Author Topic: Stay-At-Home Isolation "Fun" Raising  (Read 4058 times)

John Kokas

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Stay-At-Home Isolation "Fun" Raising
« on: April 08, 2020, 12:31:57 PM »
As the days turn into weeks which are turning into ??????  I started realizing the money I was saving by not driving all the time.  So in a spare moment, (I have a lot of those now), I figured how much I was saving.  Since I can't go anywhere, I figured why not donate the savings to a museum project.  Using the museum link through the gift shop is a great way to keep a funding stream open for projects that really need to be finished THIS YEAR !!!  I invite all who can to do the same....
Moxie Bootlegger

Graham Buxton

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Re: Stay-At-Home Isolation "Fun" Raising
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2020, 03:39:34 PM »
Or if you would like to avoid the fees that PayPal, GPay and the linked credit cards collect out of each transaction (and therefore leave more of your donation for the WW&F), just mail a paper check :) to:

WW&F Railway Museum
PO Box 242
Alna ME 04535
Graham

James Patten

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Re: Stay-At-Home Isolation "Fun" Raising
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2020, 04:41:22 PM »
And now a word from your Treasurer...

Depending on when we reopen (or not), money to keep the Museum going will be much more important in the coming months than will money for projects.  Our original budgeted amount for ticket income alone for this year was $53,000; we've only collected $20,000 so far and that may be it for many months.  Insurance, mortgages, and utilities don't stop even if the income does.

Bill Baskerville

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Re: Stay-At-Home Isolation "Fun" Raising
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2020, 05:00:22 PM »
And now a word from your Treasurer...Depending on when we reopen (or not), money to keep the Museum going will be much more important in the coming months than will money for projects.  Our original budgeted amount for ticket income alone for this year was $53,000; we've only collected $20,000 so far and that may be it for many months.  Insurance, mortgages, and utilities don't stop even if the income does.
Perhaps we should start a Corona Fund Raising Project.  Have a monthly goal.  That would give us something to get behind and the ability to measure our progress.  I for one wonder how much it cost to keep the museum on hold per month.

I will state the sacrilege and if push came to shove our BOD could, with great apologies, redirect some of the annual funds to keeping the museum in mothballs.

I know all of us want to have a museum to come back to when this current unpleasantness is over.
~ B2 ~ Wascally Wabbit & Gofer ~

Bob Holmes

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Re: Stay-At-Home Isolation "Fun" Raising
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2020, 06:51:28 PM »
Some of us might consider donating the individual stimulus package payments (if and when they ever arise) to the museum.  At this point, I plan to do that.

Mike Fox

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Re: Stay-At-Home Isolation "Fun" Raising
« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2020, 08:02:20 PM »
We have already stopped planned work. I like the idea of the virus fund. James has an exact figure of what ot costs every month, just to keep the lights on.

We have several monthly donors that contribute to the General Fund consistently. More would be great. At any amount.

We are going to have donors that can't afford to donate for a long time, due to the current financial problems created by the virus.

But, no matter what happens, we will carry on..
Mike
Doing way too much to list...

John Kokas

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Re: Stay-At-Home Isolation "Fun" Raising
« Reply #6 on: April 08, 2020, 08:06:27 PM »
It would make life a lot easier if the webmaster could setup a Virus Go Fund ME in place of the Campaign 21 on the website.  Can that be addressed by the BOD on the 4/11/20 meeting?
Moxie Bootlegger

Ed Lecuyer

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Re: Stay-At-Home Isolation "Fun" Raising
« Reply #7 on: April 08, 2020, 08:45:16 PM »
Online fundraising platforms (like GoFundMe and FundRzr) also take a cut of donations.  The trade off is that they do make contributing easy (and shareable, etc.) I would imagine this can be proposed during the BOD meeting.
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Al Michelis

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Re: Stay-At-Home Isolation "Fun" Raising
« Reply #8 on: April 09, 2020, 06:13:58 AM »
Some of us might consider donating the individual stimulus package payments (if and when they ever arise) to the museum.  At this point, I plan to do that.
That is what I have been planning to do.  Direct deposits should start next week.  What is the best way to do this as I don't use or have paper checks?

Ed Lecuyer

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Re: Stay-At-Home Isolation "Fun" Raising
« Reply #9 on: April 09, 2020, 08:09:42 AM »
I think the PayPal Link near the top right side of the web page: wwfry.org is the best way.

You can also donate via the Gift Shop (which remains online, open, and willing to send out your purchases).
https://giftshop.wwfry.org

I rarely use paper checks myself, and instead I have the WW&F set up on my bank's web site to receive payments. The bank then sends the WW&F a check whenever I designate it to do so. Using this method, all costs are taken by the bank, and the WW&F gets the full donation.
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Ken Nelson

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Re: Stay-At-Home Isolation "Fun" Raising
« Reply #10 on: April 09, 2020, 04:28:10 PM »
Thinking about contributions … a couple of thoughts:

(1)  Is it possible to do contributions through VENMO?  (https://venmo.com/)  It basically works by transferring money you designate from your bank account directly into the recipient's bank account with NO FEE when allowing for a three day transfer period designate by the recipient.  (Otherwise, there is a 1% fee paid by the recipient for an immediate transfer.)  Easy for the treasurer to set up with Venmo.  Transfers are very easy through a cell phone app.  I use it to send money to a grandson in college and pay the cleaning lady.

Venmo issues you an email confirming the transfer, but the best documentation for tax purposes is the traditional letter from the museum confirming the donation.

(2)  Has the museum explored getting compensation for lost ticker sales from the 2.2 trillion dollar bill that Congress passed?  Apparently this is done with a loan through a local bank.  The loan does NOT need to be repaid as long as the borrower observes the terms of the loan!  My church is going after $23,000 because we chose not to lay off our three paid people.  The Cape Cod Symphony is going after about $500,000 after canceling many performances!  Although there were a bunch of boondoggles added to that bill, the original intent was to compensate for losses caused by the virus.  So I think we can go after compensation with a clear conscience.

Just my thoughts … maybe kick them around in the BOD meeting Saturday.

Ed Lecuyer

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Re: Stay-At-Home Isolation "Fun" Raising
« Reply #11 on: April 09, 2020, 04:54:56 PM »
Item 2 is already on the docket for the BOD meeting.
Ed Lecuyer
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Bob Holmes

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Re: Stay-At-Home Isolation "Fun" Raising
« Reply #12 on: April 09, 2020, 05:53:17 PM »
James, is someone at the museum prepared to handle paper checks received by mail?  If not, what is the best route for getting money there that you would recommend?

James Patten

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Re: Stay-At-Home Isolation "Fun" Raising
« Reply #13 on: April 09, 2020, 06:13:02 PM »
Gordon and Elizabeth Davis are still getting the mail and doing the bank deposits.