For those frequenting this blog, you can read about Peace Science’s funding here.
Spoiler alert. We are not funded. Costs are low now, at about $300 - $500 per year, but I expect that to rise to $1000 as growth bumps us into the next subscription tier for discourse. Down the line, we might want to do more expensive things too, like advertise more intently on facebook and google, which could easily be $2000 per year, or even more. When we kick advertising into high gear, it will likely cause a burst of growth.
With that in mind, should we start a Patreon fund to enable voluntary subscriptions to support our community? I’m not asking for commitments or money now. I do, however, want to know what you think about this. The forum would remain open to all, but there would be a way for those who support our values to help us continue forward.
Does anyone object? Does anyone agree? Does anyone have advice?
I like the idea of diversity in funding sources, and staying so lean that we don’t need much. So Patreon, selling ads, selling indulgences, awarding titles of nobility, basically everything but selling subscriber info I am OK with. Maybe not coffee mugs with my face on them, but T-shirts with “Peaceful Science” would be good. Hopefully there is a way to give people who pay dues a nice little icon by their icon, similar to a moderators shield.
That is what Patreon can do. It integrates with Discourse. I think the simple set up makes it work for the short term. In the longterm, however, we may move to something else.
Right now we have about 500 unique visitors each week, and about 25 each day. I’d suggest the regulars care about our success just think about $50 / month. That is what I will do once it is set up. Of course, nothing is going to happen till we pull trigger on a non-profit. I’m not sure yet if when and how.
Don’t make it sound too much like “Dinner with Richard Dawkins for only $1000” will you? I’ve already got two Essex Chronicle “Community Medical Awards” that I never even wear - and they were free.
I think it’s a good idea, but I would suggest giving a wider “price range” of tiers. I know most of the patrons of this forum will be people with good jobs and a fair amount of disposable income, but for those who don’t, even $1 a month would be a nice way for them to make a contribution.
Having tiers like $1, $5, $10, $25, $50 per month gives people a lot of options.
We have come a long way since we first started. Honestly, we could use the some seed funds to get off the ground before the next grant. We could also use independent funds to keep us from being to dependent on a single source.
If, for example, all the regulars on the forum chipped in 10 bucks on average, we would hit our current goal. This is not, to be clear, an insistence that everyone chip in that much. Let’s see if any one else comments. If there seems to be some agreement on this, maybe we will fire it up.
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