The Donation Tab is Up!

[West Coast Birder]

Dear FoP members,

Many of you have asked how you can contribute financially to our forum. We are happy to announce that we have set up a donation mechanism through Paypal. You can access it by clicking on the Support FoP tab in the header of the forum page:



Please note that while contributions are greatly appreciated, there is no obligation for anyone to contribute. The site is completely free to use and will be so in perpetuity.

So far, about 4 of us have contributed just shy of USD 850 for starting up the forum. This has gone towards obtaining the XenForo forum license and hosting for the rest of the year, the domain name registration, and any paid add-ons. As traffic and storage increase, we may need to bump up the forum to the next payment tier that will give us more bandwidth and storage but we will determine that down the road. We intend to be totally transparent as far as forum cash flow is concerned and will publish a monthly financial report that will share member contributions and expenditure with all the users.

Thank you once again for your support of the forum.

 

[SkedAddled]

Just announced today, and I've just contributed today. Happy to contribute.

I have one question:
Why does it go to one person, instead of a collective?

 

[West Coast Birder]

Just announced today, and I've just contributed today. Happy to contribute.

I have one question:
Why does it go to one person, instead of a collective?

I didn't want to go through the hassle of setting up an LLC or a business Paypal account. Then I have all kinds of tax complications to deal with. So I set it up as a personal account, for which I could only provide one name. You just have to trust that I won't abscond, or should I say, skedaddle to Mexico or Paraguay with the millions.

 

[Bob]

Awesomeness... well done Team!

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

Just announced today, and I've just contributed today. Happy to contribute.

I have one question:
Why does it go to one person, instead of a collective?

Sam already explained why, but I want to add that all founders of the forum have full access to the Paypal account.

In fact, I just logged into it and people are already donating generously! Thank you all so much.

 

[Nature's Spectrum]

Contribution made!

 

[Yno]

Possibly a naive question, but do I require a PP account to donate? I cancelled mine years ago.

 

[West Coast Birder]

Possibly a naive question, but do I require a PP account to donate? I cancelled mine years ago.

Well, I looked into this yesterday. On Paypal, there is another way. The only way you can pay on Paypal without actually having an account is for me to invoice you. You will receive an invoice by mail and you can click on the link in it and use your CC to pay. If you would like to do that, send me a PM with your email address and I can send you an invoice for the amount that you would like to contribute. You can then pay with a CC without actually having a Paypal account.

 

[Ltdave]

i logged into paypal yesterday to send a donation but using friends and family (no fees to you) wouldnt go through. all i got was 'there was an error and were trying to correct it'

i dont know if its a paypal issue, a recipient issue, or something on my end.

id HATE to send funds to you that you get dinged on because its not for friends...

has anyone else had this problem?

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

@Ltdave
Dave, we have received donations as "friends" with no problem. So it sounds like a PayPal hiccup.

 

[Ltdave]

@Ltdave
Dave, we have received donations as "friends" with no problem. So it sounds like a PayPal hiccup.

thanks ill look into it again

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

thanks ill look into it again

From my own experience I know that PayPal sometimes has hiccups and it won't do what you tell it to (and they make you feel as if it's your fault!). And then you try again the next day and all works as it should.

 

[Ltdave]

From my own experience I know that PayPal sometimes has hiccups and it won't do what you tell it to (and they make you feel as if it's your fault!). And then you try again the next day and all works as it should.

went through a bunch of unhelpful AI 'customer service' nonsense and then had to delete and readd my debit card in order to transfer money from the bank (that i typically use) to my paypal account.

i just sent over some denarius/shekels/coin/greenbacks....

 

[RDWP]

I opened a PayPal account and linked a credit card, then went to make a payment (Friends etc) but the credit card I was using (Mastercard) wants to charge me/you $7 for the transaction. (Is this usual?) Can I do a bank transfer by email (to SamKumar@FocusOnPhotography) instead?

 

[West Coast Birder]

I opened a PayPal account and linked a credit card, then went to make a payment (Friends etc) but the credit card I was using (Mastercard) wants to charge me/you $7 for the transaction. (Is this usual?) Can I do a bank transfer by email (to SamKumar@FocusOnPhotography) instead?

Rob, according to Paypal, you can pay using your bank account instead of your credit card. Perhaps that will not give you the 7% charge (which may be a foreign transaction fee perhaps). Please see the following link on how to set it up:

What payment methods can I use with PayPal? | PayPal US

PayPal allows you to link your bank account, credit/debit card, or balance for payments. Learn how to change your preferred payment method on the website.

www.paypal.com

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

went through a bunch of unhelpful AI 'customer service' nonsense and then had to delete and readd my debit card in order to transfer money from the bank (that i typically use) to my paypal account.

i just sent over some denarius/shekels/coin/greenbacks....

To go through so much trouble to donate. Thank you so much, Dave!

 

[Yno]

Well, I looked into this yesterday. On Paypal, there is another way. The only way you can pay on Paypal without actually having an account is for me to invoice you. You will receive an invoice by mail and you can click on the link in it and use your CC to pay. If you would like to do that, send me a PM with your email address and I can send you an invoice for the amount that you would like to contribute. You can then pay with a CC without actually having a Paypal account.

Done!

I canceled my Paypal account years ago after a long period of inactivity. Until I apparently bought a $2k Apple computer. So sorry, Windows and Android only here! Luckily I got the transaction canceled and then closed the account. Ebay went by the wayside, also.

 

[joayne]

I also see that PP is now charging a $0.33 per Credit Card and Debit Card transactions. This is new. I wondered what that email I tossed was about
Direct link to a Checking account is still free.

 

[RDWP]

Rob, according to Paypal, you can pay using your bank account instead of your credit card. Perhaps that will not give you the 7% charge (which may be a foreign transaction fee perhaps). Please see the following link on how to set it up:

What payment methods can I use with PayPal? | PayPal US

PayPal allows you to link your bank account, credit/debit card, or balance for payments. Learn how to change your preferred payment method on the website.

www.paypal.com

I haven't seen a service charge before for using my low-limit Mastercard (a specific one I use for internet purchases) in the US - just the rather unfavourable exchange rate they all apply. PayPal was doing that and Mastercard (apparently) then wanting the 7% fee. A $0.33 fee per transaction (per joayne's experience) would be fine, but 7 bucks just grates. I'm not particularly inclined to link a bank account to paypal so maybe the invoice route is the best. Will PM you, Sam.

 

[West Coast Birder]

I haven't seen a service charge before for using my low-limit Mastercard (a specific one I use for internet purchases) in the US - just the rather unfavourable exchange rate they all apply. PayPal was doing that and Mastercard (apparently) then wanting the 7% fee. A $0.33 fee per transaction (per joayne's experience) would be fine, but 7 bucks just grates. I'm not particularly inclined to link a bank account to paypal so maybe the invoice route is the best. Will PM you, Sam.

Thanks, Rob. The only downside to the invoice method is that you can't do gift, so Paypal will skim 3% off the top. But it is what it is. I wish there was a better way but everyone wants a cut, unfortunately.