[haiku] Re: Haiku Inc: Proposed Annual Budget
- From: "Jorge G. Mare" <koki@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: haiku@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:34:25 -0800
Hi Charlie,
Charlie Clark wrote:
I have to take issue with this claim. There is considerable evidence
from charities such as Oxfam that while this is true for individual
appeals (LiveAid, Children in Need, etc.) it also leads to donor
fatigue, PR-abuse and less donations per person per annum.
I don't know about Oxfam; I was referring specifically to Haiku. Back in
2008, when Haiku was getting approximately $100 per month (figure off
the top of my head) in general donations, the HCD donation drive
resulted in about $8K in just two weeks. From a fund raising POV, I
don't think there is any doubt that the HCD-style donation spurt was
much more effective.
Donor fatigue could be an issue, but only if you overdo it, something
that can be easily avoided.
It is essential to have a clear list of priorities and targets as you
say but accountability (what was it actually spent on and who decided)
is, in my opinion, more important than "earmarking" or "ring-fencing".
You can get into all kinds of problems, including legal ones as it can
count as misrepresentation or even fraud, collecting money for one
thing and using it for another.
Yes, you hit a sore point on the accountability issue. But in this
respect too, donations that are tied to very specific results are easier
to account for than unspecific donations, and as a result are less prone
to misuse.
However, some people will respond better to individual drives along
the lines of "We need your money for this now" rather than "Giving us
USD 5 a month will help do this, this and this..."
Since it is not an either or situation, I look at both donation methods
complementing rather than competing with each other; this would actually
cater to both those donation types.
Cheers,
Jorge/aka Koki
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