Spring Drive 2008

[Deety]

BuckeyePlanet Spring Drive 2008

Friends, it's that time again! Time for the Spring Drive, yes... time also to pause and reflect on what BuckeyePlanet has become. The site is amazing simply in terms of numbers; looking back on the earliest threads on the site, it's clear nobody ever expected the sort of growth BP has experienced since its inception. More important than membership numbers, the connections between members have grown exponentially, and we have a true sense of community here. The contributions of so many people in so many different areas have turned BP into a valuable resource for all Buckeye fans. The wealth of information constantly updated in the Recruiting Forum comes to mind first, and we can be proud of the atmosphere we have built there. But at every click, from our core sports discussions to the extensive Game Previews to vbets to games run by members to armchair observations to... well, everything... you're looking at the result of BP members building, building, and building the community... and we all participate in our own way, and we all know it's ours.

State of BuckeyePlanet Finances

BuckeyePlanet has always been our community, and we have done well as stakeholders in supporting the financial needs of the site. When you clicked this post, the request was fulfilled by a high-powered server we purchased in a previous drive. There is little doubt that the level of activity here the past couple of years would have put an end to us were we not able to keep up through the support of the community.

Since that time, BuckeyePlanet has continued to grow in terms of the number of members as well as the amount of activity. Bandwith, hardware, software, and maintenance are all ongoing expenses. Bandwith in particular is increasing at a rapid rate, tripling in the past 12 months.

• Monthly expenses $500/month current, $1,000/month possible this time next year
• Other (next 6 months) $1,000 (server maintenance/updates, software licenses, RAM, domain renewal, etc.)

As you know, we avoided ads on the site for as long as it was feasible to do so, and now have a partnership through SportsWar to cover some of BuckeyePlanet's expenses. The ads certainly help, but they do not cover everything. We've had a minimum guarantee that has helped; however, this guarantee expires this month, and the ad sales don't generate sufficient income without the guarantee. The NikeID campaign Clarity referred to SportsWar will also help boost a couple of months, but it won't kick in for several months. In short, ads help, but only to a point, and that point just dropped. For these reasons, we have set the following goals for BuckeyePlanet's Spring Drive:

Spring Drive Goals - BuckeyePlanet

• $2,000 - 4 months hosting cushion (assuming ads will cover 2 months)
• $1,000 - immediate/anticipated non-monthly expenses in the next 6 months

Clarity Update

If you've been a member here for a while, you know that BuckeyePlanet's founder has been faced with a host of unresolved very serious medical issues, but without the access to healthcare necessary to diagnose and treat his illness. His symptoms make simple activities we all take for granted extraordinarily difficult for him, and it is nearly impossible for him to leave the house even for a visit to a nearby dentist 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 constantly building, updating, and maintaining the site behind the scenes.

If you are a relatively new BPer, the here is a link that will give you some idea of Clarity's situation.

Members of the BuckeyePlanet community have been able to provide some much-needed relief for Clarity, from helping with medically necessary transportation to help him move from Florida to Ohio, to assistance with some basic dental needs in our last drive.

The good news is that Clarity's Medicare starts in March - finally!!! However, this also means his disability payments will be decreased a couple hundred dollars each month for the premiums, so it is more important than ever that we ensure BP's finances be supported by the community at large, and that we keep Clarity from having to look over his shoulder at oncoming trains in the form of high monthly hosting bills.

Beyond BP's costs, there are still things that are medically necessary but will not be covered by Medicare:

As everyone likely recalls, last year's drive let me got into the dentist. For whatever reason (and it could well be one that relates to my greater health issues) I went from a set great chompers, to a bit of a train wreck over the last 5-6 years. One lost filling left untreated left to a broken tooth, led to two other cracked teeth, another lost filling, the decay that comes from all of that untouched, and then an abscess that was left to do as it pleased for almost a year. Over the past twelve months, and about $3,000 that came partially from the drive, and partially from BP's ad revenue, I sit here with no cracks, everything filled, no infection, and all the teeth intact. I have not been able to crown them, and that's something we're trying to figure out as Medicare approaches. Between some gum surgery they'll have to do because of how low two of the breaks went, and the crowns themselves, I'm looking at about a $8000 bill to wrap this process up. We're trying to find a Medicare Advantage plan that would cover some of it (Update: we found one through AETNA that covers between 30-50% of dental without a waiting period), but the only ones that offer dental seem to only pay for one x-ray, one filling, and one cleaning per year. A far cry short of my needs. So I'm getting by without crowns for now, but every time one of these hardened but entirely temp filling/constructions breaks, it's $450 to repair it. That's only happened to us once so far, but the dentist is clear about how that's going to rear up and punch us in the balls now and again until these teeth are crowned. So, that's our priority right now.

With each of the last few drives, I've seen them as "this is how we literally just get by" efforts. And that's exactly what they've been. I think (hope) I've been clear about how they saved us (and me) from catastrophe. This year, it's "this may be how we finally start to climb out of the hole." If I can get back in to see the docs, if I can take care of the dental, if I can get my old online scoring job with Educational Testing Service back (as long as I'd only lose disability, not the medical insurance), if the side project (Vince (who now lives with us partially to help out because of my health/partially so we can all try and minimize expenses) delivering groceries around campus) we've put together picks up a bit (http://www.buckeyegroceryguy.com), if SportsWar turns the corner (or gets acquired) and our ad revenue improves -- then maybe this time next year we finally get to talk about ANYTHING but "here's how we just keep the site online and running, and how I avoid compounding my current medical issues with new ones." I'm quite tired of the latter, as I'm sure everyone else is.

One thing is guaranteed - we won't get tired of helping out while help is needed. We aren't going to set a specific monetary goal; let's just do as much as we possibly can. Thus:

Spring Drive Goals - Clarity

• Significant contributions toward the [strike]$8,000[/strike] $5000 needed to complete dental work

Incentives

vCash

With the expansion of the vEconomy and to account for vInflation, the rewards for donating have been increased from 1:1,000 to 1:10,000!

For example:

$1 real cash = 10,000 vCash
$5 real cash = 50,000 vCash
$100 real cash = 1,000,000 vCash

... and so forth, without limit. vCash totals will be updated once a week for all confirmed donations. Please be patient as some transactions take several days to clear the PayPal/BuckeyePlanet system.

For your convenience, here is the list of Richest People... our good friends... time to take 'em down!

BB73 - 315,330,221.62 Points
Piney - 48,974,484.95 Points
osugrad21 - 19,314,827.65 Points
OCBucksFan - 17,319,302.35 Points
LordJeffBuck - 14,836,932.09 Points
PrincessPeach - 12,508,177.30 Points
scarletandgrey - 11,436,933.57 Points
shetuck - 10,005,141.34 Points
Bucky Katt - 6,285,630.29 Points
Bob Saccamano - 5,514,943.47 Points
​

vCash Lottery

On May 1, we will have a lottery for a Major Award of v10,000,000! Second prize is v5,000,000, and third prize is v1,000,000.

Every dollar donated equals one entry in the drawing.
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Thank You List

We will be recognizing donors in a new module 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 Fall Drive.
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Giveaways

We have a few people working on getting signed programs and special photos for giveaways, and are looking for more goodies to include. Since we always have people offer goodies when we start a drive, we're going to leave this as an open category. If you have something cool to donate for a drawing, let us know!
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How to Donate

• PayPal
• Snail Mail
• Monthly Donations

PayPal

Link found on the front page of BuckeyePlanet, or in the black navigation bar at the top of most pages.

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NOTE: Please be sure to include your BuckeyePlanet username with any donation so we can credit your account with the appropriate reward.
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Snail Mail Donations

Joanna Bryant
5794 Gradey Pass
Galloway, OH 43119-8598
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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.
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Monthly Donation Options

For those of you who might prefer to support BP more frequently with smaller amounts, we have opened the BuckeyePlanet Monthly Recurring Donation option for amounts ranging from $5 to $25 per month (let us know if you need more! ). In previous drives, people have mentioned that it's easy to donate the equivalent of a high-end coffee or fast food meal. This option provides a way to let the occasional small donation easily build into larger support for the community.

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!

The staff would like to encourage this option in part because it gives Clarity and Longwoodbuck a way to forecast income over the longer term. For this reason, monthly donors will be awarded an immediate bonus of v100,000 when signing up for the program in appreciation of their continued commitment to the site, in addition to the usual vCash for each monthly donation as it occurs. We will also use a calculation of 6 months worth of donations when determining eligibility for any goodies we give away for this drive (the next 6 months will be used for eligibility in Fall fundraiser events).

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.

For now, only PayPal donations will be eligible, but PayPal can include various forms of payment from which to choose. During the transaction, PayPal will ask you to select funding options. If you have money in your PayPal account, automatic payments will use this source first. You will be able to specify whether the payment will otherwise be charged to the credit card of your choice or to a bank account you have added to PayPal. PayPal gives you the opportunity to choose these options before the transaction is processed, so feel free to check it out.

v100,000 will be added to your account automatically, Clarity will receive an email of your donation subscription, and Longwoodbuck will pass along the donation amount to an Admin who will update your vCash accordingly and report your eligibility for any prize giveaways in this drive.
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NOTE: 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

All that said, I'm open (of course) to any and all avenues for the drive this year. I think the more creative and fun angles (including but not limited to stuff like the poker tournaments, from the wine gathering a couple years ago, and now I think there's talk of a golf outing?) have been community builders as much as they have been successful fund-raisers.

One of the best ways our community has supported our site has been through these types of activities. Have an idea for a fundraiser? Let us know, or start a thread and see if your idea has legs.

We also know that there are times when giving something other than money is preferable. If you would like to donate an item for our drive giveaways, well, thank you!

If you have some time to donate, pick yourself a project and have a go at it. Nobody assigned anyone to update recruiting threads like madmen - they just started to do it, and it's become a vital part of BP. Same with the various game threads, wallpaper contests, and any number of other activities going on around the site. Remember, this is YOUR community, so if there is something you want to see here, help make it happen!
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Thank You!

Without your participation, on the boards and in these drives, BuckeyePlanet wouldn't be the fantastic community and Buckeye resource that it is today. Thanks for all you do and thank you for supporting BuckeyePlanet!

 

[Deety]

Whee, finally live.

Can't wait to see this drive really rolling... already see some good things happening this morning. :)

 

[shetuck]

ttt...

 

[Piney]

Incentives

vCash

With the expansion of the vEconomy and to account for vInflation, the rewards for donating have been increased from 1:1,000 to 1:10,000!​

For example:


$1 real cash = 10,000 vCash
$5 real cash = 50,000 vCash
$100 real cash = 1,000,000 vCash


... and so forth, without limit. vCash totals will be updated once a week for all confirmed donations. Please be patient as some transactions take several days to clear the PayPal/BuckeyePlanet system.


For your convenience, here is the list of Richest People... our good friends... time to take 'em down!


BB73 - 315,330,221.62 Points
Piney - 48,974,484.95 Points​

​

I would like to add as a "Vcash" success story that one time I was vpoor. But after donating and getting the Vcash incentive I turned that into the small vfortune I have today.

Of course now to catch BB I would have to donate $26,700. So once I win the mega millions tonight expect that to come so I can catch BB

On a more serious note this is one of the events I look forward to every spring to give back to a community that has done so much for myself and other buckeye fans all over the world.

While I don't have $26,700 to give so I can catch BB73 , I do plan on donating a portion of the Government Rebate check that I will be getting in May, and I challenge other BPers to do the same.

 

[jlb1705]

My vWallet is almost 15 times thicker now than it was two days ago, while my real wallet is really not any thinner at all.

Even for people like me that can't give that much at one time, it's still pretty easy to set up a recurring donation. For people like me who lose vBets like you wouldn't believe, a recurring donation is a good way to get your points replenished so you can get your fix.

 

[rocketman]

Sent! Need more vCash so I can re-live last years vRags-to-vRiches-to-vRags story.

Paypal is easy to set up, and every little bit helps!

 

[Taosman]

Support the best sports site on the interwebs, BP! It's easy and safe!

 

[Albert Gore Jr]

C'mon folks! Don't be cheap. This is a tremendous cause to help out a wonderful website. Every dollar helps!




























Natuarally, I won't be giving anything in support, but you should've known that already.

 

[Deety]

[/indent]I would like to add as a "Vcash" success story that one time I was vpoor. But after donating and getting the Vcash incentive I turned that into the small vfortune I have today.

Of course now to catch BB I would have to donate $26,700. So once I win the mega millions tonight expect that to come so I can catch BB

On a more serious note this is one of the events I look forward to every spring to give back to a community that has done so much for myself and other buckeye fans all over the world.

While I don't have $26,700 to give so I can catch BB73 , I do plan on donating a portion of the Government Rebate check that I will be getting in May, and I challenge other BPers to do the same.

Actually, the poorest of the poor could buy BB73 for a mere $316. I hear he won't do laundry, but there is some sort of deal to be struck with wives and utility bills.

 

[Buckeyedynasty]

It's time for everyone who can donate to do so. This place is great because it brings us together in our love of OSU but it's turned into more than that. So many fellow Buckeyes have stepped up their efforts to make this site what it is today. Fellow Buckeyes around the world are asking you to step up and this is your chance to contribute to the greatness that is BP. Never leave a fellow Buckeye hanging....now more than ever.

I'll be sending my donation tomorrow.....will you!

 

[BUCKYLE]

It's time for everyone who can donate to do so. This place is great because it brings us together in our love of OSU but it's turned into more than that. So many fellow Buckeyes have stepped up their efforts to make this site what it is today. Fellow Buckeyes around the world are asking you to step up and this is your chance to contribute to the greatness that is BP. Never leave a fellow Buckeye hanging....now more than ever.

I'll be sending my donation tomorrow.....will you!

I will hopefully be able to donate soon. If I were to donate a dollar for every hour I spent on BP, my grandkids would have to inherit my debt.

Money alone can't truly show what this site has meant to me, and continues to mean...but it's a start.

 

[h0bb3s]

I've donated, I love the monthly option. I know I personally can afford to skip a meal or 2 at a fast food joint. Good job to everyone involved with BP!

:osu:

 

[shetuck]

As a relatively new member, I want to put out a challenge to all other members who joined since last year's Spring Drive.

We need to step up and show some ownership and committment as a sign of respect for the long-time members on this board. I think that by stepping up and donating, we can demonstrate that although we weren't around to help out when BP was still in diapers, and although we're not "in" with the elite, that we still are just as committed to making this the best fan community on the net.

So this challenge goes out to anyone who joined BP after the last Spring drive (people I'm calling "new members"). Assuming I can get one of the mods or admins to help me out, the challenge is this:

I will put up a 10:1 match to the site's vCash donation, from my own vFunds, to each of the first two new members to step up and donate $50 each, or the first new member who steps up and donates $100. So that means that you will get vCash both from the site (10,000 vBucks for every $1 you donate), plus another 5,000,000 vCash for the first two new members who donate $50 each or 10,000,000 vCash to the first new member to donate $100.

Go vBUCKS!

 

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

As a relatively new member, I want to put out a challenge to all other members who joined since last year's Spring Drive.

We need to step up and show some ownership and committment as a sign of respect for the long-time members on this board. I think that by stepping up and donating, we can demonstrate that although we weren't around to help out when BP was still in diapers, and although we're not "in" with the elite, that we still are just as committed to making this the best fan community on the net.

So this challenge goes out to anyone who joined BP after the last Spring drive (people I'm calling "new members"). Assuming I can get one of the mods or admins to help me out, the challenge is this:

I will put up a 10:1 match to the site's vCash donation, from my own vFunds, to each of the first two new members to step up and donate $50 each, or the first new member who steps up and donates $100. So that means that you will get vCash both from the site (10,000 vBucks for every $1 you donate), plus another 5,000,000 vCash for the first two new members who donate $50 each or 10,000,000 vCash to the first new member to donate $100.

Go vBUCKS!

You're still not getting the key to the cushy restroom we use.

Very cool, Shetuck. GPA for you.

 

[LitlBuck]

I look at it this way Clarity has almost sacrificed his life for this site and too many people take this for granted. I have been on the other Ohio State sites and none of them compare to Buckeye Planet. Many of you get free information here where you would have to pay and other sites. I know that some people cannot afford what some others can give but if those people would just give it would all add up. Don't give because you have been asked to give. Give because you enjoy this site and the people who have put it together has sacrificed a great deal for you. I know if there were not for Buckeye Planet some of my days would be awfully boring.

Go Buckeye Fans and help Buckeye Planet!