Re: [Computerbank] Fees

[Patricia Fraser <trish@thefrasers.org>]

On Fri,  6 Jul 2001 09:59, Ken Young wrote:
> Hi All,
> Heres is my 2 cents worth as well...
>
> I can see the need to generate income to keep the infrastructure of
> CB going...  (rent, power, telephones etc) and I can see the need to
> keep computers free for low income people.  Is there another path... 
>  Offer to sell computers to wage earners at a price commensurate with
> their second hand value ....

I think it's worth looking at the difference between the service we 
offer and our need for funds. It doesn't make sense to try to raise 
revenue from the people we service - they can't afford it! More 
sensible to get the revenue, in amounts large enough to be useful, from 
those who can. 

In doing the CB business the way we are, we're inviting people to join 
our community (the omputer-aware community). We won't like 
everyone, and they won't necessarily like us. Doesn't matter. The idea 
was always that, if they want to give something back, it would be 
encouraged - volunteering, or helping with training and support, 
f'rinstance. If they don't, we wouldn't force it. If they woiuld like 
to donate, fine - but we wouldn't force that either.

We're really looking for a revenue model that will sustain operations - 
not a way to browbeat our users into appreciating what we Lord and Lady 
Bountifuls give them (we're just a conduit, anyway - the gifts of 
hardware are actually from elsewhere...). This revenue need is going to 
grow into the $millions annually; we won't get that by charging $20 a 
shot at whatever. Although I don't have as much of a problem with 
technical people's time being charged as I do with selling hardware, 
neither route will come close to raising the sort of funds we need to 
keep going, let alone expand!

What we need is a fundraising group - Friends of CB?

----------------------
Patricia Fraser
trish@thefrasers.org
www.computerbank.org.au
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