[openbeos] Re: "One Hour for Haiku" - Coordinating Voluntary Cash Donors

Hi.
I suppose that the PayPal subscription service would suffice. Simply adding a PayPal "Subscribe" button to the Donations page on the Haiku website would be pretty easy, and would certainly be better than nothing. I just read up on it at the PayPal site.
Honestly, I think that it suffers from several deficiencies relative to my proposal.
It lacks publicity; the transactions are private and hidden, and nobody has any idea that I am making a small sacrifice each month to help out the project.
It is impersonal; I receive no regular communication (not even a form letter) from Haiku in connection with my financial commitment.
It furnishes none of the psychological benefits and incentives that come from membership in a group of voluntary contributors (camaraderie, feelings of belonging, doing good together, mutual recognition and respect, etc.).
It is removed from my direct control; my payments to Haiku Inc. would be entirely automated. My personal act of contribution would become a silent, faceless transaction between my credit card company and PayPal, completed without my intervention or agency, rather than a transaction between me and Haiku Inc. I might even forget about the fact of my subscription altogether -- until I find myself annoyed at that mysterious recurring charge on my credit card bill each month. The cash amount itself would be invariable (comparatively speaking), as would the timing of the donation. These latter factors, frankly, could frighten potential contributors away from initial participation because they effectively make greater demands on participants than an email reminder service. In other words, the PayPal thing *feels* like a bigger commitment, whether or not it actually is.
On the other hand, automated payments through PayPal subscriptions would certainly be funded each month -- just like clockwork...with mechanical precision...
Don't get me wrong. I'm not here to make a fuss or get myself all worked up. But I do believe that there are substantive differences between these two alternatives and I would be remiss to keep them to myself. Surely, either solution would represent a step forward from our present position. 

Best wishes,

Czeslaw






Simon Porter wrote:

Hi,
I did mention having a way of regularly donating to the project a long while ago but nothing came of it. I do like the idea of "One Hour for Haiku". People only need donate a small amount each and it can turn into quite a sizeable income for the project. I don't think sending out emails to a list of subscribers every month is necessary. As Michael mentioned you can subscribe through Paypal if its set up with a button on the site. Another thing I think people appreciate is some rough idea of how much money the project currently has and what its being used for. Maybe even set a goal to aim for each month like enough to pay for 1 developer to work on haiku full time. It was nice to see axel get paid to work full time a while ago. I think seeing such direct results would encourage people to donate. Navigation to the donation page seems pretty hidden as well. Could do with a link on the home page. Regards, Simon Porter 


 > Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:54:38 -0700
 > From: czapla@xxxxxxxxxxxx
 > To: openbeos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [openbeos] Re: "One Hour for Haiku" - Coordinating Voluntary Cash Donors 
 >
 > Hello, again.
 >
 > I'm thankful for the generally warm reception that my proposal has
 > received.
 >
 > Several of the responses have taken my simple proposal as a point of
 > departure, proceeding to elaborate more general ideas about
 > organizational development and the process of institutional maturation,
 > all of which is interesting and hopeful and potentially fruitful for the
 > future of the project. Clearly, Haiku has many dedicated and thoughtful
 > caretakers, most especially among the core contributors.
 >
 > But it would be a mistake to pose these various elaborations as
 > *prerequisites* to implementation of a simple membership donation
 > program like One Hour for Haiku. I must argue that it would be more
 > useful to think -- contrariwise -- of the membership donation program as
 > part of a *foundation* that could ultimately permit greater
 > organizational capabilities and maturity through improved financial
 > wherewithal.
 >
 > Keeping it simple, what I am proposing is really just an addition to the
 > Haiku website.

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