceptable". Please, I use that term loosely.

[Scott Donley]

you're the first "cheerleader" I've seen with a beard....and the thought of you in a short skirt....:eek: :rolleyes: :DIsn't there a rule buried somewhere in the TOS about This :D
John, I would also like to thank you for your efforts, Job well done !

[Mark Pruitt]

Glad it went so well!

Like I said before, this website is far more useful than most of the WWing mags I subscribe to, and I give them waaaay too much $$! So a SMC contribution really is a worthwhile expenditure.

Good job John! (and I AIN"T gonna try to say it in Greek!):D

[John Bailey]

Glad it went so well!

Like I said before, this website is far more useful than most of the WWing mags I subscribe to, and I give them waaaay too much $$! So a SMC contribution really is a worthwhile expenditure.

Good job John! (and I AIN"T gonna try to say it in Greek!):D
Ευχαριστώ πολύ φίλος μου (thank you very much my friend)

[W Craig Wilson]

I would like to be a 2007 contributor, I really, really would. Will someone please tell me if my PayPal notice from 19 November is lost or just languishing in Keith's ToDo box?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Craig............send a PM to Keith or Jackie Outten....They'll get back to about you paypal donation.

[John Bailey]

What Ken said, well - sorta (nice typin' Ken):D:D

John

[Keith Outten]

I would like to be a 2007 contributor, I really, really would. Will someone please tell me if my PayPal notice from 19 November is lost or just languishing in Keith's ToDo box?

Craig,

Sorry for the long wait. Your donation has just been entered and your user title should be updated within the hour.

Thanks,
Keith

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[Chris Barton]

Yes, it looks like we have enough money to operate for another year, but I am disappointed we did not get a LOT more participation. 400 out of 3000+ is not a good batting average. When one owns something one takes better care of it. Owner occupied housing is usually better maintained than rental housing, for instance. A larger percentage of "owners" here would make it even better - imho.

It is never too late to "buy a piece of the creek".

I have been waiting until now to make my contribution because I wanted some sort of idea about the percentage of people that "support" the vast majority of the "members" on their contributions. Since I no longer do PayPal, my check is in the mail. However, I agree with Carl. A 10% contribution and support rate is abysmal. I don't understand how someone can be a long-time member and poster here and not be willing to help support the site. And, everyone has the means to provide some sort of support even if it was to mail in $5. I don't see any positive spin to these statistics and find it amazing that some do. For every single contributing member you have 9 people that believe, for some unknown reason, that they shouldn't have to contribute. Sounds like our tax system or our social security system.

[John Miliunas]

I have been waiting until now to make my contribution because I wanted some sort of idea about the percentage of people that "support" the vast majority of the "members" on their contributions. Since I no longer do PayPal, my check is in the mail. However, I agree with Carl. A 10% contribution and support rate is abysmal. I don't understand how someone can be a long-time member and poster here and not be willing to help support the site. And, everyone has the means to provide some sort of support even if it was to mail in $5. I don't see any positive spin to these statistics and find it amazing that some do. For every single contributing member you have 9 people that believe, for some unknown reason, that they shouldn't have to contribute. Sounds like our tax system or our social security system.

Couldn't agree more with you or Carl! However, I guess if there's any "positives" to take away from this is, there are still enough active members who think enough of this place called the Creek to donate and to do so on the heavy side when they see that so many others aren't getting involved. They're doing it for themselves and they're doing it for the others. In time, we can only hope that additional members will see the value of this site and contribute when they can or wish to do so. :) As a society, we tend to dwell on the negative, which is not a good thing mentally or physically. :( In the end, it's the positive thinkers who make the greatest strides and contributions to society and I, for one, would like to believe that's the direction we're heading. :) Oh, and thanks so very much for your contribution, as well! Much appreciated, my friend! :) :cool:

[Doug Jones from Oregon]

I'm still waiting to get credit for my contribution made in June of 06. I've mentioned it here a few times and I've PM'd Keith with no response...but then, I pm'd him about another issue a while ago with no response on that one either. Guess he does not like us west coasters!

Doug

[Keith Outten]

Doug,

It is possible that I missed your donation, it happens. As far as email and Private Messages I can't possibly answer them all anymore. I'm lucky these days to be able to respond to high priority messages however I hope things wil be settling down a bit shortly.

If you sent your donation by PayPal I can search our database.

Anyone else who hasn't had their user titles updated please respond in this thread, we have at least two checks and a dozen or so PayPal donations that we can't identify. Some were made in the names of companies and some were made by people who are not even Members of The Creek. I have done all the detective work I know to do and can't resolve these donations to a Members name.

.

[John Bailey]

Call me Mr. Positive, but I see all kinds of positives here. First, we picked up 855 new members since the drive started, 797 during the drive. Second, we had 35 more contributions this year, during the drive, than all of last year. Third, $8,344 is well above what we need for the annual operating budget and the new server. And fourth, I predicted $8,240 and Keith said probably not quite $8,000. OK, so the fourth one doesn't have much bearing on the matter.

I love it when a plan comes together. (Who was it that said that)Remember the A-Team.

The downside, I agree, is we need to have a a much bigger % of folks contribute. But for now, I want to applaud all of those folks that made this drive a successful and positive experience.

By the way, take a look at the start of the thread, I've updated the figures. Also, we will have more contributors as all the snail mail comes in and the year goes on.


You Folks are Awesome!!!:D

"We take care of our own, and our borders are open."
Thanks Andy


Thanks a bunch,

John

[Frank Hagan]

10% of the members contributing is a big deal. I don't know of another on-line community that is successful doing this on this scale. If you can find one, I'd be interested in seeing it!

[Bob Marino]

Oooooops, sorry for being late in donating, but funds from Paypal are on their way. Thanks to all!

Bob

[Doug Jones from Oregon]

Keith..I understand that you are busy, and perhaps overwhelmed. It is a huge responsibility that you have taken on. Perhaps it is time to delegate authority and responsibility to yet another person.

I made my contribution in June of 06 through pay pal. It would have been in my name "Doug Jones" and I suspect that the "other" Doug Jones got credit for it....I do not recognize this "Douglas Jones" that I had to register as and therefore did not make the distinction at the time.

Doug

[Keith Outten]

Doug,

I found your PayPal donation, it was recorded by PayPal on June 25th as Doug Jones and it was registered to Doug Jones not Douglas Jones.

This kind of thing happens often with so many people here and names that are very close or identical. Possibly you might consider changing your username to Doug Jones of Oregon or something simular.

I just updated your account Doug to give you credit for your donation.

I am ahead of you concerning getting help, in fact Aaron was supposed to take over the finances here before the fund drive. Unfortunately he had a huge workload dropped on him at William and Mary and couldn't take the reigns in time...well that is the story he gave me :) The problem with us all being part time is that our day jobs get in the way and our schedules are tentative at best. We do the best we can.

Thanks,
Keith

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[Doug Jones from Oregon]

Thank you for the research Keith, I will now contribute, again for 2007 for a very worthwile forum.

Doug Jones (the real one) of Oregon!


edit: Keith...not sure how to make the change from Douglas Jones (who ever that may be!) to Doug Jones from Oregon

I'm thinking that is something only you can do!

Doug (from Oregon and dang proud of it!)

[Keith Outten]

Doug,

Say the word and I will edit your username.

[John Miliunas]

Doug,

Say the word and I will edit your username.

Keith, I believe he clearly inferred that with his last post. :) I think he'd be a happy camper if you just slammed that in there before his next logon! :D :cool:

[Rich Konopka]

Geez,

It has been a little hectic with me working 70-80 work weeks and I must have missed the other thread. If I did not see this thread I would have never known there was another round VC funding :D. You should be getting my Paypal and count me in to providing support.

What else have I missed lately?

Cheers,

[John Miliunas]

Geez,

What else have I missed lately?

Cheers,

First off, thanks much for pitching in, Rich! It's greatly appreciated. :) And hey, if you're in the "giving mood", you may want to check this thread out: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=46926 Steve Clardy has just experienced a devastating blow, courtesy of Mother Nature. He's OK but, his shop isn't and that's how the man provides for his family. Any consideration on your part will be welcomed! :) Thanks man and, go get yourself a cold beer and veg out for a bit! 80-hour work weeks are no fun! Been there, done that, and wasn't even offered the T-shirt! :D :cool:

[Aaron Koehl]

10% of the members contributing is a big deal. I don't know of another on-line community that is successful doing this on this scale. If you can find one, I'd be interested in seeing it!
It is a great accomplishment, thanks to all who contributed this year to keep the 'Creek afloat for another year. We will have lots of improvements coming down the pipe, particularly over the holidays as Keith mentioned.

10% is actually a great number for an online community. However, we are not just any online community--this is SawmillCreek! On and ever upward!

[Lou Morrissette]

Keith,
My contribution might be one of the "mystery" ones. Snail mailed on 11-13-06 but the check has my given name (Lucien Morrissette). If that has not been received let me know and I'll send another one.

Thanks

Lou

[Jackie Outten]

Lou,

I have not been a able to find a check with your name on it. Was it from you personally or from a company. If it was from you, we have not received it yet.

Jackie

[Don Bullock]

My check is in the mail.:D

[Joe Mioux]

Hey John:

Can you give us an update on the totals? I was a bit late for the Nov drive, but added my contribution in Dec.

thanks Joe

[Tyler Howell]

You're welcome, you're, welcome, No big thing, least I could do........:eek: :o :rolleyes: .
Truly a great investment
Thanks

[Keith Outten]

Joe,

The totals as of this morning are;

$8,913.94 with 477 Members Donating which is an average donation of $18.68

We have enough to build a new dual processor server (number 2) plus update our software. We can either purchase a new battery backup or wait untill we have more funds to replace server number 1.

Everything we collect beyond our bare bones cost of $5,500.00 we will spend on The Creek on new hardware and software. We would need about $11 grand total build 2 new servers, replace our battery backup and pay our bandwidth and sysadmin expenses. We would have to collect the funds quickly if we wanted to get the parts to build 2 servers in and get them both online during the holidays.

What Say Ye?

.

[John Miliunas]

Everything we collect beyond our bare bones cost of $5,500.00 we will spend on The Creek on new hardware and software. We would need about $11 grand total build 2 new servers, replace our battery backup and pay our bandwidth and sysadmin expenses. We would have to collect the funds quickly if we wanted to get the parts to build 2 servers in and get them both online during the holidays.

What Say Ye?

.

Wow, gettin' there but, wouldn't it be nice if we could indeed cover the balance to get the dual servers going right off the bat? I know that hardware management and administration time would be cut way down doing it all at once. :) We could literally "skate" through the next couple/three years w/o having to worry about major upgrades! :) Heck, we'd even be able to give John Bailey some time "off"! :D :cool:

[Dennis Peacock]

I wish there was a way I could send Keith a couple of servers we have in the warehouse. They were used for about 2 years and then retired. They are along the lines of a 4 CPU Sun V440. With two of those, with the 8GB of memory in each, toss in a couple of disk array's of 524GB each (15K RPM drive BTW) this would fix SMC up for some time.

How about an 8 CPU ALPHA TurboLaser 8400 with 16GB of memory?
I don't know if it could be done. Company policy could be so harsh that the donation couldn't be done. I could at least check it out.

Just thinking out loud.

[John Miliunas]

Holy reindeer, Dennis! I can't speak for Keith or Aaron but, it would probably be a worthy effort if you check that out. Always nice to have choices whenever possible. I realize Aaron would probably just "hate" having to work with those "relics" but, you never know! :rolleyes: :D :cool:

[Dave Harker]

SawmillCreek is great, and I'm glad I can help keep it going.

Dave

[Joe Mioux]

Joe,

The totals as of this morning are;

$8,913.94 with 477 Members Donating which is an average donation of $18.68

We have enough to build a new dual processor server (number 2) plus update our software. We can either purchase a new battery backup or wait untill we have more funds to replace server number 1.

Everything we collect beyond our bare bones cost of $5,500.00 we will spend on The Creek on new hardware and software. We would need about $11 grand total build 2 new servers, replace our battery backup and pay our bandwidth and sysadmin expenses. We would have to collect the funds quickly if we wanted to get the parts to build 2 servers in and get them both online during the holidays.

What Say Ye?

.

"Ye says" I think Mr Bailey's work isn't finished.;) :)

[Mike Dauphinee]

Joe,

The totals as of this morning are;

$8,913.94 with 477 Members Donating which is an average donation of $18.68

We have enough to build a new dual processor server (number 2) plus update our software. We can either purchase a new battery backup or wait untill we have more funds to replace server number 1.

Everything we collect beyond our bare bones cost of $5,500.00 we will spend on The Creek on new hardware and software. We would need about $11 grand total build 2 new servers, replace our battery backup and pay our bandwidth and sysadmin expenses. We would have to collect the funds quickly if we wanted to get the parts to build 2 servers in and get them both online during the holidays.

What Say Ye?

.

Keith, sounds like an excellent drive. Are the amounts before or after the PayPal fees? PayPal fees are an operating cost and do not lower the amount of the contributions.

Also, since many contributed on behalf of other members as I recall seeing during the drive, the amount of contributors should be artificially higher. Something around 1500 people are covered by the contributions when the $6 per member is properly applied. Certainly not 100% of the membership, but not a bad number.

Pretty good stuff for EVERYONE who enjoys the Creek, congratulations.

[Gary Whitt]

<--- paid for two :D

[Keith Outten]

Mike,

The total collected is before the fees that PayPal will deduct for their services so we will take a bit of a hit but we're still in great shape.

.

[Mark Cothren]

I wish there was a way I could send Keith a couple of servers we have in the warehouse. They were used for about 2 years and then retired. They are along the lines of a 4 CPU Sun V440. With two of those, with the 8GB of memory in each, toss in a couple of disk array's of 524GB each (15K RPM drive BTW) this would fix SMC up for some time.

How about an 8 CPU ALPHA TurboLaser 8400 with 16GB of memory?
I don't know if it could be done. Company policy could be so harsh that the donation couldn't be done. I could at least check it out.

Just thinking out loud.

Nice thought... but I can tell ya right now it ain't gonna happen...;)

[Dennis Peacock]

Nice thought... but I can tell ya right now it ain't gonna happen...;)

Oh Well.....one could only hope. :)

[Michael Gibbons]

Donation is on it's way as of 12-23-06 when the mail man visits our box:D

[John Miliunas]

Donation is on it's way as of 12-23-06 when the mail man visits our box:D

Hey, thanks Michael! :) BTW, did 'ya get yer deer this year? :D :cool:

[Michael Gibbons]

No Sir. It was sort of a bust this year. I didn't hunt much this year cause I had other things on my mind, mainly the possibility of losing my job at Fords. Kinda took the excitement out of deer season, although I did go out opening day of gun season and saw 4 small bucks. Couldn't shoot any cause the Uncle has a 6 point or better rule and I have no problem with that. Shot a dandy 8 point last year out of the same stand. The weather didn't help any either. It was really warm here this year.

[Skip Spaulding]

Just Pay Palled donation for 2007, GREAT SITE!! Found the site a couple of months ago and have gained a wealth of turning knowledge and inspiration from your site! Thanks to All that work so hard to make it what it is. Skip Spaulding

[Raymond Eade]

I have been lurking here for a while and have found this to be one of the best woodworking resources on the net. I made a contribution today. Thanks for the great information you all provide here.

[John Miliunas]

Hey Skip and Raymond! Thanks much, guys! :) Even though our main annual drive is the one concentrated effort we make to keep SMC operational, it's all the "incidental" contributions throughout the year which typically put us "over the top" to ensure the wheels here keep churning. Thanks much, fella's! Greatly appreciated. :) :cool:

[John Bailey]

Thanks Skip and Raymond, and welcome to the Creek. Yea, it's a great place alright, and it's better now that you're here. Don't be afraid to wade in often.

John

[Jay Jolliffe]

Just made a donation please let me know when you get it......Great forum. I've been comming here for sometime & have read & received great advice. Thanks :):)

[Jim C Bradley]

Hi,
All of you running The Creek should be very proud of yourselves. This is a fantastically good thing.
Thanks a Million!
Enjoy,
Jim