TOPIC: Donations & Pledges

This is a copy from a thread found on the General Phalloplasty Forum. I\'m posting it here in the Patient Support Group to get more visibility.

As some of you are aware, we used to have a PayPal Photo-Viewing & Donation system, but this no longer exists because PayPal deemed our site in violation of their Terms of Service. Likewise, most payment processors wont deal with us because our site is often times deemed adult-oriented.That leaves us with the dark world of high-risk payment processors, all of which only a handful are credible. Of those handful, start-up fees in the thousands are required in order to even begin taking donations, thousands I don\'t have.As of now the forum is okay financially, but only \"okay.\" My personal job situation is unpredictable and I\'m afraid by Spring my budget will only tighten. I\'m hoping I have a payment processor sorted out by then, but if not, I\'ve come up with an alternate (and temporary) plan of Pledges.You can submit a Pledge of any amount to this site and when some sort of method of payment is found or agreed upon, funds can be sent. I have created a new user account by the name of \"Pledge\" that you can private message with your donation amount. Be sure to also use the word \"Pledge\" as your subject line. I\'m not using my Private Message box since it\'s often times at capacity.You don\'t have to be a registered member to pledge, if you are a lurker without an account, you can forward your pledge to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. pledges, I can at least assess how much I\'ll eventually have for this site, and even assess the risk & reward of investing into a pricey high-risk payment processor for the long run.Feel free to make suggestions or ask questions. I will not be taking questions that pertain to the specifics of the forum\'s finances.Here\'s to a Pledging & Donating 2014!-S.O.

Bump.

I want to preface this rant by saying that what is about to follow is not aimed at previous donors, Moderators, or members with thorough & detailed progress reports.Two weeks since I\'ve posted this thread and only one confirmed Pledge. That is both sad & pathetic. How many here have made a decision to undergo (or avoid) a procedure based mostly (or solely) on the information gathered from this site?How many here have had questions that not even their personal physician/Urologist could answer adequately, but found some sort of direction through these forums? How many private messaged other members and moderators to gain greater insight and insider tips on everything from penis enlargement to scar tissue treatment?How many here visit this site enjoying the complete absence of penis pill adds promising 4 inches, the complete absence of physician ownership/affiliation, and the complete absence of spam, scams, and frauds?How many visit this site because they can\'t find an alternative source that even compares? Let alone free of charge.I\'m not asking for subscriptions (though one should wonder if I should), I\'m asking for Pledges. Right now we\'re in the process of figuring out a payment system, but there is no reason we can\'t commit to a sum of money in the interim.Minor contributors & lurkers alike: private message the member account named \"Pledge\" and type in your amount. Once we\'ve rolled out a payment system, you\'ll be contacted to fulfill that pledge. It\'s only the right thing to do. I can\'t keep running this site with little-to-no-community support and pretty sure most of you agree. Donations please.Thanks.

I had read this thread and I simply did not respond because I know I will be donating to this site anyway. I should have sent you a message just that you know I am on board, I am sure others feel the same.

If there is any other way for us to donate NOW, please let us know. I am always ready to do so. This is the best PE site ever.

I, like SO, ask people who read this to participate for the benefits of the many.

I will send you a note SO.

Thanks to you and the mods for an excellent Job!

S.O., sorry to hear that...I am surprised too. I would write a personal check to Miracle8 alone, who hooked me in w/ his major success from the same condition I had....even before I even really read everything else on here. There might be a few reasons, aside from money.

To send the pledge, people need to find that user to PM...which takes a few steps. In case they do not know how, they can just click here, which is a shortcut to Mr. \"Pledge\" who people can PM:
phalloboards.websitetoolbox.com/pm?userid=3027172

2. S.O. is working on a way to make this anonymous. This was my reason for being hesitant at first because PayPal will send your name whether you like it or not. Some porn sites let my CC process with a \"version\" of my name and a nearby address w/ the right zip code (I trust them even less w/ my name than I would S.O.)

3. People might not know what you\'re expecting. Are you gonna roll your eyes at $5? Is $30 too high? Maybe having a goal - or if you don\'t want to state exact financials, just put \"we\'re at x%\" or whatever every so often.

4. You might want to put \"Pledged\" below the screen name in the left margins of posts like you have \"premier donor\". The more people that pledge should encourage others. I actually felt like a dick for not being a donor since there were so many here.

I totally agree w/ you that being free of ads & doctor influence is critical...and having run a forum, it rarely pays for itself even with ads (though honestly I used iPage and it was cheap...but this has way more traffic so I don\'t know...iPage might be more hackable or less fast to load...not sure since my entire forum had like 30 people & was more of a work thing)

Anyway - just some thoughts hopefully that will help. I think people here would certainly give $10 but the thought might be - what are we gonna give this dude $1000 across everyone and then he has our real names - and the website costs $300 to run? It\'s the internet - people will assume the worst - especially if they haven\'t gotten to \"know\" you - but I\'ve seen your posts going back long enough. Who knows...or they just didn\'t have the link.

Also, to put it in context. It\'s $2500 for 1 round $2000 for round 2, $1500 for round 3. Travel expenses roughly 2000 for 3 rounds (low estimate so I can do easy math). So, $8000 for phalloplasty.. I think people can afford 0.25% of that for the place that led them there ($20).

Mustang2020 wrote: I had read this thread and I simply did not respond because I know I will be donating to this site anyway. I should have sent you a message just that you know I am on board, I am sure others feel the same.

If there is any other way for us to donate NOW, please let us know. I am always ready to do so. This is the best PE site ever.

I, like SO, ask people who read this to participate for the benefits of the many.

I will send you a note SO.

Thanks to you and the mods for an excellent Job!

Thanks Mustang, you\'ve contributed mightily to this site so I wouldn\'t even expect anymore from you, but if you wish to donate anyways, we will work something out

Restoration wrote: S.O., sorry to hear that...I am surprised too. I would write a personal check to Miracle8 alone, who hooked me in w/ his major success from the same condition I had....even before I even really read everything else on here. There might be a few reasons, aside from money.

To send the pledge, people need to find that user to PM...which takes a few steps. In case they do not know how, they can just click here, which is a shortcut to Mr. \"Pledge\" who people can PM:
phalloboards.websitetoolbox.com/pm?userid=3027172

2. S.O. is working on a way to make this anonymous. This was my reason for being hesitant at first because PayPal will send your name whether you like it or not. Some porn sites let my CC process with a \"version\" of my name and a nearby address w/ the right zip code (I trust them even less w/ my name than I would S.O.)

3. People might not know what you\'re expecting. Are you gonna roll your eyes at $5? Is $30 too high? Maybe having a goal - or if you don\'t want to state exact financials, just put \"we\'re at x%\" or whatever every so often.

4. You might want to put \"Pledged\" below the screen name in the left margins of posts like you have \"premier donor\". The more people that pledge should encourage others. I actually felt like a dick for not being a donor since there were so many here.

I totally agree w/ you that being free of ads & doctor influence is critical...and having run a forum, it rarely pays for itself even with ads (though honestly I used iPage and it was cheap...but this has way more traffic so I don\'t know...iPage might be more hackable or less fast to load...not sure since my entire forum had like 30 people & was more of a work thing)

Anyway - just some thoughts hopefully that will help. I think people here would certainly give $10 but the thought might be - what are we gonna give this dude $1000 across everyone and then he has our real names - and the website costs $300 to run? It\'s the internet - people will assume the worst - especially if they haven\'t gotten to \"know\" you - but I\'ve seen your posts going back long enough. Who knows...or they just didn\'t have the link.

Also, to put it in context. It\'s $2500 for 1 round $2000 for round 2, $1500 for round 3. Travel expenses roughly 2000 for 3 rounds (low estimate so I can do easy math). So, $8000 for phalloplasty.. I think people can afford 0.25% of that for the place that led them there ($20).

Great points! I will seriously consider all of them. I know (a lack of) anonymity can be a deal-breaker for some, so I\'m trying my best to find a solution for this problem. Even so, when we had PayPal up, no one\'s identity was compromised and I personally have no reason to reveal or share this information with anyone, and I\'d like to think my work here on these forums can vouch for my credibility despite my own anonymity. I hope some can make a small sacrifice (i.e. doing something they aren\'t normally comfortable with) for the greater good (i.e. this forum).

And this is to anyone out there, - if you know of a good method I could use to anonymously obtain funds to finance this site, please let me know via private message. This site isn\'t terribly expensive, but nor is it dirt cheap. It\'s not so much the cost(s) itself, it\'s the fact that I don\'t make a lot of money in my personal life while simultaneously making zero profit from this site. It\'s also the fact that this forum is a community-oriented site, further justifying mass contribution. Ideally I\'d like to have enough donations to create a surplus so that I know this site can sustain growth in the long term.

Thanks again for the message

This thread is just a copy of the original one found in the General Phalloplasty forum found here: phalloboards.websitetoolbox.com/post/pledges-donations-6704214

That\'s where the bulk of the conversation is going, so if you wish to add anything to this topic, use the link I just posted above. Thanks