It's getting to be that time of year again...

[Rachael]

As many of you know, DRD Team is a site that, because it functions as more than just a website, is hosted on a server that was extensible to the site's needs. However, it is rather pricey, and many of you know how I cannot afford to pay the full bill myself.

So ... it is time, once again, to ask for donations to ensure its continued operation into the future. If you wish to donate, there's always a link on the side of the front page. Or, if you are just reading this news post, you may click here.

The donation format has been changed to be a little different this year. My friend is still handling the money itself, however, to increase transparency and awareness into how it is done, I have started using a site that actually tracks the amount that people pay. This is so you can see, for yourself, first hand, how much money has been raised.

As always, the goal amount is $480 to completely pay the annual bills. That's $40/mo for 12 months. (For those of you wondering, Project Wonderful advertising has not attracted a lot of advertisers, so I didn't get more than about $15 since last year for it)

Thank you in advance, to everyone who contributes! And, if you need a site hosted here, feel free to ask. (Yes, some space has opened up over the past couple of years, so I can support more people now)

[Rachael]

Well, unfortunately, no one has donated yet, and I will have to either shut down or give this site away if no one does, because I do not have money to keep it going for more than a couple more months. I hope that does not mean the site has outlived its usefulness.

[Enjay]

Ooops, I forgot about this. Well, it's not much but at least you have a little something now.

I have to say that the Pledgie interface was a little off-putting. You don't have to sign in to Pledgie to actually pledge money but it does put a flash popup over the page when you try to pledge and it kind of makes it look like you need to log in. However, you can just dismiss the popup and continue on to make a Paypal payment.

[Rachael]

Thank you, Enjay. And yes it does help, every little bit does.

If Pledgie does become too much of a problem I'll go back to just straight Paypal ... I just thought that people might like to see how many, and how much, has been donated.

[Enjay]

I think Pledgie is a good idea but that extra step where it looks like you have to sign in (or open a Pledgie account)could be off-putting I suspect. I suspect that some people might get that far and then cancel if they think they have to open an account etc.

And just to repeat so I'm not being misleading: The sign in/start an account Popup can be dismissed and you can then go ahead and make your payment using Paypal in the usual way.

[Blzut3]

I just thought that people might like to see how many, and how much, has been donated.

Do you think it would help if instead of sending $5 every month if I just sent the entire $60 for the year during your donation drives?

Also, I added a link to the donation page on my website although I don't know how much of a help that will be.

[Rachael]

Well that is up to you, but honestly having the money staggered out over the year, I think, helps me a lot more than having it all at once.

[Paul]

It's not much but it's all I could do.

[Rachael]

Thank you