My theory regarding fundraising is a simple one: it’s never fun to ask people for money…
But I’ve probably been my own worst enemy in this department by telling you how much I hate doing what is really a necessary part of being a blogger with no ads on his blog.
I’d like to pay the server bill for this website at the end of this month. I’d like to go up to the Wings’ prospect tournament and main training camp, which are both two days longer than usual this year. I’d like to be able to afford staying in a hotel that’s charging me an extra $10 a night for a 15-night stay, and afford the gas to get there (at $3.25 a gallon).
But I’d like to make some sort of living during the months that I don’t go up to training camp, too, and my family budget is at a point where I rely on earning some income to get the household by.
All of these aspirational goals are possible, if you and I are okay with some semi-regular fundraising posts. For now, at least, this is the NPR of blogs, and while I’m more than willing to talk about generating more original content (and I’m sure you’ve got some ideas to that regard, such as producing a podcast), we are where we are until/unless I start advertising. Hell, bloggers who advertise have to raise funds, too.
So that’s the big spiel. Fundraising posts aren’t fun for me, and they’re probably not fun for you, but talking about money is not exactly fun for anyone who’s part of a community or group, and, as strung out as things have been over the last couple of years, there is a TMR community out there.
For the present moment, if you’re willing to help me raise the $600 for my server bill, and/or what’s getting closer and closer to $3,000 for the Traverse City trip, you can use Paypal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com, and yes, you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check.
Talking about money among friends and family isn’t fun, but it’s a normal part of a for-small-profit website’s discourse, and that’s what it’s going to be here, from here on out.
