heavyharmonies Posted May 31, 2010 Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 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: Shipping and insurance of the prize is on me; CDs will be shipped without jewel cases to save on postage. At the end of the drive, donors will be listed on the donors page unless you prefer not to be listed. 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 HarmoniesP.O. Box 17212Urbana, IL 61803USA 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted May 31, 2010 Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockposer Posted May 31, 2010 Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavyharmonies Posted June 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormspell Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavyharmonies Posted June 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widda Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 I acutally have a pay pal now...so i need to get on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormspell Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swazi Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 Donated ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavyharmonies Posted June 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 Just donated Dan....thanks for everything you do on the site. Awesome stuff! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormspell Posted June 15, 2010 Report Share Posted June 15, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC_AOR Posted June 15, 2010 Report Share Posted June 15, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavyharmonies Posted June 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavyharmonies Posted June 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 23, 2010 Report Share Posted June 23, 2010 [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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavyharmonies Posted July 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2010 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted July 3, 2010 Report Share Posted July 3, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavyharmonies Posted July 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted July 3, 2010 Report Share Posted July 3, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavyharmonies Posted July 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglesfan3000 Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavyharmonies Posted July 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 Still waiting to hear what this poxy cd is Dan ;-) It had better be worth the wait lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 Looks like it's the Loveblast CD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.