Where/how do I donate money to the forum?

[Chris]

More work has been completed as some of you will see towards this goal.
I would like to find an easy way people can donate without using Paypal due to the cut they take, and the fact that they have a poor track record of freezing funds.

Any ideas on this?

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by Chris

More work has been completed as some of you will see towards this goal.
I would like to find an easy way people can donate without using Paypal due to the cut they take, and the fact that they have a poor track record of freezing funds.

Any ideas on this?

Once there is a bank account, what is the problem? The record established to date can leave no doubts in respect of trust or security. Snail mail surely does not present any difficulties, particularly as there will be significant savings and probably less paper warfare.

[ensteele]

Originally Posted by Trevor

Once there is a bank account, what is the problem? The record established to date can leave no doubts in respect of trust or security. Snail mail surely does not present any difficulties, particularly as there will be significant savings and probably less paper warfare.

I would agree. Mail is just fine. Usually checks are not wanted when someone is selling something becasue they want it to clear before they ship the item. When someone is donating money, it is not a factor like that. All someone would need is an address and someone to deposit the money.

If something else can be figured out, that can come later.

[svxistentialist]

Originally Posted by Chris

More work has been completed as some of you will see towards this goal.
I would like to find an easy way people can donate without using Paypal due to the cut they take, and the fact that they have a poor track record of freezing funds.

Any ideas on this?

Here is a suggestion. Set up a club bank account, the usual stuff with two signatories or whatever. The Network Finance Officer can present a yearly audit and set of accounts.

Most of the finance donations would come from the large number of members in the USA, and checks would be easy.

For other donations in Euro, Sterling, Au dollars etc, I suggest you do use PayPal, as it is easy conversion. View the fee they take as service charge for conversion, and have the Finance Officer tasked with drawing funds from PayPal to the Network bank account on a regular basis so that there are no significant funds for them to freeze.

PayPal also has the benefit that people can pay using credit cards. This may not be easy with the bank account, though I am not familiar with your American banking system.

Joe

[Dengue]

I was told a few days ago that now has a paypal type feature set up, I don't know if it charges the same way as paypal, and I also don't know what is is called, ( checkout maybe?) but it might be worth a look.

[Tcat55371]

Sent a payment in thru PayPal just now because I saw the link in the front of this post, I didnt read this far into it until after. Hope their cut isnt to much.
My email is Thundercat55371@Yahoo if it doesnt make it

john
tcat55371

[TomsSVX]

just sent a few shingles your way... Hope it helps... I love this place

Tom

[Chris]

Someone here made a donation on January 14th. The money came through, but the email address does not match any registered user here. The domain part of the email address was nycap.rr.com
Worse yet, my email is hosed for the moment. I tried to email the person, but I doubt I will get a reply until I fix a problem tomorrow.

So, if the person would be so kind as to PM me what the first part of their email address was (as a form of authentication) listed on the paypal donation, I will upgrade their account to match that of the other donating members.

Thanks

[SVXdc]

Originally Posted by Dengue

I was told a few days ago that now has a paypal type feature set up, I don't know if it charges the same way as paypal, and I also don't know what is is called, ( checkout maybe?) but it might be worth a look.

It is, in fact, called Google Checkout. It is free for buyers, who register a credit card for payments. Google accepts major credit and debit cards, including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. The card info is not shown to the merchants.

For Google Checkout merchants, the fees are normally 20¢ per transaction plus 2%. However, through 12/31/2007 Google is waiving these fees.

The catch is that GCO is "designed primarily for transactions involving tangible goods. However, you may also process transactions for intangible goods (such as digital or downloadable products), services, subscriptions, and donations (if your organization is 501c3 tax-exempt)."

So you're back to needing 501(c)(3) status to be able to take donations.

[SVXdc]

I don't believe it is as difficult or costly as you think to register as a non-profit, especially if some qualified people donate their time to help compile the required paperwork. There are probably countless books and web sites that walk you through the process. I suggest starting a new thread looking for people to assist with that.

Incorporating is half of the effort, whether or not you register as a non-profit, and it sounds like you were going to do that anyway.

If you really do need an attorney at some point, we may turn up one who is a member who will provide the service for free, or at least someone who will charge a reasonable fee. You need to post the request prominently, though. I didn't notice this thread until I searched for the word "donation" today.

[SVXdc]

Another payment method that people may not realize they have available -- "bill pay" through their own bank account. Many banks' online bill pay systems will allow the accountholder to send a check to anyone (not just major utilities, credit cards, etc.). I've had someone buy a harness from me that way. It's similar to mailing a personal check, but is faster and easier (no envelope and stamp).

ING bank's new checking account allows the account holder to e-mail a link to someone that he wants to pay. The recipient goes to a secure website, enters his own checking account info, and the money is deposited electronically. Other banks may do this too.

[ensteele]

Thanks for that information David.

[DarknessofDeath]

i would have donated more but money is tight. REALLY tight

[SVXyGirl]

Donation on its way

I probably wouldn't have my SVX if I had not found this forum. Everyone has been so helpful and I am always grateful for any bit of info I can learn about my SVX.

Thanks to everyone!
Rebecca

[Budfreak]

So without having to go through all of this thread and piece things together, Where do we donate? Are you still taking paypal donations? Is there a minimum? What is this upgraded status or whatever that you get for donating?