Insimenator needs donations or will be closed in 2 days time

[FuzzySham]

I'm so sorry that I can't donate. I really like this site, but I don't have a paypal account because I'm 17... no, wait, I'm 12!  :oops:

[SparklePlenty]

But 2 days? How will they manage without a serious add campaign and a tear jerker??  :shock:

You do have a point there, actually. I've donated a few times in the last year (and even have that purty little gold symbol next to my username), but like some here, I'm really low on cash, too, right now, and doubt if I can make another donation within two days. Perhaps it might have been a bit more effective if Kathy or Eric did a MTS2 or Nouk-type maneuver about a week or more before (prefreably more) and put up a donation chart to see just how much more is needed. I know that some people over there had been requesting something like that, or at least some sort of regular updates. Not putting up one or posting updates might actually have a negative effect. A couple of people might actually be reluctant to donate if they don't sense that the goal is actually reachable. And mailing a donation is a moot point now, unless the donor lives locally.

Ah, well. I'll see if I've got any spare change. That's about the best I can do. And I wish Insim all the luck in the world. It really is a worthwhile site to donate to.

Them not having a progress chart has a negative effect on MY giving. I have donated to Insim in rotation with MTS2 and Wicked Nouk Family, and their turn has not come around yet. A progress chart would certainly help potential donors feel that they were actually accomplishing a goal and encourage donating. However, they choose not to do that, and I guess, after all is said and done, one must do what one must do.

[euterpe]

I'm curious--the post mentioned "two sites".  What's the other one?

[SparklePlenty]

I'm curious--the post mentioned "two sites".  What's the other one?

Probably InSim Adult

[Plum]

Someone donate on my behalf, dammit.  I'm already eating ramen for lunch every day.

[Azaya]

This is one of those cases of "Damn I wish I could donate but I don't have any money already". I hate those.

[Dachs or puppy-girl]

I wonder why they did not post this a little while ago. Wouldn't it have been easier to get 700 together if say you gave a month to do it. Let everyone know how serious this is. I do not even get paid before they need the donation and being a single Mom with no child support do not have it. Wish I did as that is where I got started. My son is sick right now and needed sudifed I am sorry but that comes first. I just wish I had know about a week ago before I paid all my bills.

[silver]

In a way, I do understand. I really do. I get the impression that Kathy and Eric were just overwhelmed by important personal concerns, and just didn't have the time or energy to focus on a website, particularly when someone's idea of being funny is to use a stolen credit card to donate money. Repeatedly. And in the middle of trying to sort out more important RL priorities, this ... looming ... thing pops up.

It may be too late to remedy this right now, but perhaps in the future, she and Eric might want to consider a few things:

1. Designate someone to be a sort of fundraising moderator if Kathy and Eric are just too bogged down with RL at the moment. This moderator would NOT handle money. Just post little hints a few months a year and maybe pop up a cute little chart complete with constantly updated figures to remind people that hey, it's that time of year again! Like Nouk wrote ... the fundraising might need to be jazzed up to make it stand out and catch people's attention. MTS, the WNF and MATY also have fundraising periods, and it might be easy to overlook Insim's in all the brouhaha.

2. Perhaps Insim could glean a bit of inspiration from MTS2 and the Wicked Nouk Family. MTS2 is very specific about just WHY they're asking for a certain amount, and does a really good job of reminding people that we're all in this together and those few dollars really can make a difference. And the WNF's use of special thank-you gifts for EVERYONE at certain points in the year when goals are met (and even exceeded) is a very sweet gesture. Everyone's a winner, baby! The WNF sites are also very precise about where the money is going and why they need this particular amount. I think it might be OK to "borrow" their techniques and customize them.

3. Take a tip from RL bills. Yes, them. Most of the bills I get say to allow five to ten business days for a bill to reach a mailing address. Any intense final fundraising pushes might want to allow for that mailing period in the future.

Just my opinion. I don't claim to be a professional fundraiser, though I admit to having had to do that a couple of times in RL.



EDIT .... added the bolded bits. Jessica has made me see the error of my ways in her post below.

[ws-jessica]

ok silver this is annoying. it's not JUST NOUK. stop forgetting about me
you keep saying nouk nouk nouk.
its wickednoukfamily, many people, not JUST NOUK.
lol geez

nouk just sits around and looks pretty! and she gets all the damn glory while i sit here all invisible doing all the work


im just kidding nouk i love you dont hurt me


as for donations, we barely get enough and we let people know a month in advance. Insim has more visitors, more creators, and higher hosting fees. I'm surprised kathy says they havent been getting enough donations. I agree a donation meter of some sort...or just a progress report of how much is still needed would probably get more people to donate. I know we've been told by several people that they donate to us because they can clearly see our expenses, our goal, and our progress.
I hope this all gets worked out

[calalily]

ok silver this is annoying. it's not JUST NOUK. stop forgetting about me
you keep saying nouk nouk nouk.
its wickednoukfamily, many people, not JUST NOUK.
lol geez

i feel so invisible

NOTE YOUR MIGHTY OVERLORD - HEAR HER NAME - JESS. EATER OF SOULS AND OF MANY SITES - SOON TO BE EATING A SITE NEAR YOU. JESS ALL UR BASE ARE BELONG TO HER

I hope you notice Jess now - I know I do - she's the wicked part - like the devil.

[Saraswati]

:lol:  :lol:  *hysterics watching Calaily and Jess* Giving Insim some money now..

[Minolia]

I hope you notice Jess now - I know I do - she's the wicked part - like the devil.

And I always though the wicked part was because Nouk was made of the purest evil. :twisted:

But back on topic I do wonder how many people have missed the message because it's in a normalish looking block of text that they just scrolled past.

It's probably not the biggest help to say now but a banner at the top saying there is a donation drive on and a graph to show how close they are to their target would probably be a huge help.

[silver]

No, this is NOT Jessica:


Sorry about that. Please put away the wet noodle! I'll behave, I'll behave! I have duly amended my previous post.

Now back to the subject at hand ...

[redisenchanted]

I also think that RL is making hosting insim more and more of a burden for Eric and Kathy. I hope that if it's too much to handle, they can turn it over to someone else, or ask for help at least. I'm afraid that they'll get completely exasperated and shut everything down, which would be sad. Doing things out of a sense of obligation is not healthy though, so I don't want to make it sound like I expect them to keep the site running indefinitely. They shouldn't feel obligated if it's just too much and there's no one to help.

Insim needs help after fund raisers at other sites, so many people are already tapped out. Earlier notice would probably spread the wealth around a little more.

[RedLove]

But back on topic I do wonder how many people have missed the message because it's in a normalish looking block of text that they just scrolled past.

This pretty much explains why I didn't know. I don't normally look for things like this. MTS2 and WNF usually put a bar to tell you it has started

 :lol: I'll be sorry to see them go if they do go, but like the rest I'm err 12 (by Pes' rules) and no credit card.  :lol: