Donation Poll

[derstuka]

Just curious, if a website (such as uutah.com) that is useful to you (informative, funny, etc..) would you consider offering a small donation in order to off-set the costs for the people running it? Cause lets face it, running a website is not free for the owners of it. It be a one dollar, or a ten dollar donation. Doesn't matter really.

Sure, this is not my website, nor do I do anything to maintain it, but I use it frequently, and it is very useful for information sharing and just to have fun. I mentioned to someone else that I was on a website that had a voluntary donation option to help off-set the costs. You would be surprised at how many people threw in a few bucks.

What are your opinions on this? Just to be clear, I am talking "voluntary" donations, not mandatory ones.

[Iceaxe]

:2thumbs:

[Reedus]

In fact I'll slap down cash right now if it would fix the problem we are having with this site. Freakin blows mid afternoon

[TreeHugger]

One of the sites I used to visit a lot is run by one guy who does all the work on it and administers it, etc (spokejunkies.com) and they would do things like sell t-shirts, bumper stickers, socks and stuff to raise money. The also have a big "openinig day" ride to start the season off every April - a good time for people to make donations.

No, it's not cheap to run a site like this and I think everyone who uses it regularly should donate money, particularly since it is just a hand ful of guys who put it up for all of us. The problem is how to get the $$. People are leary about sending money and stuff... maybe a PO box or something to mail a check or a five dollar bill to, or plan our own "opening day ride" get people to bring stuff to eat and collect there... I dont know.

I'd donate and I think it's a good idea.

(wow, that was long and wordy, wasnt it?) :-)

[derstuka]

The problem is how to get the $$. People are leary about sending money and stuff... maybe a PO box or something to mail a check or a five dollar bill to, or plan our own "opening day ride" get people to bring stuff to eat and collect there... I dont know.


One of the guys that ran the website that I used to belong to (a sportbike one) set up a paypal account so you could use a credit/debit card. Was pretty convenient. Just an idea.

Uutah could have a fund-raising day just like PBS at the end of every quarter! :ne_nau:

[Sombeech]

derstuka, you da man. :cool2:

[live2ride]

I think that Paypal is the way to go, that is the only way that I can honestly say I would get my ass to do it, I would love to donate and make sure that I don't keep on getting those error messages, and hey if there were enough donations maybe we could get some shirts made up for the regulars or for those that get together and ride. Even if there are no donations that ever take place I would definitely be in for getting a uutah.com jersey made up or something like that. Count me in!!!

[savanna3313]

How about putting a calendar together for sale featuring hot, sexy canyoneers?? :naughty:

That *full moon* photo posted a couple of weeks back could start it off.....oh, wait - I said hot, sexy canyoneers..... :roflol:

All kidding aside - how about a raffle of sorts? Everyone puts in (dollar amount here) and draw one name for a prize. Doesn't have to be anything pricey - like a year's subscription to Circle of Friends or something along those lines. :haha: The money raised goes into the website kitty.

Savanna

[greyhair biker]

I'm open to donations all the way - you guys do a great job & I will help out any way I can :bootyshake:

[icthys]

I would donate. This site has become my favorite forum and I've used much of the info here. I like the idea of hats or shirts.

[derstuka]

I think that t-shirts and hats are a great idea, :2thumbs: but unfortunately, the cost of making them (unless someone has a GREAT connection) can be quite high. I was trying to design some t-shirts for a club out here and it was cost-prohibitive to me pretty much. Unless I made a motherlode (then I run the risk of not selling them all), they were gonna be like 35-40 bucks a t-shirt to break even (I was only making like 10-12 shirts though), once you add up the cost of the shirt & the printing/designing services. Nobody wanted to pay that much for a t-shirt.. I am sure there is some way to make them cheaper, but I didn't spend anymore time on it. If someone does know a way, more power to them, and then it is feasible. I guess until then, paypal or some other method of transferring funds, looks more attractive.

[icthys]

There's got to be a way. Another forum I'm a memeber of puts out hats and they are only $12-13. I'm sure they aren't making anything and I'm certain they aren't pulling out of their pockets for them.

I bet I could get the design guy I work with to come up with the graphics for us and then we'd just have to find a place to print shirts and embroider hats.

[marc olivares]

make it easy and people will donate.

Paypal works the best, simple and clean

t-shirts and stickers are a great way for making money too but stay away from cafepress.com, their shit sucks (poor quality)

add a donation tab, i'll frequent it!


another 4x4 site i surf offers $20 a year memberships. the membership allows the users to post photos and lets them into backroom areas (like Shane's member canyon spot) and makes them eligible for raffles and fun give away shit. they get a red star by their user name to designate that they are a supporting member if the site.

just a thought

[icthys]

I went to "create your own lids" website. For a flex fit hat and text on the front it was $14 per hat. A graphic on the front would be more.

[derstuka]

I agree with Marc. Donating should be as simple as possible, but if the admin choose to also offer hats and shirts that could be a double bonus for them.

Or some of these inventions might make uutah some money! :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

[rock_ski_cowboy]

I don't know how much it costs to host a high volume site, but it seems that you might get a bunch of donations initially, but they'd taper off drastically over time unless people were reminded from time to time. I could see my self donating 20 bucks once a year or something if it continues to be useful and entertaining.

[James_B_Wads2000]

I'll reserve my opinions until I hear what accadacca has to say about it. From what I understand he is the one running this site.


James

[TreeHugger]

What about getting sponsors? For a price you could put a logo in the top right hand corner of each forum (across from the Climb-Utah.com logo). Maybe a bike shop in the cycling place, a ski company in the skiing forum, a jeep dealership in the 4x4 forum, etc.

[tatwood]

I think that Paypal is the way to go, that is the only way that I can honestly say I would get my ass to do it, I would love to donate and make sure that I don't keep on getting those error messages, and hey if there were enough donations maybe we could get some shirts made up for the regulars or for those that get together and ride. Even if there are no donations that ever take place I would definitely be in for getting a uutah.com jersey made up or something like that. Count me in!!!

Love the jersey idea. It's a good one. I think paypal is the best donation route. I wouldn't hesitate as much with that as I would with some of the other options. What about a bake sale? :haha:

[live2ride]

What about a bake sale? :haha:[/quote]

or a drug sale? j/k that wasn't funny

[Sombeech]

I think the generosity is great. However, I am willing to chip in the monthly fee, probably until the costs are completely covered by sponsors, Google Ads, or uutah.com merchandise.

Tonight, I will be designing some logos to go on T-Shirts, stickers, and whatever we can get our hands on for cheap.

You probably won't see the finished product for a while though, because our main purpose is to get the forum moved and then redesign it for sponsors.

Then, once we're settled in, we can throw the merchandise out there.


http://uutah.com/forum/files/uutah.gif

I like the text style, and I'd like to use something like this. I may remove the lightning bolt, so they won't think it's "U/UTAH.com". I'll incorporate it somewhere though.

[marc olivares]

Please don't clutter this nice clean site up w/ a bunch of bullshit google ads.
nothing worse than a website w/ a bunch of ads. a few discrete sponsor ads are great, but as a member i'd much rather pay a membership fee or buy supporting merchandise than to have to look at a bunch of flashing ****ing ADS....
keep the site pure and let the members support it.

[shaggy125]

The tiny text based Google ads aren't too bad, but I agree, I HATE sites cluttered with ads. That's one reason I like Google so much, go to their home page and it's clean as a whistle. Back in the day I used GORP.COM, now it's so cluttered with ads I wouldn't use the site if you paid me. Here is an idea, last summer we had a uutah barbecue, we could do that again this summer, only this time you can sell t-shirts and maybe have everyone give a donation for burgers or drinks or whatever.

Eric.

[DickHead]

The problem is how to get the $$. People are leary about sending money and stuff... maybe a PO box or something to mail a check or a five dollar bill to, or plan our own "opening day ride" get people to bring stuff to eat and collect there... I dont know.


One of the guys that ran the website that I used to belong to (a sportbike one) set up a paypal account so you could use a credit/debit card. Was pretty convenient. Just an idea.

Uutah could have a fund-raising day just like PBS at the end of every quarter! :ne_nau:

+1
I'm too lazy to smack a check in the mail, and will forget....but paypaling a couple bucks is a no brainer.

[rockgremlin]

Ya, if you do go with banner ads, make them discrete and not blatantly annoying.

Something along the lines of how the Climb-Utah website link is posted is appropriate and not overbearing.

[greyhair biker]

A big group get together something like semi annually would be good...not too many & just enough to balance the year.. do a pot luck or something at a park or the canyons & have swag. Problem: having lots of swag to sell & not enough people show...you have lots of extras. An initial purchase of stuff would be the expense. I'll do some checking with my suppliers & ad agencies that want me to buy from them & see what's up. You might want to check with Shuntavi & see what sources he's got with his bike shop..just a thought :nod:

[Sombeech]

Please don't clutter this nice clean site up w/ a bunch of bullshit google ads.

I agree. I'm a member of maybe 20 forums. On some of them, it's hard to tell where the flippin' forum subjects are, because all you see is ads.

Google ads are really small, but still, the forum content comes first. Keep in mind, the ads are only an option right now, and not a definite. We may end up coming up with the funds in different ways.

Your opinions about this stuff are good to hear. I think acca is staying out just to see what everybody says about it.

[rockgremlin]

What's a ballpark figure for the kind of expenses we're looking at here? If it's only like $50, then not too big of a problem - I'll cut you off a check and you can call it an early Christmas present. :haha: If it's a couple hundred bucks or more than yeah...let's consider the funding options.

[marc olivares]

What's a ballpark figure for the kind of expenses we're looking at here? If it's only like $50, then not too big of a problem - I'll cut you off a check and you can call it an early Christmas present. :haha: If it's a couple hundred bucks or more than yeah...let's consider the funding options.

X2...i'd pay up to any site that allows me to pimp my photos of baked guinea pig...LOL especially to keep ads off of :nod:

[accadacca]

Yeah, you know I built the site as a hobby and to stay in touch with friends, meet new ones and plan trips in the outdoors. I really love hearing about other members trips and seeing the pictures. Also getting into new sports that take me to new places in the outdoors. I think Eddie Money said it best,

[Reedus]

I am interested in a ballpark figure too. I think we have enough generous souls on here that we could cover the cost immediately to get this forum rollin smooth. :rockon:
What are we talkin bill wise, Acca?

[TreeHugger]

Check out www.mmba.org - their opening page has their sponsors boxed up about 3/4s of the way down. Unobtrusive, and out of the way. You could put them up across from the Climb.utah logo in a similar way, and leave it at that. I think 2 or 3 good sponsors might pay the bill ay? That wouldnt look too bad.

[Mtnbiker]

Check out www.mmba.org - their opening page has their sponsors boxed up about 3/4s of the way down. Unobtrusive, and out of the way. You could put them up across from the Climb.utah logo in a similar way, and leave it at that. I think 2 or 3 good sponsors might pay the bill ay? That wouldnt look too bad.

Yeah I like what they did with theirs too, K.

Uutah rocks and I agree let's keep this baby clean if we can. I'd rather see the rotating picture bar at top then 5 billion ads for stuff I'd never buy. I'd pay definitely. I can't remember who said it, but I agree this has become my favorite forum as well. :2thumbs:

Acca, great work, and if we do hold some sort of fundraiser I'm sure you'd have plenty of volunteers.
:rockon:

[Iceaxe]

If you are just looking to pay the bills so there is no out of pocket expense I say put up a PayPal donation link and then hit up the membership once or twice a year when the bills are due. I think you will be amazed at the amount of support you get.

Probably just the top sticky in "all about uutah" with a nice note stating what it is will work...... then once or twice a year just post a note in the general section stating its time to pay the bills and some help would be appreciated if everyone wants to keep the forum ad free and free to use.

Just my 2 cents

[derstuka]

If you are just looking to pay the bills so there is no out of pocket expense I say put up a PayPal donation link and then hit up the membership once or twice a year when the bills are due. I think you will be amazed at the amount of support you get.

Probably just the top sticky in "all about uutah" with a nice note stating what it is will work...... then once or twice a year just post a note in the general section stating its time to pay the bills and some help would be appreciated if everyone wants to keep the forum ad free and free to use.



Exactly what I was talking about. Having a fundraising period(s) during the year when necessary. As Iceaxe has stated, I don't think that uutah will have a problem with people giving donations as long as a method is offered to do so.

So uutah admin...if you put up a link for people to easily/securely pay, you'll get money for expenses & improvements no doubt about it. Depending on how big you want this website to grow, uutah stickers would be a cool thing to offer also. Stickers are usually inexpensive as well.

[Sombeech]

uutah stickers would be a cool thing to offer also. Stickers are usually inexpensive as well.

I'm tossing a few ideas around.

[Sombeech]

And another rough draft...

[accadacca]

Was this you that I spotted at the beach? :bandit: :lol8:

http://www.louisville.edu/~rkgill01/images/sombrero.JPG

[Sombeech]

Was this you that I spotted at the beach? :bandit: :lol8:

No, I would have had "uutah.com" sunburned onto my stomach.

[greyhair biker]

the artwork ess muy bueno! -- that codpiece would hurt...but it'd be airy :banana:

[Windwalker]

I was wondering how this site was financed. Out of pocket?? Your kidding!!
I visit only one other, that being utahgeocachers.com because of my addiction to geocaching. It's about a 80/20 split for my time, the 80 being here at uutah, I generally just read w/o logging on. Having never meet any of you other than my friend Udink, I'm assuming I'm probably the ole man of uutah readers. But I get the biggest kick out of you young pups, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Of course I'll step up and write a check. ................ Sombeech, you keep track of 20 or so sites?? Man where do you find the time??

[accadacca]

It's about a 80/20 split for my time, the 80 being here at uutah.
:lol8: I guess my clever spam worked over there. At least that is what I was accused of..... :haha: I will get some sort of donation program going soon...perhaps. I just feel all dirty taking your money. But, hell it does take money (yes out of pocket) and the big one my TIME. Which is worth BIG $$$$ if you catch my drift and sometimes lots of this.... :compthrow:

Good to have you here for 80%. I really love the daily banter over here as well. I am sure that we will have some uutah gatherings this year. I would like to meet some of the uutah hoodlums. :five:

[Windwalker]

and the big one my TIME. Which is worth BIG $$$$ if you catch my drift and sometimes lots of this...:

Can't do much about your time schedual, but if you feel your wife is neglected I might arrange to take her out to dinner for you... Just need to clear it with my wife...... :roflol: Yes, like that's going to happen. OK, I quess your on your own again.

[Sombeech]

Sombeech, you keep track of 20 or so sites?? Man where do you find the time??

Like you, I'm on here most of the time. I depend on emails to tell me whether or not somebody has replied to my posts.

The other forums aren't as exciting as this one, so I'm usually in and out of there.