[Theforum] Donations (WAS: RE: announcement)

[Marlene Bruce]

Hi Ken,

>It's unclear to me (and maybe the evolt community at large) just how
>donation money is handled. What's the process when money comes in?

Right now there is no defined process. Until one is settled on, the
money in PayPal will stay in PayPal, and any checks I receive will
probably have to sit in a folder un-deposited (they'd be made out to
"evolt.org"). This latter situation won't make any check-givers very
happy.

We've discussed a bank account on Finance and come to the conclusion
that a non-US account is the only way to go (given the tax/status
headaches here, since there's been resistance against filing for
non-profit status).

There's been discussion about opening an account in the UK (they are
much less strict about business status), and I've asked if someone
could open a UK account at one of the two banks discussed (since I'm
not in the UK myself), but have received no response (there are a
couple people on the Finance list who are in the UK and could
potentially open such an account).

If anyone here is in the UK and is willing to talk with the finance
list about helping in this regard, I'd be ecstatic.

>If Bob the Admin is paying $x/mo of the bandwidth, does Bob just keep my
>$10, and use $x-10 of his own money for that month? Or is there some sort of
>bank-account-type-thing going on behind the scenes?
>
>If I send money, I know it helps evolt. I'm pretty sure (at this point,
>anyway), it goes to pay for bandwidth. That's A Good Thing (tm). I'm just
>curious in the specifics -- for that matter, how do we pay the bills now?
>Does it all come out of a few people's personal pockets?

Right now Dan is paying for hosting and bandwidth, and will continue
to do so until the end of the year, or we find another alternative,
whichever comes first.

The answer to your questions SHOULD be:

* A bank account exists under the name "evolt.org." I have access to
the account and manage it appropriately, keeping the books
transparent enough that anyone can know the big picture of our
account activities (though individual supporters can maintain
anonymity if desired). In the case of my demise or incapacitation,
there are (at least) two other trusted people allowed access to the
account.
* We receive gift funds and deposit them in our bank account.
* Any bills and expenses (not just the hosting type) are paid for
from the account using my signature (as the evolt.org Treasurer), or
the signatures of the back-up people.

>I think educating the evolt community at large about these specifics might
>lead to more donations...

Valid point.

I've *twice* asked on DesDev for feedback on prioritizing a donation
page/system as our first goal for the site
(http://lists.evolt.org/desdevarchive/2002-June/000092.html). Such a
page would hopefully describe the specifics you outline above, and
would facilitate giving. However, both of my requests have been met
with almost complete silence. I can't do it all myself, and I don't
know how to motivate anyone to provide me with feedback or to even
communicate on the topic. I admit I'm at a loss as to how to proceed
(unless I *do* do it all myself, which given that I've got a
freelance gig and am in the midst of moving, won't be happening for a
while).

Thanks,
Marlene