2008 Fund Drive

[Mike Dauphinee]

When does this start?.....I made my contribution last year a few weeks early and it got credited to the previous year. Rather than doing it about the same time, I would rather get into the proper cycle.

[Jim Becker]

Typically toward the end of the calendar year, Mike. There doesn't really need to be a "proper cycle" for donations to any cause, charitable or otherwise...outside of not missing the end of the year for things that are charitable, that is... ;)

[Mike Dauphinee]

Thanks for the prompt reply. My point is I would rather not walk around with the wrong label. I do support monetarily and would like to continue to do so. I also don't want to stand out as someone who ignores the date.

Promoting the open exchange of knowledge in my hobby is important to me. I would like to see this and all of the sites that promote WW continue.

Thanks again.

[Jim Becker]

There is no "wrong label"...and while financial contributions are appreciated and help keep things running physically, your contributions of questions, answers and information are the true value of the community.

[Mike Dauphinee]

Thanks Jim.

[Gary Whitt]

Mike,

IIRC, both of us paid for 2 folks with our contributions.

[Mike Dauphinee]

As God blesses me, so will I continue to share. If someone here is in need, let it be known so that others may lift them up as a contibuting member of this forum.

[Gary Whitt]

As God blesses me, so will I continue to share. If someone here is in need, let it be known so that others may lift them up as a contibuting member of this forum.
That's why I gave for 2....

[John Shuk]

I have in the past given enough for multiple peoples contributions. Does that however assign contributer to another?

One way that I have found to share with the Creek is to sometimes offer small item's from my shop which I can't use to somebody willing to contribute shipping costs to Sawmill Creek I then pay shipping from my pocket but the Creek partakes and another contributer is born.

[Terre Hooks]

Mike,

Thanks for kicking off the 2008 SMC fund raising drive. You're better than Jerry Lewis!


I mailed my contribution to you yesterday.

When can I expect to receive my car window sticker and have the 2008 Contributor under my name?

[Keith Outten]

The official fund drive runs from November 1st to November 30th this year. You can expect we will be ringing bells on every street corner during the entire month of November in an effort to entice as many of our Members as we can to donate towards next years expenses.

If we receive enough donations this November to pay the programing costs we would like to add a custom Shop Tours module to The Creek. A Shop Tours module will double our bandwidth requirements so there will be additional annual expenses to be paid. A public discussion will be open to all Members when we get closer to our annual fund drive to ascertain how much support a Shop Tours area would receive.

Our new server is solid and is handling the daily load without a problem, it should last two more years so we shouldn't have any hardware expenses this year.

Those who want the 2008 Contributor title please wait until November 1st to donate.

Donations made now will be credited toward the 2007 year. We don't need any donations right now, we are in good shape for the shape we're in :)

.

[keith ouellette]

I am pretty new to the world of woodworking and have just started looking over this site and so far I enjoy it quite a bit. I have only owned a computer for two months and have no idea what kind of work is involved in putting together a web site. This may seem like a poor question but I don't really know how else to word it. How much is the averge donation? I really have no concept of what is needed but would like to help out. Also, how do I send it and am I correct in thinking the proper time would be in November of 07 to be used for next year.

[Keith Outten]

Keith B,

The suggested donation is six dollars per year. There is a donate button on the blue menu bar that has information about making a donation. We will make some noise in November reminding everyone to help us keep The Creek online, you should donate then.

Thanks

.

[keith ouellette]

Sounds very reasonable to me.:D

[Gary Whitt]

You definitely get your $6 worth here.

[Steve Clardy]

You definitely get your $6 worth here.



Ditto ;) :D

[Mike Dauphinee]

I will say it again as we approach giving time.....If someone here truly cannot afford the $6, please let it be known (privately) and I will do what I can to see that you get Contributor under your name.

I like to see woodworking forums flourish (people wise) according to their needs and the hobby become more mentoring than ever. This is one of many decent information sharing forums. There is room for all their different personalities and the people that prefer each.

[Gary Whitt]

Same here.

I paid double last year and will again to help someone out.

[mike holden]

Just put a paypal donation in, hopefully its for 2008, if not will do it again.
Mike

[Chris Foley]

Just got mine in also

[Keith Outten]

Thanks guys for your support again this year.

Anyone who cannot afford a donation should send me a Private Message and I will upgrade their account for free, nothing will be said and nobody needs to know. Many of our Contributors this year have been donating a little extra for those who may not be able to donate as well.

.

[Charlie Schultz]

Paypal sent.

[Earl Reid]

Check is in the mail:)
Earl

[John Lock]

My paypal sent this morning.

[Jim Fox]

Paypal Just sent!

[Dave Dionne]

My paypal went in about an hour ago.

[John Schreiber]

Pay pal sent to cover me and some others too. Keep up the good work.

[John Shuk]

Sent enough to cover me and another.

[David G Baker]

I donated through PayPal but haven't received the 2008 contributor credit. Sent an E-mail but haven't got an answer back yet.

[Keith Outten]

David,

Possibly your email got caught in my spam filter or you sent it to Aaron.

Send me a Private Message with any details you can provide concerning your transaction and I will update your account. I will be on travel today but you can send a PM to Jackie Outten if you prefer.

Thanks for your support,
Keith

[Jackie Outten]

David,

Your account has been updated.

Thanks.

Jackie

[David G Baker]

David,

Your account has been updated.

Thanks.

Jackie
Jackie,
Thank you for the update.

[Jim O'Dell]

My check is in the mail as of yesterday. I personally don't worry too much about labels or status. I'm just a simple guy that enjoys this place, and have not felt right that I haven't been able to contribute monetarily the last couple years. The new job looks to be changing that. Thanks again for all that is done here for woodworking. It just takes a little money to allow that to happen. Jim.

[Elaine Duff]

Thank you for a safe site for the young and young at heart!

I contributed today. And then thought it's almost Vetern's Day.

I added a little for each Vet in my immediate family, including myself.
I added a little more for each active duty member in my family.
Then I added more for the one who is in Iraq with no running water, an overload of mice and missing his new mortiser every day. Okay so he's probably missing his wife and his two children more, but he really liked the mortiser that Santa brought early.:)

The challenge goes out to all Vets and family members of active duty service personnel. This is another way to remember what they did and still do.

[Mike Monroe]

Just sent a $6 contribution via PayPal. Interested to see how long till I get the 2008 Contibutor logo...

[Bill Arnold]

This continues to be a great resource for information.

[Keith Outten]

Just sent a $6 contribution via PayPal. Interested to see how long till I get the 2008 Contibutor logo...

Mike,

How did we do ?

:)

.

[Mike Monroe]

3 hours... not bad; your hired. :)

Thanks for doing an excellent job managing an excellent website.

-Mike Monroe

[Trent Flemming]

Creekers are awesome. Donation sent via PayPal.

[Neal McCormick]

I just want to say that I spend most of my lunch hours looking at this site. Whenever I have a question this is the first place I go to seek an answer. I am more than happy to support what truly is a valued resource for me and for many others. While my posts are few and the advice I can provide is limited this has to be the best site on the internet if you enjoy woodworking. Keep up the excellent work folks!

[Bill Pealer]

Donation sent. I don't write much but have been extra blessed by the info.

[Jack Camillo]

I just donated on the link using a credit card and I got an email from paypal saying I used paypal (an account I don't have). I DID NOT select paypal. If this was some sort of scam that took my credit card information and dumped it into paypal to create an account, I don't appreciate it at all

[Jim Becker]

I just donated on the link using a credit card and I got an email from paypal saying I used paypal (an account I don't have). I DID NOT select paypal. If this was some sort of scam that took my credit card information and dumped it into paypal to create an account, I don't appreciate it at all

Jack, the "Donate" button with all the CC pictures under it IS for PayPal. You don't need to be a member to use it unless you are paying "cash" via the PayPal process. In this case, PayPal is administering the CC transaction. The email should indicate that you paid Northwind Associates.

Jim
SMC Moderator

[Trent Flemming]

To the Message board gods. I want a 2008 Contributor thingy below my name. Hook me up :)

Trent

[Ted Jay]

Payment sent via Paypal, plus for two others if needed.
Thanks for being here! :)
Ted

[Jack Ferrell]

I also just sent my donation in via Paypal. Thanks to all for an excellent forum.

[Fred LeBail]

I sent my contribution via Paypal this AM. Great place to hang out!!!

[Bill Roland]

Just sent my contribution by PayPal.

[Ted Shrader]

Just sent my contribution by PayPal.I did too!

Ted

[Keith Outten]

Thanks to all of you for supporting us again this year.
We are still under 7% of our Active Members donating so each donation makes a difference.

Thanks Again,
Keith

[Rodney Randal]

Payment has just been sent by PayPal.

Thanks for all you do, Keith!
Rodney Randal

[Darren Salyer]

just sent Paypal as well.
Thanks for a great site.

[Heather Thompson]

Paid in full, plus a few others.

Heather

PS This place is great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D

[Jim O'Dell]

Well, I guess the good ole USPS has lost my check. Mailed 2 weeks ago, and according to my banner I'm still stuck in 2005! :D Anyone else having this problem?
Keith and Jackie, let me know if you don't see it in the next week or so. Jim.

[Keith Outten]

Jim,

We hav several people who have donated that we can't identify.

PayPal Donations:
Their names don't match their usernames here.
Their email addresses don't match any in use here.
The donations were made in a company name we can't connect to a Member here.

Checks sent via USPS have been more reliable as far as us being able to identify the Member and update accounts. If USPS lost your check......that is another story :)

Thanks for your support this year, I will update your account now so you won't miss any more drawings.

.

[bruce cain]

Just sent mine via Paypal.

Thanks

[Pat Keefe]

Payment sent via paypal. Gee computers makes it easy to pay someone on the otherside of the world:)

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Glad to see my snail mail made it. I just can't seem to trust paypal. I guess I'm a coward.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Paypal sent.

[Mike Dauphinee]

Jim,

We hav several people who have donated that we can't identify.

PayPal Donations:
Their names don't match their usernames here.
Their email addresses don't match any in use here.
The donations were made in a company name we can't connect to a Member here.

Checks sent via USPS have been more reliable as far as us being able to identify the Member and update accounts. If USPS lost your check......that is another story :)

Thanks for your support this year, I will update your account now so you won't miss any more drawings.

.

Keith, I suspect that some of these may be folks that recently have been disallowed from participating here. IIRC, there were some who supported the community but also voiced some concerns. All that happened at fund drive time in a heavily edited thread. You may want to check and rule those folks out too. After that, I guess all you can do is send them an email to their PayPal address and ask, should be fairly easy to just copy and paste to each one. That might work, or just refund their money. HTH - Mike

[Mike Williams]

My 2008 check is in the (snail) mail.

Mike

[Eddie Watkins]

I sent thru PayPal. Just checking to see if it has been received.

[Jim Becker]

Eddie...look under your name... ;) ...and thanks for your support!

[Billy Chambless]

The suggested donation is six dollars per year.
.


Wow, that's cheap -- about the price of one issue of "Fine Tool Ads".

;)

[Rick Gibson]

Just sent mine via paypal.

[Keith Outten]

Anyone who donates today through 4pm will be eligible for tonight's FreeStuff Drawing. Jackie and I will make every effort to update everyone's account before the drawing is done...including those who have sent me emails and Private Messages with additional information concerning their transactions.

Our schedule will be a bit tight tonight as its Jackie's birthday and a family dinner is planned so the drawing may be a bit late this evening.

Thanks again to everyone who has donated this year and good luck in the FreeStuff Drawings :)

.

[Keith Outten]

There are only four more days left in our Fund Drive this year. Currently the numbers are a bit dismal to say the least, we still have less than 8% of our Active Members donating this year at this point. We are still receiving a few donations every day but the number is offset by the volume of new people registering. New Members are rarely donating so our overall percentage of the Community donating is actually going down and I expect will soon be below 7% once again.

I will be posting some numbers on December 1st to let everyone know where we are and what everyone can expect this year in the way of changes, good and bad. Our astronomical growth rate over the last twelve months continues today with an average of 1,500 new Members registering every month. We cannot sustain this kind of growth for many more months without adding resources and we can't add bandwidth or additional server capacity without funds. We have received some excellent advice from this Community concerning our options and will be implementing some of these changes in the near future.

There is a major revision of our vBulletin software coming in the next few weeks. Many of the features that everyone here has been asking about will be included in the new software, however it will be impossible for us to provide them for our entire Community without the necessary funds to cover the additional costs. For instance there is a new Picture Gallery feature and personal Blogs that could be made available here but these may have to be restricted to Contributors only. I regret that we will have to make some of the changes necessary for us to continue but we can't continue to provide the same access to everyone in a Community that is growing this fast with decreasing financial support from our Active Members, much less provide for new services that are bound to increase our need for bandwidth and server capacity.

There will be a new Private Forum added soon for our Contributors that I hope will be used to provide a wide area kind of feedback system between our Staff and those of you who have provided financial support. We are interested in your advice and suggestions concerning the coming year and decisions we must make in the future. We will make every effort to maintain the atmosphere here as close as possible as it has always been in the past and hope the new Forum will provide the platform to enhance communication on a broader scale than is possible via Private Messaging.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has made a donation this month for their continued support. Your donations will provide the opportunity for us to keep The Creek flowing for another year and I assure you that the changes that we will have to make here will not affect your access in any way and new services will be made available to you as soon as possible.

Thanks Again,
Keith

.

[John Schreiber]

Keith et al,

Unless there is a big response in the next few days to make it worth while for you to continue this as more than a labor of love, I withdraw my objection to advertising. If you decide to go that way, I would greatly prefer something like "Google Ads" so there are no "Corporate Sponsors" who could influence Sawmill Creek's content.

Thank you for your work.

[David Fried]

It only took me three years but I am finally in a position to ante up!

[Keith Outten]

Thanks John,

Contributors won't ever see any advertising here unless it is their preference. I have not considered allowing corporate sponsors here as I feel the impact may be detrimental to our Community. I am looking for some kind of balance so we can continue to support the woodworking community in general and still provide an atmosphere here that most have come to enjoy. At the same time we must provide for our growth and at a minimum be able to preserve the access speed that makes visiting enjoyable.

If there is a way to do all of this and keep the majority happy we will make every effort to do so.

.

[John Marshall]

Thanks for the awesome job on these boards. I dont post as much as some people, but the knowledge I have gained by perusing this on my lunch hours has prompted me to finally donate to the cause.

[Terre Hooks]

Keith,

Haven't the Blogs and Picture Gallery features been available for vBulletin for over a year?

[Mike Dauphinee]

Keith,

Haven't the Blogs and Picture Gallery features been available for vBulletin for over a year?


Blogs are a $50 add on. Minimal programming time and no more bandwidth than any other page/post. So come on ya Bloggers, pony up and donate, it only takes 9 of you to get us a blog.

Picture Gallery is a free release and is in the beta version just released. May be too soon to have that here.

HTH

[Terre Hooks]

Cool.

I was thinking about vGallery, which got bought about by a company and is now licensed app instead of a free mod.


Long Holiday weekend and all. :o

[Frank Guerin]

if I got the paypal thing to work. I have to get my young granddaughters to help me with this computer stuff sometimes.

[Keith Outten]

I don't have a problem purchasing vBulletin modules when they are beneficial to this Community so I would purchase the Blog capability if necessary, the price is certainly inexpensive. I recently visited the vBulletin site to try and catch up on the 3.7 upgrade and all of the new features, I could be wrong but I thought that the Blog and Picture Gallery features were included in the new upgrade which is expected to be released in just a few more weeks.

There are two pages of new features that are being added, many are major new features that I'm sure will be enjoyed here. The Picture Gallery is probably the most requested feature we know of and will be the most costly to provide possibly doubling our bandwidth bills here and eventually requiring another server to handle the data traffic. Even if we limit picture gallery access to Contributors it still means several hundred people will be building personal picture galleries here so the cost to host will be significant.

We will definitely upgrade to the new vBulletin 3.7 but which new features we are able to make accessible depends on our ability to fund them or their impact on our server. The cost to provide some features will be near zero and others we may never be able to afford. Remember we are a huge Community that sees over 750,000 hits per day and climbing so adding just one new feature could strain our resources so we have to be careful and choose wisely given our budget restrictions. I don't know how many photo hosting web sites I have seen start up and go offline in the last few years. Most public forums don't host pictures at all or if they do they dump threads automatically after 90 days.

Our Contributors have been generous this year but they can't provide for 10,000 Members here so how much we will be able to provide depends on our ability to secure some kind of advertising revenue. I am hesitant to spend money I don't have in hand so we will just have to wait and see. The process may take some time.

.

[Mike Conley]

Sent my donation this morning.

[Heather Thompson]

OK folks, thought I contributed about two weeks ago via my credit card, did not want Pay Pal to take any money. Just noticed I was still member, about a minute ago I paid 20.00 via Pay Pal, please let me know if you received it. This place is great and the people here make me feel like family, thanks to all here!!!!!!!!!!

Heather :)

[Jim Becker]

Heather, check your CC statement. Even the CC is processed by PayPal. Be sure that if the transaction isn't easily identified as "you", that you let Keith and/or Jackie know via PM what name the money came in from. That's the most common reason why a contribution isn't "registered"...they don't know who it actually came from relative to a member name.

And thanks for your support!

Jim
SMC Moderator

[Jackie Outten]

Heather,

I didn't see your paypal payment. Send me a PM with the details and I'll see if I can track it down.

Jackie

[Gary Whitt]

I will be posting some numbers on December 1st to let everyone know where we are and what everyone can expect this year in the way of changes, good and bad.
Thanks Again,
Keith

.Hope my snail-mail contribution makes it :o

(was mailed yesterday)