Hey Man, Where's The Donate Button?

Kevin

Kevin

Wood is good.
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Kevin
I didn't want to reply to Henry in Marcus's HRB thread so here goes:

SENC said:
...I've been looking for a way to contribute to the site, and since Kev refuses to put up the donate button figured this was as good a way as any.
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Henry, I'll put it up if you insist but the dern thing rarely got used anymore except by Greg (Treecycle) who has singly donated more than all others combined for about the past 14 month period. In that time we have had $205 in donations which wouldn't be too bad, except that $150 of it came from Greg. Now that's just not right. So you see, I have no motivation to put the button back up.

It does speak to Greg's character though. He feels the need to, without fanfare, pay his way plus that of others who make money here but do not feel the need to contribute. This is not a complaint by any means nor is it a solicitation for funds, just an explanation of why the donate button hasn't been up. If I do put it back up I may as well just call it the Treecycle Button. :lol:

P.S. Henry that was a totally awesome way to contribute to the forum by buying the HRB from Marcus and donating it to Cody as a bribe to keep his thread going. I love it! :hi2:
 
Hey Kevin. I know this is not meant as a solicitation for funds but truth is it takes money to operate anything and I get a tremendous amount of enjoyment and valuable knowledge from this forum and develop some great relationships to boot. Besides that where else can you go to get an opportunity to purchase some amazing wood with pictures from a bunch of guys with reputations earned through honorable dealings. All you've got to do to get help is ask a question and someone will jump in to help. There may be some who truly can't and I understand that but for most of us we could donate a few bucks each a month and never miss it and I sure would hate not being able to access this site. So put the donate button back up and I challenge my WB brethren to follow Greg's example and do our part to give back just a little bit to a place that does so much good for each of us. Tim
 
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  • #4
Dave that's doable and I have a mix of stuff in the works to allow that. I think members would be more apt to donate that way because they get to give, the recipient gets to get and give, and the site benefits. I like that idea better than scheduled & official auctions for a number of reasons. We'll be funding the site with a mix of an ongoing auction thread (anyone can run one any time they want but none are ever scheduled for the same few dependable guys to give every time), banner ads (no google ads unless everything else fails) and modest premium membership levels. The premium memberships will not offend those who already give. It's designed to help spread the cost throughout those that use the for sale section the most. There will be a free basic level for all, and then some premium levels of membership.

If all else fails, prepare for google ads at some point but I doubt we'll ever have to resort to that.
 
And here I've been thinking it was missing due to site progression ............i agree it should be up, and I like the idea of being able to put an item up for sale and have the money get "donated" straight to the site . I'm glad we can have auctions too tho !!!! Would it be possible to put up a nice item ie....finished turning, gun grips, knife, Highly Figured Wood etc.........and sort of raffle the item off so to speak by allowing members to donate a set amount of $ to the site and then choose a winner ?????
 
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  • #6
I am pretty sure it's illegal to do that Tom. I've checked into it because it has been requested several times, but unless I am wrong, many states do not allow anyone but the state and casinos etc. to make money that way. They don't like the competition.

What we need is to find us an attorney woodworker who can give us *not legal advice!!!* of course (mocking) but sort of give us some unofficial opinions from time to time. :pleasantry:
 
Running a business if tough stuff for anyone who has tried it. In business you reap what you sow just like all things in life. Some look at their business only as dollars and cents. You are a fool if you don't look but you have to look deeper beyond the dollar signs. The truth is that you can give back with your business and not be worse for the ware. There is a hit to your bottom line when you do, however the bennifits you reap from those types of actions far out weighs the ding of a donation or free box of wood. When someone donates their time or talents it is basically the same as a cash donation. So don't feel bad because you don't have the cash just do what you can with your abilities/time to make a difference.

There are some here who are growing the bottom line of their business and that is a main focus. I am sure there are schools of thought that say those are people who are great business men/women. Then there are guys like one of my non-woodworking heros Warren Buffet who is a great business men (arguably the best of our time) and a great person who gives tremendous amounts of money to charity. He lives a humble life in a house that he has owned since before he was filthy rich! For those selling members you can certainly do a heck of a lot more to support a community that you are growing your business with. Don't bankrupt your business but remember that ebay gets 10% if you sell there (I ball parked that so no hate mail please) When I added up my sales from wood barter I felt guilty for not paying fees. At the end of September I would owe WB $400 if we paid like ebay sellers do. You can do the math and see what I made if you like. My point is we need your support to keep the ball rolling in a positive direction.

You can run a profitable business while donating to good causes and community services. I am not saying that anyone should forgo their local community needs and pour everything into wood barter. Just don't forget that you are a part of this community which needs the members to support sometimes thru cash and sometimes thru donations of time and talents. I would challenge every member no matter how new or old you may be to get involved in some little way and see what a big difference it will make. If I had to venture a guess we average 200 active member (each logging in 1-2 times per week) If each of those members could afford a $1 per month ($12 per year) That would be $2400 per year from just the active members aside from any donations, auctions or other fund raising event we would organize.
 
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  • #9
Auctions may not be legal either - but raffles are obvious games of chance and the state definitely shuts those down with their biggest hammers. The kind of fund rasing auctions we used to do probably did not pop up on their radar but if we ran raffles (which is a lottery pure and simple) I can gar-own-tee you they would discover that sooner or later, probably sooner rather than later, and wood barter would be shut down so fast our heads would spin.
 
Kevin said:
Auctions may not be legal either - but raffles are obvious games of chance and the state definitely shuts those down with their biggest hammers. The kind of fund rasing auctions we used to do probably did not pop up on their radar but if we ran raffles (which is a lottery pure and simple) I can gar-own-tee you they would discover that sooner or later, probably sooner rather than later, and wood barter would be shut down so fast our heads would spin.
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Ok, I'll go hide in a corner somewhere ....... :facepalm:
 
I won't insist, Kevin, but like those who have posted before would like to have a way to contribute in support of this site. Again, thank you for all you do to keep it up and running.
 
I'm with SENC:) Let us help and KISS... you know what I mean.
 
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  • #14
Okay you fellers claiming to want to use the button there ye be. I figured out how to install it - but not sure about the placement. I was trying to place it between the Forum Statistics and Share This Apge sections but it's right in our postbits. It seems kind of pushy to me. Impossible to miss for sure but seems too in-your-face. What do y'all think?

P.S. greg you cannot use the button for a long time man - if you do I will have to write some code where you cannot see it. :secret:
 
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Kevin said:
Okay you fellers claiming to want to use the button there ye be. I figured out how to install it - but not sure about the placement. I was trying to place it between the Forum Statistics and Share This Apge sections but it's right in our postbits. It seems kind of pushy to me. Impossible to miss for sure but seems too in-your-face. What do y'all think?

P.S. greg you cannot use the button for a long time man - if you do I will have to write some code where you cannot see it. :secret:
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WHAT!!! We will see about that! :telephone::telephone: Anybody want to help me launder some money into the WB account???
 
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Be happy to help, Greg, and will even reduce my normal laundering commission. Just PP me and I'll see to it that most of it gets to Kevin.
Treecycle Hardwoods said:
WHAT!!! We will see about that! :telephone::telephone: Anybody want to help me launder some money into the WB account???
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  • #18
Dang that donate button really works! We already got 3 generous donations. One from some :old: coger in the high desert plains of the PNW (the altitude must have got to him :sarcastic2:). One from some guy named Tom in the land of fruits and nuts :wacko3:. And one from a black & white faced snaggle-toothed guy in SE North Carolina. :crazy:

Thanks guys. I and we all appreciate your generosity. :hi2:
 
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  • #19
And now from a guy with the initials T from that state with all the crooked letters. Thanks Tim. :hi:

And whoa daddy - a serious chunk of change from some wood spinner in NY. That was uncalled for since he volunteers his time here. Well, seeing how we pay him all that boatload of dough I guess he can afford it. :rolleyes:
 
Maybe a monthly reminder that cow poop(fooled the filter) aint free- some crabby ol fart might have to try that- of course independently!!:yipee::yipee:
Also even though it is probably a dead subject- If we BANNED a certain few individuals from bidding- First and second auction had considerable number of folks bid and win items- it was fun- created lots of posts and interest- gathered a chunk of change. I will retire to my shop now.........................:sofa:
 
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