@ 2000 AC members

[hireddutchcutthroat]

If we all gave $10 bucks a month to preservation, this site could become a preservation powerhouse.

[K Bartsch]

Re: @ 2000 AC members

If we all gave $10 bucks a month to preservation, this site could become a preservation powerhouse.

Robert,
The position is taken. We already have a preservation powerhouse...the CWPT. :wink_smil Please continue to give generously!

Cordially,

[RyanBWeddle]

Re: @ 2000 AC members

Robert,
The position is taken. We already have a preservation powerhouse...the CWPT. :wink_smil Please continue to give generously!

Cordially,

I agree with Bob. There are always needs for new ways to energize people to give. I don't think anyone wants to start a new organization or fund, but raise some money for targeted giving...maybe these forums should have a subscription price for those who want to post (read for free), per month/annum where 100% proceeds go to preservation funds (CWPT, CVBT, SHAF, whoever). Then that would be something...

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: @ 2000 AC members

I agree with Bob. There are always needs for new ways to energize people to give. I don't think anyone wants to start a new organization or fund, but raise some money for targeted giving...maybe these forums should have a subscription price for those who want to post (read for free), per month/annum where 100% proceeds go to preservation funds (CWPT, CVBT, SHAF, whoever). Then that would be something...

I could go for that. As long as 100% goes to preservation.

[DonSmithnotTMD]

Re: @ 2000 AC members

Here's a general question. Is there a way to find out what percentage of income goes to overhead in a particular organization? The Combined Federal Campaign lists this, but I have never seen it anywhere else.

[K Bartsch]

Re: @ 2000 AC members

Here's a general question. Is there a way to find out what percentage of income goes to overhead in a particular organization? The Combined Federal Campaign lists this, but I have never seen it anywhere else.

So glad you asked! There is. It's called Charity Navigator

For the record, they have evaluated the CWPT and awarded it four stars for "efficiency" -- Charity Navigator's highest possible ranking for this measure.

Check it out:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/6260.htm

You make a great point Don, its always good idea to check out a charitable organization's efficiency before writing the check!

There are many fine groups doing great preservation work out there, but again, and not to be a total shill for CWPT, but for sheer political clout, media savvy, efficiency, national scope and breadth of experience, its hard to justify not supporting it with your hard-earned dollars. Who else commands the attention of the national media like CWPT?...and at the end of the day, preserving hallowed ground is ultimately about influencing public opinion -- at least that's been my experience.

Put another way, I support groups doing work to preserve sites which are special to me, but I always remember CWPT.

Cordially,

[dusty27]

Re: @ 2000 AC members

Don, you may contact the organization to get your answer. I bet the majority will answer your question sincerely.

As to a fee, while I think any fee charged by this site should go to the upkeep of this site, I like the idea of this site becoming a force in preservation. While I understand that not everyone is capable or wants to give to EVERY cause, I feel that this site might be a place to set up an annual preservation cause, one in the East and one in the West, where people who want to and can, to contribute throughout the year.

For example, I held a somewhat low key fund raiser during the month of April on the forum to help purchase 16+ acres at Chancellorsville. I raised money for a month (April) and got $400! What the frustrating part of this was was that despite posting it on three different forums, I received 8 donations, more than half of those were from my unit, the SWB. Only about 3-4 members of any forum were able to give at that time. Does that mean it was a lean month or is there no interest in this? I don't know.

But maybe, by expanding the time of collection and having some of the leaders in the hobby to advocate raising the money (newsletters, flyers at events, etc.), maybe we could raise some serious money without asking for too much for too few people. You've heard this before from me, but even if people were able to give $5 a month, that would be $60 a year. $60 X the 2000 members on this forum alone would be $120,000!

Now of course, some can't give or just don't want to. That's fine. I suspect that some will give more than $5 a month toward this. Either way, we win.

I am willing to do this, collect the money and administer it. We would come up with some criteria for which organization/cause we would raise money for, possibly online voting here at the forum. That's easy enough.

Any interest??????

There seems to be some confusion with my post. I'm not advocating setting up an organization to compete with CWPT or any other existing organization. I wish to collect money FOR one of these organizations FROM the A/C membership. The idea is to use the size of the membership to raise as much money as possible FOR CWPT, STFB, CBVT or Friends of Mansfield. The donor would receive the tax benefit for writing a check and should be more comfortable sending money to me if it is made out to a particular organization. Hope this clears the matter up.

[paulcalloway]

Re: @ 2000 AC members

I don't want to turn this thread off on a tangent, but want to clarify something with regard to maintaining the AC site.

With the support given to us by the Approved Vendors here on the AC, 100% of anything generated here for preservation will go back to preservation. The whole idea of the Approved Vendor subscription program was to get our "maintenence dollars" from the folks who are benefitting financially from this site. There's no need for other programs to generate support - the vendors here have assumed the full burden.

If you want to support this site, buy from these vendors whenever possible.

Your AC Approved Vendors:

• Canebrake Rifle Guards [Greg Starbuck]
• CharlesCantrell [Charles Cantrell Uniforms and Clothing]
• cleburne1864 [Justin Morris]
• CJ Daley [C.J. Daley Historical Reproductions]
• Company Tailor [Pat Brown, Goldberg & Company]
• dahoude [Orchard Hill Sutlery]
• Dan Wambaugh [W. W. & Company]
• Eureka Independent [Don Smith, Trans-Mississippi Depot]
• GDownie [Gordon Downie, Glengary Clothing Depot]
• Iron Scout [Thomas "Neil" Rose]
• JerseySkilletLicker [Joe Hoffman, Skillet Licker]
• JimKindred [Military Warehouse]
• John Peterson [Otter Creek Tinware]
• KarinTimour [Karin Timour]
• luthhaning [Tim Welch, L.D. Haning]
• Matt Woodburn [Woodburn Blankets]
• Michael McComas [Bailey, Bennett & Scott Tailors]
• Reserve [Ethan Rogers]
• Sam Doolin [Sam Doolin]
• Tim Allen [Tim Allen]
• tmattimore [Tom Mattimore, Mattimore Harness]
• tphtrading [Tim Bender]

This isn't to denigrate other vendors who may not be on the internet or may not have chosen to join the Approved Vendor program. There are other fine craftsman out there - but these are the folks who support this website directly and I urge you to frequent their stores.

If I missed anyone in the above list, please contact me by email and I'll make corrections.

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: @ 2000 AC members

Robert,
The position is taken. We already have a preservation powerhouse...the CWPT. :wink_smil Please continue to give generously!

Cordially,

Mr Bartsch

What I would like to see is the 2000+ members of this board give a token $10 a month to the CWPT. There is no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to the CWPT.

[ScottFugate]

Re: @ 2000 AC members

Although I applaud the intentions, I, for one, would not respond to such a strategy. My wife and I give away substantial (for us) sums annually to various charities. The ability to take the deduction on our tax return is extremely important to us. Unless this site becomes a 501(c)3 registered organization, I would not give here. By the way, I already contribute five bucks a paycheck ($130 annually) through the Combined Federal Campaign to CWPT. I'll probably up it next year.

Scott Fugate
WIG

[paulcalloway]

Re: @ 2000 AC members

We're not going to be adding a subscription fee for general users. There is already one in place for Approved Vendors and to charge one to general users would be cutting the throats of those advertising to be here.

Raising money is fine though, as long as its voluntary.