Deety
Head Coach
It's spring! Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, and it's time to plant some seeds in BuckeyePlanet's fiscal garden. (How's that for imagery?)
Quick link to donation page
Thank You, 2009 Donors!
First, a GIGANTIC thank-you goes out to everyone who participated in the 2009 drives. The 2009 Spring Drive and Holiday Drive brought in a combined total of $16,707.98. The number of donors participating rose from 161 in 2008 to 245 in 2009, a wonderful and hopefully growing trend that shows the community's commitment to supporting the free and volunteer-driven resource that is BP.
Donations paid for BP's bandwith, server maintenance/upgrades, software licenses, and the next version of our forum software. Even more significantly, BP was able to help sustain the Bryant household throughout the year, providing for expenses not otherwise covered, putting a dent in medical bills, and helping to fill in gaps resulting from reductions in their online work opportunities.
BuckeyePlanet: A Free Community
Once more, BP pulled together to make it all possible while remaining a completely FREE site full of community-driven updates, information, articles, games, activities, and more. BuckeyePlanet has built a reputation across the larger college football community to be a place to find the most thorough and well-written Game Previews around, an atmosphere that respects the student athletes and their families, and a place to relax and have loads of fun. We take pride in the fact that BuckeyePlanet has become a true community of people working together, sharing information, and forming friendships. For this also, thanks to everyone who makes BP great!
For those of you deciding on a first-time donation, please consider that we have many of the same expenses as the pay sites, and yet because the community volunteers its work, we ask for and exist on a much, much smaller budget that covers only direct expenses of the site and a portion of personal expenses of its owner, and the latter only once his medical condition made it absolutely necessary to do so. If you give to those who make you pay for access, won't you please consider a voluntary donation to support a free and open community?
Looking Forward: 2010 Drive Goals
As the goal for this year's Spring Drive came under discussion, a few changes affected expenses. Bandwidth costs will continue to increase, and workforce cutbacks mean fewer hours available for Will and Jo to supplement monthly expenses. In short, expenses are up all the way around.
On the flip side, BP has garnered some important benefits in terms of managing fundraising timing; for the first time, the drive cycle and other factors have brought us to the point where we are starting a drive with a 2-month lead time before current funds run out, rather than immediate need. While still tight, the ability to know even those couple of months are in place is a huge psychological benefit for which BP is to be thanked. The other benefit is also timing-based. A new arrangement for ad income will give us known, dependable baseline income for the first time. It's a modest amount, however, the ability to budget and forecast with known quantities is a tremendous benefit.
Looking to keep the goal as restrained as possible, we hammered away at the expense list and chipped away everything that wasn't absolutely a dealbreaker right now. The goal as it currently stands covers basic current expenses for BP and the Bryant household, and at this time is not set to cover Will's dental work or any paydown of medical bills. We also reviewed the income side and gambled a bit on ad income projections, to an extent which seems reasonable if not as conservative as we might like for budgeting purposes. The resulting goal has zero cushion to it, yet will cover the essentials to keep BP and the Bryants moving forward into the next football season (may it arrive swiftly). This goal aims at covering expenses for the remainder of 2010. It is anticipated that there will also be a Fall Drive to boost BuckeyePlanet through next Spring Drive, but that it will be a smaller one, adjusted based on actual Spring Drive income and ads sold for football season.
SPRING DRIVE GOAL: $10,000
Looking Forward: Site Goals
BuckeyePlanet is also ready for some upgrades. The server on which we run was purchased by BP members in 2005, and we've grown tremendously both as a community and as a site since that time. Our resident server gurus have indicated that the time is nigh to prepare for an upgrade to ensure continuing service of the site, and so the second part of the Spring Drive will be the Server Drive. The goal for the server drive is based on a ballpark figure for a server and setup. Those of you with server experience are very much needed at this point to provide guidance in selecting the best possible setup for BP. The discussion thread is here.
SERVER & SETUP GOAL: $4,000
Ideally, we would like to do the server upgrade at the same time as the forum upgrade, and do that over the summer to be ready for the football season. This plan is dependent on meeting the goals in time.
The BP staff has agreed that the priority is the Spring Drive, as covering the monthly expenses of BP and the man who makes it all possible is essential to the community's existence. To ensure this priority is met while progress is made on the server project, we will be setting aside 10% of the donations received each month for the server until the Spring Drive goal is met, and then allocate 100% to the server until either it is completely covered or the Fall Drive begins.
Clarity Update
If you've been a member here for any length of time, you likely know that BuckeyePlanet's founder has been faced with a host of serious medical issues, for many years without the access to health care necessary to treat his illness or even cleanly diagnose it. Due in no small part to the contributions of BuckeyePlanet members, the situation has improved as the disability benefits battle was finally won, and along with it the first real access to health care in many years. This has led to a working diagnosis that will hopefully provide answers and improvement going forward. For those who are not familiar with the situation, Will's immune system is systematically attacking and in some cases severely damaging his lungs, liver, sinuses, central nervous system, and connective tissues. His symptoms make simple activities many of us take for granted extraordinarily difficult, and it is nearly impossible for him to leave the house even for a visit to a nearby doctor save in very carefully controlled, limited circumstances. While his condition keeps him from posting as much as we would all like, he directs his energy into building, updating, and maintaining the site behind the scenes.
And Now, Let's Check Out the Goodies!
vCash vCash vCash!
Looking for a bigger piece of the action? Ready to join the High Rollers club in the vaunted House Of Bookie, located just off the jagged yet scenic coast of Elitistprickistan? Now you, too, can finally own that vHouseboat of your dreams!
Oh yes, it's true! Your investment of US currency has been wisely invested in the trading halls of the RWSF HQ, or would have been if it existed, which of course it does not. Even so, wise investing and a good knowledge of exchange rates have allowed us to offer benefits of 1:10,000!
THAT'S RIGHT. TEN FREAKING THOUSAND.
For example:
$5 real cash = 50,000 vCash
$10 real cash = 100,000 vCash
$100 real cash = 1,000,000 vCash
... and so forth, without limit. When Joanna (aka Longwoodbuck) receives notice from PayPal of your donation, she will update your vcash amount.
BB73 has generously extended his offer to double the vCash out of his personal stash. We'll double the amounts and send him the bill. For this generosity, we say thank you, and make him pay!
Thank You List
Donors will be recognized on BuckeyePlanet's homepage. All donors will be listed alphabetically by username without amounts, unless you request not to be listed. The list will stay up until the next Spring Drive, at which point it will be available as a link in the next year's list.
Donor Badges
You know this image. It's spiffy. Chicks dig it.
And you can get the newest model for your very own! Chicks REALLY dig it. Collect them all! And rep 'em when you see 'em!
Donor badges have already been distributed to our 23 monthly donors as of March. Thank you, and enjoy!
How to Donate via PayPal, Snail Mail, or Monthly Donations
PayPal
Link found on the front page of BuckeyePlanet, or on the black navigation bar at the top of most pages.
NOTE: Your username appears on transactions if you use the link here on BP. Otherwise, please be sure to include your BuckeyePlanet username with any donation so we can credit your account with the appropriate reward.
Snail Mail Donations
Joanna Bryant
669 Sumter Street
Galloway, OH 43119-8564
Please add "BuckeyePlanet" to the memo line and make the payment out to Joanna or Will Bryant.
NOTE: Please be sure to include your BuckeyePlanet username with any donation so we can credit your account with the appropriate reward.
Monthly Donation Program - v1,000,000 Bonus!
Do you want to contribute more frequently? Do you want automatic payments like the pay sites have but 100% completely voluntary because BP is 100% FREE? Let the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee grow into a significant contribution by becoming a monthly donor!
Please note that it is very important to all of us that we remain a free community based on the freely given support of our members. Signing up for the monthly donation option is simply a way of automating donations, and does not afford access to any "premium" sections of the site - because we don't have any - or want any!
We want to encourage monthly donations as a way to stabilize BP's financial future. Monthly donors will be awarded an immediate bonus of v1,100,000 (automated!) upon registration for the program in appreciation of their continued commitment to the site. This is in addition to any other benefits. Eligibility for any giveaways will be calculated based on the full six-month amount. Our current monthly donors will receive the same bonus at the start of this drive.
How it Works
Click here, or in UserCP, near the bottom of the left menu, click "Paid Subscriptions." Select the amount you would like to donate monthly, and complete the PayPal transaction.
Use your own bank account or credit card through PayPal if you wish, or the balance in your PayPal account.
NOTE: Your username appears on transactions if you use the link here on BP. Otherwise, please be sure to include your BuckeyePlanet username with any donation so we can credit your account with the appropriate reward.
Other Ways to Support BuckeyePlanet
Bring Us Your Business - We're looking for advertisers and would ideally like to support companies that understand what we are all about. BP members tend to be highly educated and have significant disposable income, and we're a good fit for many types of businesses. As evidenced throughout the board and by the success of these drives, BPers are incredibly loyal - we support those who support BP! Contact an admin for more information.
Do Your Own Thang - Informal get-togethers hosted by BPers have been very successful both socially and in terms of fundraising. Have an idea?
Got goodies? - Sometimes we like to give away a little something as a thank-you for donating. Let us know if you have something to contribute. Others have auctioned items and donated the proceeds.
Your Brainchild, Alive! - In the big picture, all this fundraising is simply a way to keep us doing what we do best - provide great content and a fantastic community. And all content on BP, from the Recruiting Forum updates to the vBookie to Pick'ems to BPRT features, started as someone's idea. See a need or an opportunity? Take on a project of your own!
Thank You!
Quick link to donation page
Thank You, 2009 Donors!
First, a GIGANTIC thank-you goes out to everyone who participated in the 2009 drives. The 2009 Spring Drive and Holiday Drive brought in a combined total of $16,707.98. The number of donors participating rose from 161 in 2008 to 245 in 2009, a wonderful and hopefully growing trend that shows the community's commitment to supporting the free and volunteer-driven resource that is BP.
Donations paid for BP's bandwith, server maintenance/upgrades, software licenses, and the next version of our forum software. Even more significantly, BP was able to help sustain the Bryant household throughout the year, providing for expenses not otherwise covered, putting a dent in medical bills, and helping to fill in gaps resulting from reductions in their online work opportunities.
BuckeyePlanet: A Free Community
Once more, BP pulled together to make it all possible while remaining a completely FREE site full of community-driven updates, information, articles, games, activities, and more. BuckeyePlanet has built a reputation across the larger college football community to be a place to find the most thorough and well-written Game Previews around, an atmosphere that respects the student athletes and their families, and a place to relax and have loads of fun. We take pride in the fact that BuckeyePlanet has become a true community of people working together, sharing information, and forming friendships. For this also, thanks to everyone who makes BP great!
For those of you deciding on a first-time donation, please consider that we have many of the same expenses as the pay sites, and yet because the community volunteers its work, we ask for and exist on a much, much smaller budget that covers only direct expenses of the site and a portion of personal expenses of its owner, and the latter only once his medical condition made it absolutely necessary to do so. If you give to those who make you pay for access, won't you please consider a voluntary donation to support a free and open community?
Looking Forward: 2010 Drive Goals
As the goal for this year's Spring Drive came under discussion, a few changes affected expenses. Bandwidth costs will continue to increase, and workforce cutbacks mean fewer hours available for Will and Jo to supplement monthly expenses. In short, expenses are up all the way around.
On the flip side, BP has garnered some important benefits in terms of managing fundraising timing; for the first time, the drive cycle and other factors have brought us to the point where we are starting a drive with a 2-month lead time before current funds run out, rather than immediate need. While still tight, the ability to know even those couple of months are in place is a huge psychological benefit for which BP is to be thanked. The other benefit is also timing-based. A new arrangement for ad income will give us known, dependable baseline income for the first time. It's a modest amount, however, the ability to budget and forecast with known quantities is a tremendous benefit.
Looking to keep the goal as restrained as possible, we hammered away at the expense list and chipped away everything that wasn't absolutely a dealbreaker right now. The goal as it currently stands covers basic current expenses for BP and the Bryant household, and at this time is not set to cover Will's dental work or any paydown of medical bills. We also reviewed the income side and gambled a bit on ad income projections, to an extent which seems reasonable if not as conservative as we might like for budgeting purposes. The resulting goal has zero cushion to it, yet will cover the essentials to keep BP and the Bryants moving forward into the next football season (may it arrive swiftly). This goal aims at covering expenses for the remainder of 2010. It is anticipated that there will also be a Fall Drive to boost BuckeyePlanet through next Spring Drive, but that it will be a smaller one, adjusted based on actual Spring Drive income and ads sold for football season.
SPRING DRIVE GOAL: $10,000
Looking Forward: Site Goals
BuckeyePlanet is also ready for some upgrades. The server on which we run was purchased by BP members in 2005, and we've grown tremendously both as a community and as a site since that time. Our resident server gurus have indicated that the time is nigh to prepare for an upgrade to ensure continuing service of the site, and so the second part of the Spring Drive will be the Server Drive. The goal for the server drive is based on a ballpark figure for a server and setup. Those of you with server experience are very much needed at this point to provide guidance in selecting the best possible setup for BP. The discussion thread is here.
SERVER & SETUP GOAL: $4,000
Ideally, we would like to do the server upgrade at the same time as the forum upgrade, and do that over the summer to be ready for the football season. This plan is dependent on meeting the goals in time.
The BP staff has agreed that the priority is the Spring Drive, as covering the monthly expenses of BP and the man who makes it all possible is essential to the community's existence. To ensure this priority is met while progress is made on the server project, we will be setting aside 10% of the donations received each month for the server until the Spring Drive goal is met, and then allocate 100% to the server until either it is completely covered or the Fall Drive begins.
Clarity Update
If you've been a member here for any length of time, you likely know that BuckeyePlanet's founder has been faced with a host of serious medical issues, for many years without the access to health care necessary to treat his illness or even cleanly diagnose it. Due in no small part to the contributions of BuckeyePlanet members, the situation has improved as the disability benefits battle was finally won, and along with it the first real access to health care in many years. This has led to a working diagnosis that will hopefully provide answers and improvement going forward. For those who are not familiar with the situation, Will's immune system is systematically attacking and in some cases severely damaging his lungs, liver, sinuses, central nervous system, and connective tissues. His symptoms make simple activities many of us take for granted extraordinarily difficult, and it is nearly impossible for him to leave the house even for a visit to a nearby doctor save in very carefully controlled, limited circumstances. While his condition keeps him from posting as much as we would all like, he directs his energy into building, updating, and maintaining the site behind the scenes.
And Now, Let's Check Out the Goodies!
vCash vCash vCash!
Looking for a bigger piece of the action? Ready to join the High Rollers club in the vaunted House Of Bookie, located just off the jagged yet scenic coast of Elitistprickistan? Now you, too, can finally own that vHouseboat of your dreams!
Oh yes, it's true! Your investment of US currency has been wisely invested in the trading halls of the RWSF HQ, or would have been if it existed, which of course it does not. Even so, wise investing and a good knowledge of exchange rates have allowed us to offer benefits of 1:10,000!
THAT'S RIGHT. TEN FREAKING THOUSAND.
For example:
$5 real cash = 50,000 vCash
$10 real cash = 100,000 vCash
$100 real cash = 1,000,000 vCash
... and so forth, without limit. When Joanna (aka Longwoodbuck) receives notice from PayPal of your donation, she will update your vcash amount.
BB73 has generously extended his offer to double the vCash out of his personal stash. We'll double the amounts and send him the bill. For this generosity, we say thank you, and make him pay!
Thank You List
Donors will be recognized on BuckeyePlanet's homepage. All donors will be listed alphabetically by username without amounts, unless you request not to be listed. The list will stay up until the next Spring Drive, at which point it will be available as a link in the next year's list.
Donor Badges
You know this image. It's spiffy. Chicks dig it.
And you can get the newest model for your very own! Chicks REALLY dig it. Collect them all! And rep 'em when you see 'em!
Donor badges have already been distributed to our 23 monthly donors as of March. Thank you, and enjoy!
How to Donate via PayPal, Snail Mail, or Monthly Donations
PayPal
Link found on the front page of BuckeyePlanet, or on the black navigation bar at the top of most pages.
NOTE: Your username appears on transactions if you use the link here on BP. Otherwise, please be sure to include your BuckeyePlanet username with any donation so we can credit your account with the appropriate reward.
Snail Mail Donations
Joanna Bryant
669 Sumter Street
Galloway, OH 43119-8564
Please add "BuckeyePlanet" to the memo line and make the payment out to Joanna or Will Bryant.
NOTE: Please be sure to include your BuckeyePlanet username with any donation so we can credit your account with the appropriate reward.
Monthly Donation Program - v1,000,000 Bonus!
Do you want to contribute more frequently? Do you want automatic payments like the pay sites have but 100% completely voluntary because BP is 100% FREE? Let the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee grow into a significant contribution by becoming a monthly donor!
Please note that it is very important to all of us that we remain a free community based on the freely given support of our members. Signing up for the monthly donation option is simply a way of automating donations, and does not afford access to any "premium" sections of the site - because we don't have any - or want any!
We want to encourage monthly donations as a way to stabilize BP's financial future. Monthly donors will be awarded an immediate bonus of v1,100,000 (automated!) upon registration for the program in appreciation of their continued commitment to the site. This is in addition to any other benefits. Eligibility for any giveaways will be calculated based on the full six-month amount. Our current monthly donors will receive the same bonus at the start of this drive.
How it Works
Click here, or in UserCP, near the bottom of the left menu, click "Paid Subscriptions." Select the amount you would like to donate monthly, and complete the PayPal transaction.
Use your own bank account or credit card through PayPal if you wish, or the balance in your PayPal account.
NOTE: Your username appears on transactions if you use the link here on BP. Otherwise, please be sure to include your BuckeyePlanet username with any donation so we can credit your account with the appropriate reward.
Other Ways to Support BuckeyePlanet
Bring Us Your Business - We're looking for advertisers and would ideally like to support companies that understand what we are all about. BP members tend to be highly educated and have significant disposable income, and we're a good fit for many types of businesses. As evidenced throughout the board and by the success of these drives, BPers are incredibly loyal - we support those who support BP! Contact an admin for more information.
Do Your Own Thang - Informal get-togethers hosted by BPers have been very successful both socially and in terms of fundraising. Have an idea?
Got goodies? - Sometimes we like to give away a little something as a thank-you for donating. Let us know if you have something to contribute. Others have auctioned items and donated the proceeds.
Your Brainchild, Alive! - In the big picture, all this fundraising is simply a way to keep us doing what we do best - provide great content and a fantastic community. And all content on BP, from the Recruiting Forum updates to the vBookie to Pick'ems to BPRT features, started as someone's idea. See a need or an opportunity? Take on a project of your own!
Thank You!
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