Ninos has posted a helpful message on [url=http://my.orthodoxcircle.com/groups/KEEP OC FREE]the \"KEEP OC FREE\" group[/url] group. It reads as follows:
Let me repeat that:
So, let me state that I am open to viable alternatives that present themselves within the next couple of months. If we can secure adequate funding that can sustain our operations for the immediate and long term future, there will not be any subscriptions.
This all seems reasonable. Subscriptions are the wrong way to deal with this problem, but it is a problem, and there\'s no one else to fix it but us. \"Ask not what OC can do for you\" etc.
I suggest we all go to the donations page and put up whatever we can right now. I know that may seem like a waste — since if subscriptions are implemented the site may very well not survive — but let\'s do it as an act of faith. Include a note that this is to help fund OC while they try to work out alternative funding methods. It takes time (and money) to form a tax-exempt organization, and time and man-hours to approach donors and apply for grants.
Do it, say you did it, and ask others to do it. This seems like a time when the left hand ought to know what the right hand is doing.
If you\'ve can\'t give cash, why not write Ninos and ask what money-saving volunteering you can do? This is a real ministry, and if it\'s worth having, surely it\'s worth our support!
Thank you for your great suggestions on alternate ways of funding OC. Please believe me when I say that the decision to charge subscriptions did not come lightly. We began discussing this last year and held similar discussions such as this one. We even posted a poll and the results were 50/50.
The real challenge we face at the moment is that OC requires immediate funding. We cannot seek donations because we are not a non-profit. However, becoming a non-profit is still on the table. Finding the funding to sustain our operations is indeed a full time job. We need help. Let me repeat that. WE NEED HELP.
Allow me to clarify a couple of other things. SCOBA does not have a fund to support this kind of project. Getting help from the diocese is also difficult since they have so many of their own expenses and rely on donations themselves. Most parishes also have very strict budgets. So who's left? Philanthropic organizations and private donors. We have not approached either of these because we do not have non-profit status yet, as Mathew stated. Perhaps it is something we should consider.
As Benji mentioned, all of you are what make the Circle a great place to be. Your presence and participation are what create value in this site. Charging a subscription is simply a practical solution to the problem of funding a site of this magnitude. It has nothing to do with putting a price tag on you, this community, the Faith, fellowship etc. It's simply a way to keep the lights on.
So, let me state that I am open to viable alternatives that present themselves within the next couple of months. If we can secure adequate funding that can sustain our operations for the immediate and long term future, there will not be any subscriptions.
I want to thank Georgii for his call to action. If those of you who feel so strongly about keeping OC Free want to lend your time and energy to help make that happen, then I challenge you to make OC *your* project, join our team, form a member committee to promote the Circle to your parish and diocese, help raise awarness for our mission, help us find benefactors, help OC become everything you want it to be. Which one of you is seriously willing to make this commitment starting today?
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