# Cycle-Chat Donations - How About Subscriptions?



## John the Monkey (10 Jun 2009)

As title really - Rick Smith has one of these for the Yehuda Moon strip (I think his is something like $3 a month).

I think it works via paypal, and is basically a set up and forget thing (good for forgetful people like me). The subscriber can cancel at any time, and the method has the plus of a regular amount going into the pot each month. 

(Rick's content is still free to view, subscribers just get the happy feeling of supporting him on an ongoing basis).


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## Shaun (10 Jun 2009)

Of the various revenue generating ideas that were discussed, _subscriptions_ and _donations_ were the two front runners. Firstly, because they kept the funding _in-house_ (we power ourselves and are not at the mercy or control of outside sources), and secondly because they allow us better control over the revenues generated.

Subscriptions is still on the cards as a fall-back if the voluntary donations thing doesn't work out, but I thought we could try the "what you can, when you can, if you want to" approach initially.

As and when my business picks back up (I'm confident it will) we may well be able to suspend fund raising altogether, but it's not such a bad idea for CC to have a pot of its own and be self-funding; it makes for more secure foundations for the site and the community that's built up around it, and could, depending on how we grow, allow us to do other things.

Cheers,
Shaun


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## Danny (10 Jun 2009)

It would be helpful to know how much money you need to raise to keep CC going.

Also, to build on the them of "owned and operated by cyclists" you could consider establishing CC as some form of mutual enterprise and sell "shares" or annual memberships.


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## Shaun (10 Jun 2009)

Danny said:


> It would be helpful to know how much money you need to raise to keep CC going.



Ta da ... http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=36107


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## oxbob (10 Jun 2009)

£5 per yr from 1500 members(that is approx 1/4 of total members here) would raise £7500, more than enough to keep the site running and leave funds over for etc, freebie t shirt/calander blah blah for subscribers, advertising of site, hire of beer marquee for get togethers blah blah.You get the idea tho


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## Danny (10 Jun 2009)

Admin said:


> Ta da ... http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=36107


When I first looked at it you had received no donations so I could not derive what the total might be.

According to my maths, the total target is £6k.


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## Crackle (10 Jun 2009)

This has not attracted much debate, perhaps a link from the caff might do the trick.

For myself I've seen a forum move over to a membership subscription, total war broke out. It's survived and is doing well but it spawned a few other fora from pee'd off members. It too went down the route of voluntary subscriptions first and it was many of the voluntary people who vehmently opposed membership.

All that said this is not the same kind of forum, membership on the other forum generated discounts and access to various databases, there's less of that here so I think a voluntary donation is the way to go. For myself I have no issue with this, I derive a great deal of pleasure from this forum and have no objection to making a donation (just as soon as I can wring some blood from this stone).

Now the one thing I would say from watching what happened on the other forum, is that once you start paying money you feel as though you should own a slice of the action. This became pretty evident when the forum owner pressed ahead with his plans in the face of some vociferous objections.

Like I said before, can't see that happening here but it is a can of worms.


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## Crackle (10 Jun 2009)

Oh. I should point out that I don't use the other forum anymore. I paid for a year and then never went back as there were others free that did the same thing and this is the risk of membership.


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## Arch (10 Jun 2009)

Danny said:


> When I first looked at it you had received no donations so I could not derive what the total might be.
> 
> According to my maths, the total target is £6k.



Um...

"Our current CycleChat donation drive total is £1200."


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## oxbob (10 Jun 2009)

Danny said:


> When I first looked at it you had received no donations so I could not derive what the total might be.
> 
> According to my maths, the total target is £6k.


We are not paying for his Bahamas holiday are we


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## oxbob (10 Jun 2009)

Uncle Mort said:


> I doubt he'd get a P&O minitrip to Zeebrugge!


PMSL!!


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## HelenD123 (10 Jun 2009)

It's definitely worth a donation for what I've got out of it!


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## Dayvo (10 Jun 2009)

I might be in England soon, so I'll send a cash donation to Shaun!

Got plenty out of this site!


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## Sittingduck (10 Jun 2009)

I don't like the idea of subs myself (unless they are the 12 inchers from that sandwhich shop). Voluntary donations are the way to go IMHO and you may be surprised how much will be collected via this method 

Cheers
SD


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## palinurus (10 Jun 2009)

Well I hadn't even seen the donation totaliser thingy until I read this thread.

Worth a punt, it helps me get through lunchtime. And the afternoon slump.


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## Bman (10 Jun 2009)

£1200 seems a bit steep at first glance, but I dont know all the ins and outs or how long that pot would last. This site is very reliable. It's hardly ever down, never seems to hang and seems to be on a nice stable connection. These things do cost, but perhaps CC could be more efficient? 

Anyway, I wouldnt like subscriptions or a members fee. My suggestions are as follows:

Donations
Adverts for non-members (membership still free)
Promotion for donors
Perks or bonus' for promoted users. (e.g. custom titles)


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## Bman (11 Jun 2009)

Another suggestion: 

Selling/awarding sub domains to users/donors

Im sure a few users would be happy with <username>.cyclechat.co.uk


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## Danny (11 Jun 2009)

Arch said:


> Um...
> 
> "Our current CycleChat donation drive total is £1200."


At the risk of being pedantic, I think it would be clearer if it said.

"Our current CycleChat donation drive *target* is £1200"

At least that's what I now assume Admin means.


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## John the Monkey (11 Jun 2009)

I'm not suggesting that the ad-hoc donation be scrapped, just that forgetful folk like me would quite happily have an automated process that bungs £3 (say) in the pot every month, rather than remembering to make a donation. It does seem to work on Yehuda Moon without any ill feeling being generated.


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## grhm (11 Jun 2009)

I too like the idea of having a recurring donation option.

I'm not sure about offering perks/bonuses to paying members, it can generate bad feeling and discourage new comers.

I'd like to see the option for a one-off adhoc donation extended to include an option to make it recurring. Maybe not specifing a set amount. i.e. at the moment it a donate what you want/can afford. Add an option that says One-off/monthy/annually.

Then some will opt for a one-off donation, others (like JtM and myself) could opt to donate what they choose on a regular basis - i.e. JtM maybe happy paying £3/month, someone else might only be happy paying £5/yr.


As an aside, Cyclogs recently asked for donations. Part of their request stated something like "if every active member donated £1 that would cover the costs for a year." How many active members do we have? How much does CC cost to run? If its a small number, I suspect many regulars would volentarily donate more. Providing a figure for the running costs per active user per year, would provide a suggestion. People to could opt for less if they wanted, but some may like to feel they are donating more than enough to secure CC's future and encourage new (non-donating) member to become part of the community.

Just thinking out loud.


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## Crackle (11 Jun 2009)

grhm said:


> I'm not sure about offering perks/bonuses to paying members, it can generate bad feeling and discourage new comers.



Agree about that, it does.


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## longers (11 Jun 2009)

Crackle said:


> Agree about that, it does.



Being here and enjoying the facilities is the only thing I would want from any donation, be it a one off or regular payment.

Keeping the place free of adverts would be high on my list of reasons to donate.


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## Sittingduck (11 Jun 2009)

longers said:


> Being here and enjoying the facilities is the only thing I would want from any donation, be it a one off or regular payment.
> 
> *Keeping the place free of adverts would be high on my list of reasons to donate.*



Wise words from the sailing mule


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## Speicher (11 Jun 2009)

longers said:


> Being here and enjoying the facilities is the only thing I would want from any donation, be it a one off or regular payment.
> 
> Keeping the place free of adverts would be high on my list of reasons to donate.



+ 1 or is that + 2 with SD?


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