Contributing financially to the GAGB

[Matrix]

I didn't want to take the original thread off topic so I thought I would start a new one to ask the following question.

In that thread StuartP said

- Improve the financial standing of the GAGB to allow it to cover it's running costs (YES we do have running costs, covered, only just by donations from a few members)
.

So as I already contribute to GC via my Premium Membership I would also like to help the GAGB so how do I do that ?

Cheers

Matrix aka Mike

[StuartP]

I would also like to help the GAGB so how do I do that ?

We're currently able to accept donations using the following paypal address:
paypal@gagb.org.uk

Please include a note in the donation if you're happy for us to list you as a donator to the GAGB.

We have to pay fee's on donations received.

In the past 12 months, we have received a total of £8 in donations, from 2 people.

Cheers

Stuart

[Just Roger]

We have to pay fee's on donations received.

Not necessarily. There are radio buttons on Paypal for charges paid by Recipient or by Payer - so as long as people select the right one you shouldn't have to pay the charges. Unfortunately 'Recipient Pays' appears to be the default

[von-horst]

Is it possible to set up a direct debit/subscription?

I would rather pay a couple of £s a month rather than have to remember to make a larger payment every 6/12 months!

Mike

[scottpa100]

You don't notice it that way either... also means you don't have PayPal fees.

[StuartP]

Is it possible to set up a direct debit/subscription?

I would rather pay a couple of £s a month rather than have to remember to make a larger payment every 6/12 months!

Mike

The GAGB dosn't have a financial situation that would allow direct debit, the best we could do currently would be to offer a recurring payment using paypal.

One thing we could investigate, is allowing contributions by standing order (seems awfully old fashioned).

It's something I'm keen to improve, any comments and suggestions welcome.

Cheers

Stuart

[Matrix]

I would prefer a Direct Debit or standing order option as well but if your happy for a paypal payment in the meantime thats OK with me.

[Lost in Space]

Has the committee ever thought about GAGB memorabilia, tracking items, calendars, cake recipes,, etc?

[StuartP]

Has the committee ever thought about GAGB memorabilia, tracking items, calendars, cake recipes,, etc?

It has been discussed, one of the problems with say a trackable is the initial outlay required to do this, currently we don't have the funds available to allow this. Would an annual GAGB geocoin for example be something that people would be interested in, obviously, any profit would be used to support the GAGB thus allowing more fund raising possiiblities.

Cheers

Stuart

[Happy Humphrey]

The GAGB Geocoin looks like the obvious solution. It should be possible to make a fair profit without too much risk: probably a lot more than if you ask for voluntary donations.

[L8HNB]

Geocoin's a great idea, especially as the forum has become better supported. Bet someone moans though!

[von-horst]

W'd be up for a couple (at least) of GAGB Geocoins.

We'd also sign up for a recurring PayPal payment if it could be done.

[Wadders]

I'd be happy to contribute too, However the size of the donation, would depend on the costs to run the site.
Has anyone any idea what the current costs are?

I know that in the past people have offered to financially support Teasles G:uk, however the site always seems to be down and a lot of people miss it!

Wouldnt it be good if GAGB could integrate G:uk into this site

[StuartP]

Currently there is hosting for the GAGB is provided for free, by myself, I consider this to be my donation to the GAGB.

It's difficult to gauge the true cost of hosting the site, as I'm sure many people are aware the price of web hosting varies considerably as does the level of support etc available. I'd say that £75 per year wouldn't be an unreasonable figure. The domain names in use by the GAGB again have their costs covered kind contributors, the only outlay we do make is the annual support of the forum software.

I'm not sure how server intensive G:UK is, but if it requires a whole server then I'm guessing at around £1200 per annum, of course it could be less than this, as little as £75.

Cheers

Stuart

[studlyone]

Whilst Stuart is right its hard to gauge how much the site is costing him, a good server would be around £80 a month. He is also assuming risk if he is hosting the site for free on a server that has other sites on it as if the GAGB were ever compromised so would his other sites be.

I have a few problems myself with the GAGB Constitution with regards to its funding. It states that:

1. All costs incurred by the GAGB (travelling expenses, website costs, etc.) will be covered by the Executive Committee members themselves and generous voluntary donations from third parties without return (such as advertisement or other form of benefit).

It's a bit vague, I hope it means that donations and the like will go towards recompensing committee members as otherwise I don't believe that is a fair state of affairs, if committee members have to put their hands into the own pockets whilst carrying out the work of the GAGB they should be recompensed for doing so. Whilst the Constitution may have been fine at the creation of the GAGB, the committee put in unbelievable hours on our behalf negotiating land agreements etc. If we've only had £8 donated in the last year then the committee must have not been recompensed for any expenses incurred during their duties.

All of this takes time and expenses, if they travel to a meeting they should get back at least the parking costs etc.

To do this though the GAGB requires an income of some sort, the donations are a great start as it allows people to contribute what they feel they should be contributing with no pressure at all.

As the GAGB is growing and it seems to be taking on more of an active role these days I think we need to rethink some of the old policies.

I like the possibility of geocoins etc being made available through the GAGB as that again would top up the coffers.

[studlyone]

Currently there is hosting for the GAGB is provided for free, by myself, I consider this to be my donation to the GAGB.

It's difficult to gauge the true cost of hosting the site, as I'm sure many people are aware the price of web hosting varies considerably as does the level of support etc available. I'd say that £75 per year wouldn't be an unreasonable figure. The domain names in use by the GAGB again have their costs covered kind contributors, the only outlay we do make is the annual support of the forum software.

I'm not sure how server intensive G:UK is, but if it requires a whole server then I'm guessing at around £1200 per annum, of course it could be less than this, as little as £75.

Cheers

Stuart

I would imagine G:UK would be very server intensive due to all the calculations that it perfroms. It would therefore probably require a dedicated server to run effectively, these cost and a lot of them have usage policies where they won't allow database/calculation heavy sites to reside on them.

I am not sure why G:UK is always down, it could be due to the inability of the server it is on to cope or due to malicious actions. The later opens a whole can of worms.

One thing is clear though the contributions/donations are to support the GAGB, I doubt the GAGB would be able to host the G:UK as then you could see yourself as a paying customer if it went down again. The GAGB is supposed to be free to all and the donations just help with the running of it.

[active cacher]

Has the committee ever thought about GAGB memorabilia, tracking items, calendars, cake recipes,, etc?

I think this would be a great idea, obviously annual coins would be time specific (?) but maybe a First to Find coin or a Congratulations on your 50th100th/200th find etc would be appreciated. They would be great gift ideas too for caching chums. I don't know if these are currently available anywhere else?

[Brenin Tegeingl]

I know that in the past people have offered to financially support Teasles G:uk, however the site always seems to be down and a lot of people miss it!

The issue with G:UK has never been costs, but database issues ,the database was never written to handle the huge No's of active caches nor the huge increase in No's every day , and more importantly security issues. Which resulted in the site being hacked and part of it being used to set up a phishing site [a site deliberately set up to look like another site with the aims of obtaining passwords and user ID's, in particular on-line banking], which resulted in the ISP pulling the plug.

There has recently been some developments behind the scenes, which if they come to fruition will see G:UK come back highly secure and a lot more stable. So keep your fingers crossed.

Deci

[Matrix]

I would be happy to buy some merchandise .

How about lanyards and stickers ?

[Wadders]

The issue with G:UK has never been costs, but database issues ,the database was never written to handle the huge No's of active caches nor the huge increase in No's every day , and more importantly security issues. Which resulted in the site being hacked and part of it being used to set up a phishing site [a site deliberately set up to look like another site with the aims of obtaining passwords and user ID's, in particular on-line banking], which resulted in the ISP pulling the plug.

There has recently been some developments behind the scenes, which if they come to fruition will see G:UK come back highly secure and a lot more stable. So keep your fingers crossed.

Deci

Nice to get an update.....Thanks Deci

[Bill D (wwh)]

I think that GAGB's constitution needs major changes. The organization was founded on the basis that membership would always be free to all, and I totally support that idea, and whilst I'm Chairman it always will be.

But I do think that we need to make changes to the constitution. I think that we have our hands tied in too many ways, for example the committee being obliged to pay all the running costs of the organization. When the elections are over, if I remain Chairman, after discussion with the committee, I want to put a new constitution to the membership, to be debated and then perhaps voted upon.

[studlyone]

I totally agree with that the committee should never have to pay for anything themsleves. It should be enough that they give up their time for the GAGB.

I look forward to seeing how things might change in that respect.

[Bear and Ragged]

I think that GAGB's constitution needs major changes. The organization was founded on the basis that membership would always be free to all, and I totally support that idea, and whilst I'm Chairman it always will be.

But I do think that we need to make changes to the constitution. I think that we have our hands tied in too many ways, for example the committee being obliged to pay all the running costs of the organization. When the elections are over, if I remain Chairman, after discussion with the committee, I want to put a new constitution to the membership, to be debated and then perhaps voted upon.

Free to all is fine.
If people wish to donate, there should be a way (No extra benefit, just that warm fuzzy feeling that you are doing something to help)

Selling things, eg Geocoins would be a help.
Just so long as the committee don't use the money for a "Jolly" in the vague name of a GAGB Committee meeting!
They [the committee] shouldn't be 'Out of pocket' when meeting to discuss GAGB matters or raising the GAGB profile with bodies like the National Trust etc.
If something like the Garmin Geocoins is run again in the UK maybe the GAGB should be able to have a say in the matter...

[Us 4 and Jess]

This year I made 4 different calendars for 4 different charities a large run for the Mega event and 3 small runs for the PDSA, Cancer Research and GITG (a Scottish event)

So far for next year I will only be doing 1 calendar and that will be the main one for the Great North Air Ambulance.

I would not mind doing a small run of 50 calendars and the profits going to the GAGB, it would only be about £150.00 but I suppose it would help a little bit, if you are interested let me know.

Mandy

[The Hornet]

I would not mind doing a small run of 50 calendars and the profits going to the GAGB, it would only be about £150.00 but I suppose it would help a little bit, if you are interested let me know.

A good (and generous) idea Mandy. I hope you will get permission to "advertise" them on the GSP UK forum. After all it is to support a local Geocaching organisation, not a Ch***ty !

[dodgydaved]

A good (and generous) idea Mandy. I hope you will get permission to "advertise" them on the GSP UK forum. After all it is to support a local Geocaching organisation, not a Ch***ty !

......Ah, but someone in Seattle would find an extra T&C which prevented it happening

[Lost in Space]

......Ah, but someone in Seattle would find an extra T&C which prevented it happening

Perhaps it could be slid into the UK Pub Quiz:-
What is £4.50, contains lots of pages and can only be purchased from GAGB?"

[dodgydaved]

Perhaps it could be slid into the UK Pub Quiz:-
What is £4.50, contains lots of pages and can only be purchased from GAGB?"

Subtle - I like it

[studlyone]

Perhaps it could be slid into the UK Pub Quiz:-
What is £4.50, contains lots of pages and can only be purchased from GAGB?"

I can see someone spending three days in the Groundspeak 3 Day Sweatbox.

[Us 4 and Jess]

I hope this does not sound nasty ...

I don't need to advertise in the Groundspeak forums I have permission to advertise in 9 regional forums and literally hundreds of names of caching teams who have bought calendars from me before.

All I would need is for the GAGB to say yes we would like you to make 50 calendars for us..

For some smarty pants like Ian to make me some kind of an order page..

And for folks to either send me photographs or say to me look through my gallery and choose any photos you like and use them ...

Then for the 50 calendars to sell ...

I get the money, I post a cheque to the GAGB

Easy peasy

Mandy

[Matrix]

I am only buying 1 calendar this time Mandy OK h34r:

I didn't want to take the original thread off topic so I thought I would start a new one to ask the following question.

In that thread StuartP said


So as I already contribute to GC via my Premium Membership I would also like to help the GAGB so how do I do that ?

Cheers

Matrix aka Mike

There is a button on the bar across the top that says Donate

[Us 4 and Jess]

I am only buying 1 calendar this time Mandy OK h34r:

Aye Right

Yeah, yeah what ever you say Mike :wub:

[Brenin Tegeingl]

I'm a fool but put me down for one there you go another GAGB Calender order before the idea has even got of the Ground.

I'm sure Peter & Dave will buy one each as well

Deci

[StuartP]

We're still investigating fundraising ideas for the GAGB, once we've got some clearer ideas and considered the full financial implications we'll be in a better position to progress some of the ideas discussed here, in the meantime keep the ideas comming it's certainly proving to be though provoking for all, we're trying very much to stick to walking rather than racing off with the first ideas that come to mind. Hopefully this will allow us to improve the visibility and standing of the GAGB.

[studlyone]

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[Team Cobra UK]

OK this is a wild shot, but each year I help instruct at a open charity abseil, in Suffolk, this event lets up to 1000 people abseil down ipswich hospital (about 140ft) for whatever charity/organistion they want.
Cachers from 8 to 80 could have a fun time and raise money for GAGB.

The event is normally in June, and if anyone want to find out more information they can either message me or look at the organisers website, here.

I will let you know as soon as a date is confirmed.

[Us 4 and Jess]

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I did not ask anyone to order a calendar that I have not been asked to make.

They all know how good my calendars are and can not help themselves :socool:

I have already been asked a bout a coin calendar, and the PDSA one again and the naked girls one

I was hoping to only do 2 calendars next year 3 at a push I really dont want to do 4 again

First come first served I have one definite one up to now.

M

[The Hornet]

I'm sure Peter & Dave will buy one each as well

Thanks Dave!

Go on then, If Mandy does do one to support GAGB then I'll put my hand in my pocket.

[Us 4 and Jess]

Thanks Dave!

Go on then, If Mandy does do one to support GAGB then I'll put my hand in my pocket.

Shhhhhh you lot are getting me into trouble as usual :lol:

[nobbynobbs]

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i'll quickly raise i with the other committee members but I don't forsee any problem, at the end of the day we're more than happy for people to raise money and then donate it.

[The Hornet]

Shhhhhh you lot are getting me into trouble as usual :lol:

One does one's best!

[Matrix]

One does one's best!

Like she needs encouraging

[dodgydaved]

Shhhhhh you lot are getting me into trouble as usual :lol:

It wasn't me Guv! I'm married

[Us 4 and Jess]

It wasn't me Guv! I'm married

[StuartP]

Many thanks to all those that made donations to the running of the GAGB.

In the month of October, we received donations for £51 prior to paypal fees from 10 people.

[Mrs Blorenge]

Just thought I'd bump this to ask StuartP (or anyone else) how the donations have been over recent months.

[Bill D (wwh)]

Just thought I'd bump this to ask StuartP (or anyone else) how the donations have been over recent months.

This is one for Stuart - I'm sure he'll be along before too long.

[StuartP]

Since 1st Jan 2009, we've received 27 contributions, ranging from £2 to £25.

A total of £172, we've had to pay £10.20 in paypal fees, so have a net income of £161.80

I'm happy to answer and additional queries either here or by pm.

[11011100]

What was decided with the idea of a GAGB coin, GAGB lanyard etc...

(I will be donating soon, when I get my Paypal fixed)

opcorn: