And Now, The Fundraiser

As many of you read earlier, we are looking seriously at how we are doing
things here and considering the future of the site and how to not only keep it
going but to make it more professional. We received a lot of feedback when we
discussed it earlier, and the basic ideas of either going to a subscription
base, or finding sponsors for the site, or doing a PBS-style fundraiser are
still the main notions, though we got an amazing number of suggestions for
things that had never occured to us, but that we are now considering. For now, what we're going to do is this.

For the next three weeks, we'll go with the PBS model, which means that you,
dear readers, may largely determine the direction we take. Our goal is to raise
a minimum of $15,000 over the next 21 days. We will likely schedule another one to coincide with the start of the season.

We've thought about this a bit and while what you pledge is up to you, we'd
like to suggest that you consider what the site is worth to you.

• a dime a day? That works out to 36.50 per year.
• a dollar a week? That works out to 52 dollars a year.
• .50 cents per day, the price of most newspapers? $182.50 a year.

Some of you had also suggested specific levels of giving, so we'd like to add
those as well

• $25.00 per year
• $50.00 per year
• $100.00 per year
• $500.00 per year

Other than that, we would say let your conscience be your guide. Also we heard
from a number of you who expressed a desire to help but who can't afford to.
We're working on a plan to let you contribute which would cost you nothing.

For those of you who would prefer to send a check, you can send it to this
address:

We'd like to just add a couple of notes. First of all, the response has been
quite heartwarming, particularly the many people who said that the site really
mattered to them. Thank you for those very kind comments.

Secondly, we also received inquiries from people who had interest in working
with the other models mentioned. We are researching those prospects and will of
course let you know what, if anything, comes of them.

Third, for those who do pledge, we are looking at things we can do which
would emulate the PBS model. It might be a mug or something like that, or it
could also be a sort of insider's newsletter. We're still looking at what we can
do. One of the things we've learned is that PBS doesn't actually pay for their
goodies, but we would likely have to cover that expense, so that will affect
what we can do. However, we do plan to have some options in that regard.

Finally, please make sure to identify yourself. PayPal sends your name
through, but we'd like to have your contact information too, and you'd have to
send that separately.

Thanks again! You guys are great!