And so it begins... 2010 Heavy Harmonies Donation Drive

[heavyharmonies]

Once again it's that wunnerful time of the year, time for the annual Heavy Harmonies donation drive. It's a major part of what enables HH to remain free for everyone to use.

 

Keeping the site going costs some bucks, and as you can see from the donations page, it's not uncommon to go a month or so with hardly any donations at all... it's this annual drive that really does the trick. Last year's donation drive generated about $1,200 in donations, covering roughly half of the year's operating expenses.

 

I had hoped that we'd see an economic turnaround since last year's drive, but unfortunately things still suck for most folks, so I understand it's tough for people to donate.

 

In addition to the hard server costs, there are additional monthly fees for this board and the radio station feed.

 

All told, my costs now run about $225 a month.

 

The donation drive will run through July 15.

 

Since there were a couple of people who utilized the new $50 donation button for donations, there is now a new top tier of donors, "Platinum Donors" for those who donate $50 at a shot and those are listed at the top of the Donors Page.

 

 

I'm going to hold a drawing again this year for a Box O' Krappy CDs, but I'm going to do it with a twist:

 

If you've been reading THIS THREAD, you'll know that I've recently bumped Treat - Coup de Grace from its spot as #1 contender for HH CD of the year. The question on everyone's mind is "Who's now #1?"

 

When you make a donation, in the notes section of the donation you can make a guess as to which CD you think I've now put in the top slot. At the end of the donation drive, I will reveal the answer, and all those who guessed correctly will be placed in the drawing for the Box O' Krappy CDs.

 

Multiple donations and multiple guesses are of course encouraged.

 

The CD in question to guess may or may not be in the HH database. It may or may not be part of the radio feed. It HAS been mentioned in discussions here on the HH board.

 

Standard notes and disclaimers on the prize package and the donation drive:

 

 

1. Shipping and insurance of the prize is on me; CDs will be shipped without jewel cases to save on postage.
    
   
2. At the end of the drive, donors will be listed on the donors page unless you prefer not to be listed.
    
   
3. PayPal donation links are found at the top of all the pages on the main site, or if you'd prefer to send a money order, check, or cash (not recommended, but I know some people prefer to do so), you can make payable to Dan Harding and send to:
    
   Heavy Harmonies
   P.O. Box 17212
   Urbana, IL 61803
   USA
   

 

Regardless of the form of the prize, please donate because you enjoy using the site, not because you think you might win a prize.

 

Once again, your support is greatly appreciated!

 

-Dan

[Dave]

[Rockposer]

I certainly get my money's worth from the site and gladly donate to keep it running. A big thank you to Dan for all his hard work.

[heavyharmonies]

Update after a week. The donation drive has raised $250 thus far, or a little over one month's worth of operating expenses. All donations, no matter how large or small, are gratefully appreciated!

 

Thanks,

 

-Dan

 

P.S. No one has correctly guessed the CD yet.

[stormspell]

Ugh, I've made my donation before reading this thread, so I'll go ahead and post my guess here:

 

Avantasia, Bombay Black, or Wig Wam...

[heavyharmonies]

Ugh, I've made my donation before reading this thread, so I'll go ahead and post my guess here:

 

Avantasia, Bombay Black, or Wig Wam...

 

Ya needs to pick one... or make 2 more donations.

 

-Dan

[Widda]

I acutally have a pay pal now...so i need to get on it

[stormspell]

Ugh, I've made my donation before reading this thread, so I'll go ahead and post my guess here:

 

Avantasia, Bombay Black, or Wig Wam...

 

Ya needs to pick one... or make 2 more donations.

 

-Dan

 

Alright, fair enough. I'll drop some more cashos before the end of the drive

[Swazi]

Donated ......

[heavyharmonies]

Ugh, I've made my donation before reading this thread, so I'll go ahead and post my guess here:

 

Avantasia, Bombay Black, or Wig Wam...

 

Ya needs to pick one... or make 2 more donations.

 

-Dan

 

 

Nah, I was just funnin' with ya. Your first donation was large enough.

 

Thanks,

 

-Dan

[Glen]

Just donated Dan....thanks for everything you do on the site.

 

Awesome stuff!

 

Cheers

[stormspell]

Ugh, I've made my donation before reading this thread, so I'll go ahead and post my guess here:

 

Avantasia, Bombay Black, or Wig Wam...

 

Ya needs to pick one... or make 2 more donations.

 

-Dan

 

 

Nah, I was just funnin' with ya. Your first donation was large enough.

 

Thanks,

 

-Dan

 

You are welcome. I hope you can raise enough to completely offset the annual cost!

 

I actually got an idea I'll be PM you about in a bit.

[JC_AOR]

I've now made a donation (wish I could have given more) but every bit must help some.

 

Now for my guess of Dan's new no. 1 album for 2010:

 

I was going to say Avantasia but instead I'll go with Grand Illusion.

[heavyharmonies]

I've now made a donation (wish I could have given more) but every bit must help some.

 

Every donation helps and is appreciated. Some people can afford more than others; and some people are more comfortable donating than others. That's fine, it's a personal choice.

 

Whether it's a $2 donation or a $500 donation (I wish! ), they all help support the site.

 

Thanks to everyone who has donated (and even to those who don't donate, but participate in the HH community)!

 

-Dan

[heavyharmonies]

Update at the half way point in the donation drive:

 

A bit over $500 has been donated thus far, enough to cover a bit over 2 months of expenses. This puts us a bit behind last year's pace, but I sorta expected that.

 

To those who have donated so far, THANK YOU!

 

To those who haven't donated, I now have to pull the obligatory guilt trip and sniffle and cry, and make up a story on how my ailing grandmother needs a liver transplant, yadda yadda yadda.

 

Seriously though, whether it's $5, $10, $20, or more, every bit helps, and the voluntary donations help keep HH free for everyone.

 

Heck, $20 is roughly the equivalent cost of one CD (yeah, I realize that $15 is closer but I don't have a $15 donation button so work with me here) and the donation drive is only once a year.

 

So if ya uses HH and ya likes it, howsabout ya pony up to the bar and pays yer tab?

 

 

[seriously though, all assistance is appreciated and I'm just trying to spur it on a li'l bit, that's all. ]

 

-Dan

[Dave]

 

 

[seriously though, all assistance is appreciated and I'm just trying to spur it on a li'l bit, that's all. ]

 

-Dan

 

It worked on me !!!!!

A bit more just sent your way

[heavyharmonies]

Comin' down the home stretch with 2 weeks left to go in the donation drive.

 

Donations have fallen off a bit, to be expected. Total donations thus far amount to $635, which will cover just short of 3 months of operating costs.

 

The ending total of last year's drive was about double this amount, so I'm hoping Santa drops in early this year.

 

Thanks to everyone who has donated!!

 

-Dan

 

P.S. Thus far ONE person has correctly identified the CD in question. I'm shocked actually...

[Jeff]

Hey Dan, do you have a rough idea of how many fairly "active" members there are and what he average donation amount from each you would need in order to hit the goal?

 

Or maybe that is something you don't even want to venture to guess.

[heavyharmonies]

Hey Dan, do you have a rough idea of how many fairly "active" members there are and what he average donation amount from each you would need in order to hit the goal?

 

Or maybe that is something you don't even want to venture to guess.

 

Yikes. I wouldn't know where to start. First of all, the message board and the main site are two separate systems, and there are people that use one but not the other. More importantly, the main site does not require anyone to create an account in order to use it, which is a deliberate decision, so I have no idea.

 

Like everything else on the internet, less than 5% of the usership actually contributes. There's a mistaken notion that everything on the Internet is free: "Since nothing on the Internet costs anyone anything to make it, why should I donate?"

 

Not exactly.

 

Oh well, no sense in my grousing; it is what it is. 'Tis the nature of the beast.

 

-Dan

[Jeff]

Understood.

Plus, you not only have your actual costs but also a lot of time put into maintaining that does not get recovered.

 

What I was thinking was if there was a rough idea for the active board members I wondered if you might get better results if you said something like "There are about 200 of you that are fairly active (you know who you are) and if you could afford $20 that would reach the goal".

 

And maybe that number is not $20, maybe it is more, maybe less, but it gives a each person a number in their mind. Just a thought, not sure if it would work for the better or not.

[heavyharmonies]

Understood.

Plus, you not only have your actual costs but also a lot of time put into maintaining that does not get recovered.

 

What I was thinking was if there was a rough idea for the active board members I wondered if you might get better results if you said something like "There are about 200 of you that are fairly active (you know who you are) and if you could afford $20 that would reach the goal".

 

And maybe that number is not $20, maybe it is more, maybe less, but it gives a each person a number in their mind. Just a thought, not sure if it would work for the better or not.

 

It's a solid idea, but it doesn't take into consideration each individual person's financial state. I would think that for someone making six figures, $50 or $100 once a year is nothing, but for someone making $20K-40K, that might be a bit out of reach; $10-20 is probably more in line with reasonable.

 

Apparently there aren't many affluent people using Heavy Harmonies. I guess I need to tap into the symphony-going classical music crowd.

 

-Dan

[eaglesfan3000]

There you go Danny boy.

 

Hell, the money I've spent on CD's after joining this site you should be paying me.

 

Jokes boss....jokes.

[heavyharmonies]

There you go Danny boy.

 

Hell, the money I've spent on CD's after joining this site you should be paying me.

 

Jokes boss....jokes.

 

Why I oughtta...

[Glen]

Still waiting to hear what this poxy cd is Dan ;-)

 

It had better be worth the wait lol!

[Geoff]

Looks like it's the Loveblast CD?