Site Fundraising/Donation Ideas.

[FREEDOM COBRA]

Ok, so some of us users want to help BigStack who is shelling out (I believe)$80 a month into HaloCustoms. Now we've already ruled out custom name colors, because it would be A) annoying as all hell, and B) Insane agrees ( ). Sinogard has suggested a raffle with a prize to the winner, obviously you enter said raffle by donating. For prizes we've brainstormed on a few thing: a shirt, a poster, a styrofoam magnum, even a smile. But, we still want and need more ideas. So, I'm sure we all care about HaloCustoms, Any ideas to help?

 

[Sinogard]

I think I speak for a lot of us here that a site with no advertizing is nice. The site looks clean and awesome because of it. but not many people can do 80$s a month and stay afloat without some sort of help. So I think that we can help them out a bit. So please help us come up with Ideas for what you would want to win in a raffle. At this point anything counts but please try to keep them simple, inexpensive (Unless your willing to donate it or know someone who could), and overall something worth entering a raffle for. That's my opinion of course.

I feel like I could easily shell out 15-30 bucks. sure that means going hungry for a couple of meals but hey this site is worth it. I think what insane and company are trying to do is awesome. why if I had this site in reach I could have showed off more maps and gotten better at forge sooner. I wont say its our duty as users to help support them because its not, but I think we can help them out because they don't ask anything of us other than to log in and play customs. that and they don't require me to get ad block so the site looks neat.

That's just my two cents,

S.N.

P.S. my halo 4 emblem printed on a poster with the halo customs logo on it would be a great idea. I would happily design it for whoever wins it, with their own emblem of course.

 

[RogerDodger]

Hate to be a Doubting Thomas here, but members involved in some way should have access to periodic financial information. The only way I can foresee this being circumventable is if we were involved in some form of gambling, contest, etc., where risking money for something of real life value actually equates as a fair trade.

Another thing that should be brought up is how a payment system could be integrated into the site. Insane could pull it off, sure, but that would cost him his time - that of which could be better spent on maintaining the website as it already stands.

I'll add more stuff later when it comes to mind, but I think you get the idea. This is no small undertaking.

 

[Sinogard]

Hate to be a Doubting Thomas here, but members involved in some way should have access to periodic financial information. The only way I can foresee this being circumventable is if we were involved in some form of gambling, contest, etc., where risking money for something of real life value actually equates as a fair trade.

That's whats being proposed is a raffle and ideas for a prize along with other ideas for raising funds. Personally I trust them but if financial information is what you would require I'm sure they would provide monthly statements showing where the money was going if you wanted, through a subscribed letter or whatever.

Another thing that should be brought up is how a payment system could be integrated into the site. Insane could pull it off, sure, but that would cost him his time - that of which could be better spent on maintaining the website as it already stands.

Well maintaining the site costs you money and implementing the feature costs money. Either way, you might as well add in a donation feature.

I'll add more stuff later when it comes to mind, but I think you get the idea. This is no small undertaking.

I know this wont be easy. I hope we didn't come off that way. There are a lot of logistics involved here but we can navigate those waters when we get closer to finalizing things. For now the discussion here is on possible prizes for a raffle.

Thanks for the feedback,

S.N.

 

[BigStack]

but I think we can help them out because they don't ask anything of us other than to log in and play customs. that and they don't require me to get ad block so the site looks neat.

My #1 rule on my sites is no ads. Thanks guys. Glad to see some effort by community here. I don't mind paying for site but was not expecting attacks to cause me to deploy more servers to handle them

Hate to be a Doubting Thomas here, but members involved in some way should have access to periodic financial information. The only way I can foresee this being circumventable is if we were involved in some form of gambling, contest, etc., where risking money for something of real life value actually equates as a fair trade.

Another thing that should be brought up is how a payment system could be integrated into the site. Insane could pull it off, sure, but that would cost him his time - that of which could be better spent on maintaining the website as it already stands.

I'll add more stuff later when it comes to mind, but I think you get the idea. This is no small undertaking.

Id make it. Hell its already half made from other sites.

Personally I trust them but if financial information is what you would require I'm sure they would provide monthly statements showing where the money was going if you wanted, through a subscribed letter or whatever.

Thats fine by me. I don't have a need to profit from this site I do it for the community. I have other sites too make cash on.


* Added note - I was thinking of doing some sort of T-Shirt / etc. order. Have a list of options and prices (obviously make a decent amount off cost) but if I got 30 shirt orders probably get 30 for 16 bucks a shirt.. sell for 35-40.... In the end you get a shirt and you donate 20 bucks.

 

[NinetysBorn]

This is a great idea. This is what being a community is all about. I hate when you have folks going on and on about the community, but practically never do shit to help. All they do is support themselves, not the community. So again, I think this is a great idea.

Having both implemented into the site would be great. Have a link somewhere to a HaloCustoms.com store and also have a raffle. You could do these raffles like once every 3 months. You could even do a fundraiser instead of the raffle. Raise money for the site AND for greater causes. Which, would also attract more players/supporters.

For the t-shirts I'd go with BigStack and exactly what he said.
For the raffle, maybe $5 per entry ticket? And you could buy a max of 10? I'd love to get my own custom smilie and maybe some microsoft points I was also thinking it would be really awesome if anyone who donated money in some way, got another title under there current title. If not maybe a trophy instead.

I've definitely thought about this before and would love to help out the site/community. With a few donations or whatever it may be. All I need is an outlet

 

[BigStack]

For the raffle, maybe $5 per entry ticket? And you could buy a max of 10?

Genious... Maybe have a monthly raffle.... 5 bucks a ticket max 5 per person... with a total of 50 tickets available... Ill make a database and a random number generator... and will have a prize to give out. Something on these lines. I want to still give out cool shit.

 

[NinetysBorn]

I want to still give out cool shit.

Maybe the winner could get a custom smilie, a custom title, and maybe go with a free controller again? Except you could make the controller like a limited edition halocustoms.com controller that can't be bought. Just thinking out loud now.

 

[BigStack]

Maybe the winner could get a custom smilie, a custom title, and maybe go with a free controller again? Except you could make the controller like a limited edition halocustoms.com controller that can't be bought. Just thinking out loud now.

Controler costs big bucks. compared to shirts / pens / mousepads magnets etc.

 

[SOLIDSNAKEee]

Well seeing as you guys have already stole my thunder , I'm saying the smilie , some MS points and maybe a T-shirt would be the easiest and cheapest idea's here.I'd gladly help in anyway I can and I think my dancing potato smilie is overdue .

 

[Fiesty Fedora]

Except you could make the controller like a limited edition halocustoms.com controller that can't be bought. Just thinking out loud now.

I personally love this idea. I have been wanting to get a custom controller for a while now. If you somehow managed to do this you would get my money easily.

 

[Absentduck]

Do a Wikipedia but less substantial

 

[WhackyGordon]

Just wondering, what would you think of just having a page of ads somewhere that users can choose to open? If you had a few per-view ads there, I would sit and drill through them every now and then to help support the site. There used to be a 'make-cash-from-home' scheme where some website was just ads and you got a cut of the ad revenues from it based on views - that's what made me think of it. I don't know - I mean I imagine the advertisers are a little more demanding now, but that could be a nice option if it's feasible. Might not pay for the site outright, but it could at least contribute.

 

[Vincent Torre]

We should start selling Halo Customs T-shirts

 

[SOLIDSNAKEee]

We should start selling Halo Customs T-shirts

This!!

 

[FREEDOM COBRA]

We should start selling Halo Customs T-shirts

BigStack looked into that, but in the end the site wouldn't make much at all.

Just wondering, what would you think of just having a page of ads somewhere that users can choose to open? If you had a few per-view ads there, I would sit and drill through them every now and then to help support the site. There used to be a 'make-cash-from-home' scheme where some website was just ads and you got a cut of the ad revenues from it based on views - that's what made me think of it. I don't know - I mean I imagine the advertisers are a little more demanding now, but that could be a nice option if it's feasible. Might not pay for the site outright, but it could at least contribute.

I wouldn't mind this, but the ads would be less annoying if they were relevant. I'm pretty sure most of us are more apt to buy a new Mass Effect than a new hair drier(excluding Shira). Then its trying to see if Insane & BigStack care for the idea, which is extremely unlikely.

 

[SOLIDSNAKEee]

BigStack looked into that, but in the end the site wouldn't make much at all.


I wouldn't mind this, but the ads would be less annoying if they were relevant. I'm pretty sure most of us are more apt to buy a new Mass Effect than a new hair drier(excluding Shira). Then its trying to see if Insane & BigStack care for the idea, which is extremely unlikely.

Ads are a no go , its already been ruled out by Insane.

 

[WhackyGordon]

Ads are a no go , its already been ruled out by Insane.

Maybe so, but I doubt he was thinking about this lol

Basically it's either advertising, praying for donations, or constantly organizing the online equivalent of bake sales, and donation drives and bake sales are pipe dreams if you have on-going expenses. I mean it would work if you just wanted to buy a new computer for the library, but for paying the bills every month...
I guess ideals need to be compromised to meet up with reality. It's sucks, but that's life.

 

[General Sarbina]

What i would LOVE is a t-shirt with my Halo 4 emblem on it. or another idea is to do map packs or games. I think that a devoted smiley would do as another idea as well. but if you could add a little bar at the top or bottom of the home page for donations, that would greatly help too. I just wish i could help but seeing as i don't have some kind of income living underneath my parents roof...I will just have to help in other ways when i am able...

 

[FREEDOM COBRA]

Maybe so, but I doubt he was thinking about this lol

Basically it's either advertising, praying for donations, or constantly organizing the online equivalent of bake sales, and donation drives and bake sales are pipe dreams if you have on-going expenses. I mean it would work if you just wanted to buy a new computer for the library, but for paying the bills every month...
I guess ideals need to be compromised to meet up with reality. It sucks, but that's life.

The million dollar homepage has been ripped off a thousand times over, and this isn't to just pay the bills every month. BigStack is taking money out of his pocket for this and as much as I and many others use this site, we should contribute something. Not that anyone is wrong for not wanting to, but those of us that want to should have a way to do it.